answers to reviewers questions or statements:

Omni-Creator Kami of Anime: Why should she have to 'pay'? Plenty of marriages breakdown and end in divorce when the people involve in it realize that there's more to it than having the same last name and sex. Having her 'pay' because she realized she was in over her head and didn't want to suffer through something she had no real investment in is just ridiculous and petty on every level. I never said the spider powers are the reason of Peter and apparently Jessica's deteriorating mental health, Jade suspects there's a connection but likely not the definitive factor and has said she's need to see the research put into the development of Peter's powers to see if her hypothesis is even remotely on the right track.

Nomad98: I wouldn't say she's as insane as Peter is, but she isn't exactly all there either.

Spiderfan: Eventually.

CRUDEN: Plenty it seems.

Fox Boss: What is it?

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

The Iceberg Lounge was perhaps the biggest joke that Peter's ever seen in his entire life... and that was really saying something.

It wasn't that it looked rundown or cheap, in fact it was one of the nicest establishments that Peter's ever been inside of under any circumstances. All of the material put into building this place were the highest of qualities, from the wood furnishings to the titanium dipped re-enforced concrete in the walls laced with hundreds of wire thin Adamantium rods to make this place every bit as durable as the President's Doomsday bunker. An entire floor dedicated to being a high end casino to rival some of the best out in Vegas that on the regular made and broke millionaires. The staff seemed friendly and professional, though the female waitresses seemed a bit too flirty for Peter's liking, at least they were to him for some reason.

The Iceberg Lounge also had a massive chunk of an iceberg planted in the middle of the room where a small group of actual penguins played, swam and ate.

And yet despite all that, it was still a joke to Peter.

"So let me get this straight..." Peter said as he and Jade were being escorted to their table, a private booth on the second floor of the main room that gave them a near birds eye view of the entire establishment "This place was founded and run by a known crime lord called 'The Penguin', a man that regularly dabbles in just about everything criminal there is short of terrorism... and he's not locked up or dead why?"

"Money... and lawyers. Lots and lot s of high end lawyers with dead hearts and cold souls" Jade answered with a giggle as she held on to Peter's arm as they passed by several tables, their occupants eyes on Peter and Jade for different reasons.

Peter was dressed in a simple but finely made buttoned up black shirt, black slacks and black freshly shined shoes. It was nice, not too flashy or attention grabbing, just the way Peter likes it. Jade meanwhile was dressed to impress as the saying went, a strapless emerald green dress that Peter swore was a size too small given how tight it seemed over the woman's body and a pair of black knee high laced up boots. She was turning heads left and right as she passed and knew it if the small smirk on her green painted lips was anything to go by.

"And that's why I hate lawyers" Peter said with a shake of his head as he and Jade reached their table and sat down.

Under most circumstances Peter would offer to pull her chair out and all that sort of gentlemen class, but considering Jade's hair has been soaked in some sort of concoction made of some Mamba snake and several of her nails are fake and instead filled with small capsules of highly concentrated chironex fleckeri venom, he wasn't willing to see if his healing factor can stand up to them.

"It also helps, for him at least, that this city is as corrupt as it can get outside of D.C." Jade said with a snort as she accepted a menu from the waitress and flipped it open and gave it a brief glance before placing it on the table "I want something strong"

"Okay..." Peter said as he read his own menu.

"And warm..." Jade cooed as she batted her eyes at Peter.

"They have a few drinks like that" Peter said with a thoughtful nod as he read some of the descriptions of the drinks, unaware of Jade's look "Ooh, the Joker's Smirk looks good. Not sure why they named a drink after a guy that I heard gassed a elementary school with his Joker Venom once because he saw one of their plays and thought it didn't have enough laughing in it but what do I know?"

"...It's good" Jade said with a shake of her head and a small shrug as she looked around the area with narrowed eyes "Too bitter for my tastes"

Peter hummed at this before he glanced at the iceberg that earned this establishment it's name and saw a few penguins wandering around the ice. Peter wasn't sure what they were using to keep the iceberg intact, but he suspected Mister Freeze's tech was involved. Either that or some really powerful air conditioners.

