The physical examination report showed that Peter Parker's body was very healthy, with the only issue being that it didn't align with the super strength he displayed.
Batman had secretly conducted physical examinations on many individuals with superpowers, like Superman, off the record. In reality, the vast majority of apparatus used for physical examination on the human race could not display Superman's physical condition. Even the special equipment Batman custom-made, once applied to Superman, would either show "beep beep beep" beyond the display range or literally explode on the spot.
But the magic of Spider Man's physical data lies in the fact that his skeletal strength, muscle density, or cell activity all fell within the normal human range, or to be more precise, at the healthiest average values, without any deficiency.
But if we go by this data representation, Spider Man doesn't seemingly have such endurance and strength. In other words, Spider Man's superpower doesn't come from his specialized body structure, but from another kind of non-physical layer of mutation.
"You've discovered the problem, haven't you?" Peter tilted his head slightly, held his hands on both sides of his body, and then shrugged: "The principle of my spider mutation is still a mystery to this day. Other Spider Men from different universes told me it might originate from the Spider Totem, but now that I've changed universes and my abilities are still present, it means that the mutation is occurring in my body."
"But who cares where it comes from, as long as it still works." Peter casually sat down in a nearby chair, his expression and posture both extremely relaxed.
Batman frowned, and drooped the corners of his mouth, clearly not agreeing with Spider Man's viewpoint. If it were the past, the other Robins seeing this expression of his would already be able to guess what he was thinking.
Then they would further explain their viewpoints, trying to convince Batman, or let Batman persuade them as usual.
However, Spider Man didn't dwell on this topic for even a second. He sat on the chair, with his arms crossed over his lap, his eyes wide open as he looked at Batman and said: "We are done with the examination, where are we going for an adventure next? There must be a lot of crimes in this city that need to be dealt with, right?"
"Your suit…."
Only then did Peter realize that Batman's mention of the suit wasn't for him to remove the mask. He looked down at his suit, pulled at the fabric on his chest, then looked up at Batman with puzzled eyes and asked: "What's wrong with my suit?"
"I think you need a new one."
"But this one is already new, Mr. Stark just made it last week. I haven't even worn it for three days."
"Whose sidekick are you?"
"Yours, of course. But this is indeed a new outfit, and it is in perfect condition, not worn out"
"But it's not suitable for my sidekick."
"But that would be a waste."
"I am quite wealthy too."
Peter's eyes widened, he quickly caught up with Batman, extending his arms out in front of him and said," This has nothing to do with having money or not, we shouldn't waste things like this. We buy or make new things in order to use them until they wear out. If it's broken or worn out, we should try to fix it as much as possible. Isn't that common sense?"
"But it's not suitable…."
"It fits perfectly well. Not restrictive at all and has a lot of useful features."
"But the situations you encounter in this city could be different from what you're used to, so you'll need equipment suited to the conditions."
"Nothing different." Peter fixed his gaze on Batman and said, "Didn't I beat a bank robber while wearing this suit before? That proves it's perfectly capable of handling criminals, so why do you keep insisting I change it?"
Batman was questioning this internally as well.
Seeing Batman's contemplative expression, Peter suddenly said, as if understanding: "Oh, I get it. You think this suit doesn't suit your aesthetic, right? You don't like the red and blue color scheme?"
Batman felt like he'd been cornered.
However, Peter complained: "Then just say it. If you thought it was ugly, I would have changed it."
"What would you do if I gave you a black suit?"
"I'll make do and wear it." Peter shrugged: "You've already made it, so if I don't wear it, it's still a waste. Besides, I'm your sidekick. If I'm parading around in a color you don't like, it should annoy you and you probably wouldn't be able to focus on dealing with enemies. If you think I'd be more pleasing to your eye in black, there's no reason not to concede."
Batman stared at Peter for a moment, then said: "You can wear red and blue, but it'd be better not to print any pattern on yourself other than the bat."
"Why's that?" Peter chased after Batman who was moving forward again, insistently asking: "Is it because many people in this city have arachnophobia? Or do you just love bats and want everyone's outfit to have a bat print?"
"Because the darkness can permeate every unique symbol." Batman said with a deep and hoarse voice: "Making them evil, insane; they will seep into your skin, contaminating your heart."
Peter unexpectedly had to catch up to Batman again. Turning around to face him while walking backward, he questioned, "Buddy, could you explain that in simpler terms? Let me guess. Does the rain in this city have an issue that can cause my suit to mutate and go crazy?"