"Not gonna lie, I really want to pet one of those penguins and maybe take it home with me to cuddle with" Peter said as he watched one of the large flightless birds slide down a ice slide and into the water "Maybe teach it to dance while I'm at it"

"And here I thought you were gonna teach it how to surf..." Jade said with a snort.

"Pfft, anyone can surf" Peter said with a eye roll.

Well Logan couldn't, man doesn't even know how to swim oddly enough. And Draken was pretty much terrified of water to the point that Peter was certain he had aquaphobia to some degree. Laura seemed to be the only one that was afraid of water... so long as it wasn't too deep, like farther than her thighs.

"Sooo, what made you pick this place anyway?" Peter said as he looked around the place "I mean, it's nice and all despite the fact it's run by a known criminal and half the people might be criminals too, but I feel like this place isn't exactly your kind of poison... heh, see what I did there?"

"What can I say, I like to experiment with new things and thought this place would be an interesting change of pace" Jade answered with a shrug before she focused her gaze on a table and nodded towards it "And... we're here for her"

Peter turned his head in the same direction Jade was looking and saw a young woman, dressed in a white dress, sitting alone at a table. Her skin complexion made it hard to tell if she was Latin, Arab, or Indian but it was clear to Peter she wasn't exactly a local. A lot of people in this city, Peter's noticed, seemed to have a chip on their shoulder for whatever reason where's this woman looked reasonably pleasant.

Than again she could be a total asshole nd was really good at hiding it until she opened her mouth.

"Whose that?" Peter asked with a frown, he didn't recognize her but she must've been important enough to warrant Jade's attention.

"Her name's Jaina Hudson. She's Black Mask's current fuck toy" Jade explained "And unknown to many, including the Batman, far as we know, she's also known as White Rabbit. She can split herself into two people, one of which has paler skin, white hair, and likes to dress like some playboy bunny, hence the name"

"And you want to what, kill her? Or make her your own White Rabbit to go with your Alice in Wonderland from Hell theme?" Peter guessed, causing Jade to chuckle.

"Talia and I have something else in mind for her, though what your implying does have my interest now" Jade stated with a smirk "But no, we want her to be a spy for us. Help us keep track of Black Mask's movements and reactions when Talia begins her war"

"And to possibly have someone close enough to stab him in the back when it's needed the most?" Peter said with a raised brow "Like literally stab him in the back"

"Perhaps..." Jade nodded as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs at the knee as she examined Peter closely "Do you think you can convince her?"

"Me?" Peter said with a frown "You want me to convince some woman I didn't even know existed until like a minute ago to spy on and eventually betray a crime boss she's currently sleeping with?"

"Pretty much" Jade admitted with a nod before she grinned "Think you can manage? Psylocke offered to alter her mindset but we don't want to risk Black Mask catching on to the fact that his current fuck toy is a spy. He didn't make it to the top of Gotham's underworld because he's a idiot"

"What makes you think he'd notice Jaina's been telepathically altered to be a spy for Talia?" Peter questioned.

"It's not so much as he'll pick up some random cue that gives it away so much as it'd take to long for us to get it right" Jade revealed as she leaned forward on her elbows "As you know, altering someone's mind like that takes time, days if not weeks even. We can't be sure that White Rabbit will even still be alive or even affiliated with Black Mask by than, we need a spy and we need it now"

"But isn't there a risk by having her do it of her own free will?" Peter countered with a frown as he casted a brief glance at the woman "I mean, won't Black Mask notice her being more... interested, in his operations and stuff like that?"

"It's a risk we're willing to take" Jade said with a sigh "Believe me, none of us like it either as the risk of that dumbass blowing it are high, assuming of course she doesn't outright tell Mask we're trying to have her spy on him. But Talia is meeting with Silvermane and a few others tonight to go over a few more details in regards to the hopeful regime change we have in mind for Gotham so we've gotta move soon"

"You know this has the potential to blow up in all of our faces right?" Peter said with a sense of dread as he tired to imagine the possible fallout of this while thing.

"Trust me, we know" Jade said as she spared another glance at Jaina "So, are you up for it or do you want me to do it instead?"

Peter rubbed the back of his head at this "Well-"

"PRETTY RED, PRETTY RED..."

Peter winced as he felt a dull throbbing at the back of his head slowly begin to move forward.

"Something wrong?" Jade asked when she noticed Peter stopped midsentence and winced.

"I'm fine..." Peter said as he squeezed his eyes shut as the throbbing increased before it suddenly stopped "I uh, just had a-"

"PRETTY RED, PRETTY RED, PRETTY BLOODY R-"

"I'll be back in a second, I uh, gotta use the uh, the uh- the bathroom!" Peter said as he suddenly stood up from the table and immediately made a beeline straight for the bathroom.

Jade watched Peter go for a moment with a raised brow before she sighed.

"Well... shit"

...

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit" Peter muttered to himself as he quickly entered the restroom and headed for the sinks.

He could still here the words echoing in his head, like someone was screaming through a microphone. These headaches were getting worse and already things started to look... off.

The floor was no longer tile, instead it was sand and it felt far to hot to be the inside of the building and it felt like the sun was beating down on him. He'd look up, just to be sure, but all Peter saw was the ceiling of the Iceberg Lounge despite the fact it felt like he was looking up at the sun and had to advert his eyes.

"It's all in your head Pete, it's all in your head..." Peter whispered to himself as he flipped on the faucet and held his hands under the cold running water.

He waited until a sizable puddle had built up before leaning down and splashing his face with it. The moment the water touched Peter's skin the feeling of standing in the middle of a desert finally subsided and he let out a sigh of relief as he splashed some more water on his face. After a few more minutes of soaking his head in the cool waters, Peter shut the faucet off and looked up towards the mirror and froze.

His reflection looked... wrong.

The eyes were different and his skin complexion was far paler than it shoulder be. Peter quirked his head to the side in confusion before he noticed that his reflection had quirked it's head in the opposite direction if his own.

"What the hell...?" Peter said quietly to himself as he turned his head the other way and saw the reflection turn it again in the opposite direction before it suddenly leaned forward and poked at the glass.

"PRETTY RED-"

"Shut up!" Peter snapped as he suddenly sent his fist into the mirror, shattering the glass.

"HEY!"

Peter blinked and slowly turned to see a man, one of the club's security guards, looking at him with a confused frown on his face.

"What are you doing in here man?" he asked as his hand drifted to his waistline where he undoubtedly held a weapon of some sort.

Peter stared at the man for a moment before looking away and instead focus on his reflection, a little difficult given that most of the mirror was covered in cracks now from his punch.

"PRETTY RED! PRETTY RED! PRETTY BLOODY RED!"

"Shut up" Peter closed his eyes as he tried to ignore the voices.

"Fuck you just say to me?" the guard bristled, unaware that Peter was speaking to him.

Peter didn't respond, instead he stared into the eyes of his reflection as he tried to ignore the pounding in his head before he heard a distinct 'click' and slowly turned to see the guard standing there with a gun in his hand. The guard glared at Peter with narrowed eyes before he held up the gun and shake it around as spoke in an annoyed tone.

"Alright asshole, I don't know who the fuck you think you are but you need to leave, right fucking now!" the man said as he approached Peter and placed a hand on his shoulder and made to pull him away from the mirror.