Batman halted, slowly squinting his eyes, and gave a suspicious look. Seeing this, Peter shrugged again and said, "It's not that hard to guess. Ever since I came to this city my Spider-sense has been giving off weak warnings, but I haven't detected any danger."
"Ever since I defeated the bank robber, I noticed that this alert becomes weaker indoors and almost completely disappears when I come into your base. So, the only thing that remains consistent outdoors is this rain, am I right?"
"Not completely." Batman did not praise him but in the Batman style, he affirmed his observation regardless of whether the other party could understand or not. And under normal circumstances, the other usually doesn't understand and questions where they went wrong.
However, Peter revealed a radiant smile and said, "That means I was at least partially correct, my intuition isn't bad, right?"
Batman remained silent, walking silently ahead, with Peter persistently pursuing him, trying to convince him.
"If you're worried about my uniform getting mutated, or if you're worried the rainwater will contaminate it, I can just wear casual clothing. You can simply prepare a mask for me, to cover my face."
"You will also get contaminated."
"I won't."
Batman paused, it had been years since he had heard such a definite tone. Even Superman, after delving deeper into understanding Batman, wouldn't refute his words with such conviction.
Peter continued to stare at Batman with his innocent eyes, saying, "I won't get contaminated, I am a superhero after all."
Batman's adam's apple moved violently, but he didn't even know what he was excited about, then he took a deep breath and said.
"You can't go out without your equipment, that's a rule."
Once again, against Batman's expectations, Peter didn't argue further but simply nodded and agreed, "Alright, you're the boss, you make the rules."
Batman led Peter to the equipment manufacturing workshop. Located on the lowest level of the Batcave, it's a vast space that connects the laboratory, machine shop, and the product warehouse. The equipment in there is varied and impressive, with some devices appearing capable of destroying an entire star system.
As soon as they entered the lab, Peter immediately silenced. Rapidly grabbing a chair beside the lab table, he sat down near the lab door, watching Batman's retreating figure.
Halfway in, Batman stopped and turned back to Peter, asking, "Aren't you coming in?"
"I'll wait here for you."
"You have scientific research capabilities."
"Yes, I do."
"Then you don't..."
Batman's words trailed off mid-sentence. He doesn't need help or an audience nor does he need a chatterbox hovering around. What did it matter to him whether Peter joined him in the lab or not?
However, it just didn't coincide with his perception of Peter. Shouldn't Spider Man have excitedly joined him in the lab, fully showcasing his scientific talent?
"Mr. Stark once said that his lab is the soil where the seeds of his ideas grow, and this soil doesn't need the weeds growing in my brain. Of course, I know he was joking. He says this to everyone. But I know he doesn't like being disturbed while doing experiments, so I won't go in."
Batman's lips moved slightly, but he just said, "Suit yourself."
About half an hour later, Batman brought a set of uniform. Ninety percent of the uniform fabric is a non-reflective black, with a decorative narrow stripe pattern around the neckline, sleeves, and waist, which glows slightly with the intertwining of red and blue.
"Wow." Peter exclaimed, taking the uniform from Batman. He held it against himself and then smiled at Batman, saying, "I've thought about making myself a pure black uniform before, but I was worried people might mistake me for a robber. Now I finally have the chance to try. This is going to look cool. I'm going to change."
After Peter went into the room to change, Batman was still pondering over the words he had just said. Soon, Peter emerged, dressed in the new uniform, adapting his movements to it as if he had sprouted new limbs.
The new uniform still retained the spider pattern, but the once prominent design had now turned into subtle shades that were hardly visible to the naked eye. The decorative stripes were also less noticeable than before.
However, this subtly added an alternate charm to Spider Man. Unlike Batman's dark and serious demeanour when clad in black, Spider Man managed to pull off a stylish and futuristic vibe wearing the carbon black uniform.
"Do I look like an evil robot?" Spider Man twirled around to examine his new outfit. Before Batman could respond, Spider Man hastily added, "I don't mean it in a bad way, it's just that I feel it doesn't align with my friendly neighborhood image. Are superheroes with this image likely to be mistaken for criminals? They wouldn't point guns and shoot at me, would they?"
"Even if you didn't look this way, they would still point guns and shoot at you."
"Huh?"
Batman heaved a sigh internally, then turned around and walked out of the door, saying, "Come with me, there's only one step left."
"What's that?"
"Getting to know Gotham."