Peter's hand suddenly shot up to his shoulder and grabbed the man's hand, crushing it within his grip and causing the guard to let out a pained scream as he tried to pry his hand free, dropping the gun in the process. Peter reached out with his other hand and seized the guard by the arm and pulled him in close before he grabbed him by the back of his head and slammed it into what was left of the mirror, completely shattering the glass. Before the first shard of glass even hit the ground, Peter pulled the man's head back, covered in bloodied cuts, and slammed it into the wall again with even greater force. The man's body went limp at this but Peter kept slamming his head into the wall, the sound of flesh making contact with a combination of glass and the wooden frame behind the glass echoing through the room.

He wasn't sure how much time passed, but eventually the man's head began to fall apart under the force of the impacts until the next strike caused it to shatter entirely, drenching Peter's hands in blood and gore.

And just as suddenly as Peter froze as some of the skull fragments struck him in the face, causing him to blink as he slowly released what was left of the head and allowed the body to slump to the floor.

"W-What the fuck?" Peter said as he stepped back and looked down at his gore encrusted hands with wide eyes before he heard movement behind him.

"Always such an animal Peter..."

Peter's entire body froze at the voice and a cold chill that reached to his very core. Slowly Peter's head turned to see Ra's al Ghul himself, standing only a few feet away, looking at him with a look that only ever seem to be present on the man's face whenever he looked at or spoke to Peter...

Disappointment.

"Y-Your not really here..." Peter said, his voice sounded like a whisper and a shout at the same time, overlapping and distorting it.

"Are you so certain Peter?" Ra's asked as he slowly stepped around Peter and stared down at the recent corpse Peter made with his bare hands and clicked his tongue in distaste "Such brutality. No finesse, no restraint, only the need to cause monumental trauma and destruction. Unbefitting of a Shadow..."

"Like your any better" Peter hissed in a bitter tone as he glared at Ra's al Ghul... or at the very least, the man's image.

"I learned to control my inner demons, Peter" Ra's said with a slow shake of his head "But you? You are ruled by them"

Suddenly he was behind Peter's his lips just centimeters from Peter's ears as he spoke in a low, cold hiss.

"I did not banish you from the League because of your feelings for my daughter Peter... I banished you because underneath your 'charm', your mindless quips and tasteless jokes, I saw something that my beloved daughter refuses to either see or acknowledge... I saw a monster"

And just as suddenly as Ra's appeared, he was gone, leaving Peter standing alone in the restroom with a body that had a pool of blood growing underneath it. The wall was covered in blood and brain matter along with a few bits of skull. Already the smell of blood was filling the room and it wouldn't be long until someone came in and found the result of Peter's actions.

"I SAW A MONSTER"

"I SAW A MONSTER"

"I SAW- PRETTY RED, PRETTY RED- MONSTER- PRETTY BLOODY-"

"-MONSTER-"

"UNBEFITTING- SHADOW-"

"PRETTY RED, PRETTY BLOODY RED!"

...

Few women have caught Talia's eye over the years.

Be it or the desire of sexual intercourse or as a possible ally or even a worthy adversary. Many of them, Talia noted, tended to be rather one dimensional in her opinion, caring for only the most basic and often pointless of things. But the woman that sat across from Talia as several servants set the table between them with a wide variety of exotic foods and drink, left Talia wondering if this woman will be in her bed by the end of the night, at the edge of her sword in the next several minutes, or gone and to never be seen again by the end of this meal.

"I must say Talia, you always know how to impress" the woman said as she eyed the food with an amused smirk "I've sat at tables with kings and I have to admit, you put their spreads to shame"

"Thank you, Samantha" Talia said with a chuckle as she took a sip of her wine.

Samantha Vanaver is the most recent head of the Gotham charter of the Court of Owls, a cunning and beautiful woman. To many in Gotham, she seemed to be a well meaning if albeit clumsy humanitarian that strived to make Gotham a better place for all. But to those that truly knew her, Talia being among those few, she was ruthless, methodical and may be a few steps away from full blown insanity. Which was why that she made sure to have Natalia and Silencer just outside he dining room, ready to respond at a moment's notice. She'd prefer to have Peter in the room with her like how Samantha has her Talon, but he was with Jade and Psylocke and Laura had been sent out earlier to watch over Silvermane until Talia can meet with him in person to finally begin going over their plan of attack on the Black Mask.

"So, what brings you back to Gotham Talia?" Samantha asked as she reached for a glass of red wine "I doubt it's our charm, or it's resident 'hero' and your two's little runt"

"Perhaps I simply wanted to stop by and congratulate my friend on her recent accomplishment as the head of the Court of Owls?" Talia suggested with an amused smirk.

"We both know that's a lie" Samantha said with a giggle as she took a sip of her drink, her cheeks a little red from the wine "But I'll accept it, if for nothing else than my vanity's sake"

Talia chuckled at this as she took a sip of her own glass and let out a sigh of content, it'd been days since she's felt this peaceful.

"I'm told you have a new bodyguard" Samantha said as she looked around the dining room as if expecting to see the person lingering in the shadows as a counter to her Talon's presence "A man, if what I hear is correct"

"It's true" Talia said with a small shrug though inwardly she was less than pleased Sam had heard of that "An old friend of mine from when I was a child"

"He must be quite remarkable if he's still alive" Samantha teased.

"He is" Talia nodded as she took another sip of her drink.

"I must meet him if that's the case" Samantha decaled with a nod "After all, your quite picky on the type of people you actually choose to make your friend"

"Perhaps when he returns and your still here. He's out with Jade, tracking down a possible lead that may prove to be key player in the coming days" Talia said.

"I still think you should've come to me" Samantha scoffed "My Talons are more than capable of dealing with Black Mask. All you have to do is make sure this Silvermane you wish to replace him with will know his place and provide the necessary tribute to us once the dust settles"

"I was under the impression that you and the Court were otherwise occupied with something else" Talia said with a pointed look "Or more accurately, someone else"

"We can do both" Samantha said with a scowl of anger.

"Perhaps" Talia chuckled as she leaned back in her seat with a thoughtful look on her face "Be that as it may, do not hesitate to ask for my assistance if it is required. It's the least I can do for you after all of the generosity you've offered me and my people since we arrived"

Though secretly Talia thinks that Samantha could've set her up in a better accommodation than what she was using now. The Penthouse was lovely, she'll admit, but it was a bit too large for her tastes, too many possible gaps in her people's defenses that could be exploited.

'It also doesn't help that half the staff here work for the Court and some of them may in fact be Talons' Talia thought privately.

While Talia shared a comfortable peace between the Parliament of Owls, she was aware that there were those within the ancient organization that held Talia and her late father in a rather unflatteringly light and wouldn't hesitate to cut her down if given the chance. Thankfully her friendship with Samantha had deterred a number of would be assassins though Talia knew that was only because of Sam's word that Talia and Leviathan would make irreplaceable allies.

"Much as I'd like that my deaf, I'm going to have to politely decline" Samantha said with a shake of her head followed by a smile of regret "But this is our fight and we must see it finished... one way or another"

"I understand" Talia said with a nod of acceptance before she glanced at the man that stood behind Samantha with an appraising look "Who is this man if you don't mind me asking? I couldn't help but notice that he's the same Talon that you've brought with you almost every time we've met and I'm beginning to feel a bit rude not asking for his name"

"His name is William..." Samantha said as she glanced back at the man with a fond expression on her face "He's served the Court well for decades and is arguably our finest warrior. Few can hope to match him. When the time is right, he's been selected to be the one to face Wayne and kill him"

Talia quirked a brow at this "You think he can match Bruce blow for blow?"

"I understand your doubt, but believe me, he'll be more than a match for the 'World's Greatest Detective'" Samantha said one of the Batman's titles with obvious sarcasm.

Talia nodded at this as she took in the Talon's presence, she could sense that this man stoop a cut above the others she's seen, than again she's only met two that she's aware of. But this William did strike a similar presence that she dared to say rivaled her beloved's or even Peter's.

'This man bares watching, there's no doubt about that' Talia thought with a thoughtful look on her face before she raised her glass to William and gave him a smile that was neither friendly nor threating, but rather a sort of grim amusement "I wish you luck William, truly I do"

The Talon's reply was a very slight bow of his head.

As Talia turned her attention to her food, and prepared to finally dig into it, Silencer suddenly burst into the room, causing Samantha's Talon to place himself between her and Talia's guard, two knives drawn and at the ready.

"What is the meaning of this Honor?" Talia asked with annoyance.

"Mistress it's-" Silencer began before she stopped and casted a brief glance of uncertainty towards Samantha and her Talon.

"What is it Silencer?" Talia repeated with a bit more annoyance in her tone.

The short blonde haired woman tensed slightly before she answered "It's Jade and Peter mistress. Something's happened"

Talia's brow furrowed as she suddenly stood up, out of the corner of her eye she noticed Samantha retrieve her phone from her purse and stared at it's screen "What do you mean?"

Silencer opened her mouth to respond before Samantha beat her to it.

"It seems your friend has gone and made a mess of the Iceberg Lounge" Samantha said as she stood up and slowly wandered over to Talia and handed her the device.

Talia took the phone and stared down at the screen and felt her eyes widen at what she saw being recorded.

...

Several minutes ago...

...

'This was now how I thought things would be going' Jade thought as she sat at her and Peter's table with a annoyed scowl.

It'd been over ten minutes since Peter had departed to the restroom for whatever reason and in that time, over three men have attempted to approach Jade for one thing or another. She'd turned them all down of course, she was here on a mission, and admittedly to see if she could ensure Peter's presence in her bed tonight, but her actions were beginning to draw attention. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a posted security guard watching her table closely since she dismissed her third would be suitor. It wasn't out of possible carnal interest like the previous men, but more of making sure that she didn't do anything rash to a fourth man or woman.

'Where the hell are you Parker?' Jade thought with growing impatience as she pretended to take a sip of her water in attempt to distract herself.

She was just about to say to hell with it all and seek out Peter herself and demand to know what he was doing when said man suddenly appeared before her with a panicked expression on his face.

"Feeling be-" Jade began before she saw the blood on the man's arm, chest and a little on his face. Alarm bells went off in her head as she stood "What happened?"

"We need to go, now!" Peter whispered as his eyes darted around the room.

"What. Happened?" Jade repeated with more force before she noticed the security guard watching her earlier had begun to take a step towards them before he paused and his hand went up to his ear piece.

She had no idea what was being said over the guard's radio net, but it wasn't good if the look on the man's face was anything to go by. She shot a accusatory glare at Peter before he suddenly grabbed her and began to drag her towards the stairs.

"I'll explain on the way" Peter said in a hushed tone as his eyes kept darting everywhere.

"Peter, you need to calm down, your beginning to attract unwanted attention" Jade hissed as she tried to discreetly pry her hand free without causing an even bigger scene than the two already were.

She didn't need to see behind her to know that the guard likely noticed their little spectacle and was already following them, possibly calling for backup while he was at it. He was too far away to notice the blood on Peter's clothes and Peter's back was to the man earlier so he would miss the blood on his face, but once he got closer and had him turned around, even a blind man would see that Peter's trip to the restroom didn't exactly go as planned.

It was than a random security guard suddenly came up the stairs, his gaze flickering from one table to another before he froze as Peter and Jade came into view. His eyes darted over Peter's appearance and rested firmly on the blood soaked sleeve and the small patches on his face.

"You, stop!" the man said as he moved to intercept.

"GET DOWN!" Peter said as he let go of Jade and reached down to grab the edge of a table next to him.

"Peter what the hell are-" she began before Peter suddenly lifted the table up, causing the people who were sitting at it to yelp in surprise and send their food and drinks spiraling to the floor, and threw it towards the shocked guard.

Jade gaped as the table soared through the air like a baseball thrown by a professional pitcher and slammed into him hard enough for the wood to shatter. The guard went tumbling down the stairs as people around Jade and Peter began to scream and panic at the sudden violent display. Jade turned back towards the guard trailing them and saw him reaching for his sidearm. Without battening an eye, Jade reached down and grabbed one of the forks that fell off the table and threw it right towards the man's hand, causing him to let out a pain yell as it pieced his knuckles just as he was wrapping his hand around the grip of his weapon.

Peter turned and noticed the wounded guard before he looked down at the ground for something to use before Jade grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the stairs.

"Come on, we need to get the hell out of here!" she yelled over the panicking patrons and shouts from several nearby security guards that saw the commotion from across the room on both the second and first floors and were already rushing towards them.

In hindsight, Jade realized as she and Pete were intercepted by several guards at the base of the stairs, going to a high end casino slash nightclub with a meta human that seemed to be a unhinged sociopath was probably not such a good idea.

"Get the fuck on your knees!" one f the guards shouted as he aimed his pistol at Peter and Jade before Peter was suddenly in front of him and a dull ache erupted from his chest and he found himself struggling to breath.

The man looked down to see that Peter's hand in his chest before it was ripped out, along with his still beating heart, and thrown into one of his coworkers.

Peter than kicked the man's still standing body away into a group of people that were rushing for the exit while he turned his attention to several others, his spider-sense flaring like crazy.

All around him people, dressed in rags and blood, were rushing towards him with knives, guns, stones, whatever they could carry. He looked around and saw that he was no longer standing in the Iceberg Lounge, instead he was in the Pit again and he was being surrounded. His breaths came in short bursts as he turned towards the nearest man running towards him and sent a punch to his face with enough force to send the head flying off his body and into a person standing behind him. Peter turned and caught another man attempting to hit him with something and easily snapped his arm before ripping it clean out of the man's socket.

"Kill him! Kill him and get the bitch!" someone in the back of the mob yelled, though to Peter it sounded like a wail.

"JADE!" Peter yelled as he looked around for signs of the deadly woman but all he saw as more and more people rushing towards him.

He took a step towards several of the men before they held their knives up and suddenly Peer's body was rattled with several painful impacts along his chest and gut that strangely felt like bullet wounds. Peter looked down and saw he was bleeding before he glared back up at the men, their faces covered with blood stained rags. With a yell Peter leaped at them, knocking several to the ground while he grabbed one by the neck with both hands and squeezed. Bone and muscle were crushed under his grip and the man's body went limp just as quickly before Peter lifted it up and used it as an makeshift club.

"JADE?!" Peter shouted again before he suddenly found himself back in the Iceberg Casino.

Peter blinked in surprise as his eyes darted around and widened at the state of the room around him.

Numerous men and woman laid in various states of dismemberment all around him, some with limbs cleanly torn off while others looked like they were beaten into literal mush. Tables were upturned and the ground was littered with the shattered remnants of plates, glasses, bowls, chairs, knives, spoons and forks. Peter made to move before his body was racked with pain and he fell to his knee with a growl of pain.

"D-Dammit..." Peter hissed as he found it difficult to breath.

He looked up and searched for signs of Jade but found none, the only other people that were present were a few guards and patrons, moaning on the ground in pain, their bodies broken and ruined. He could hear screaming and yelling outside along with the sounds of police sirens approaching. Knowing he needed to move, Peter began to push himself back to his feet before his spider-sense went off as something was pressed into the back of his head followed by a distinct 'click'. Peter froze and slowly turned his head slightly so he could somewhat see over his shoulder and down the barrel of a custom made pistol of some sort.

"Now, let's try this again..." the newcomer said, their voice muffled from the red helmet covering their head "What's the League of Shadows doing in Gotham?"

Peter remained silent as he stared down at the Red Hood while several police officers entered the Lounge, their weapons trained on the duo.

...

And done.

Next chapter, Unexpected complications...