Chapter 1
Summary:
Potential warning:
-Loss
-Thoughts of death
-Iffy suicide
"Tears run down Peter’s face as he looks over the city he has lived for, died for, and loved for years. They never completely loved Spider-Man but they hated the man behind the mask more. All he did wasn’t for nothing. He remembers the little girl he saved from an abusive father and how safe she felt with him. He remembered the old ladies he walked home, caring their groceries. He remembered Fluffy the cat, who left him looking like he fought a blender and lost. May laughed at him for them. He saved plenty but not the one’s that mattered. He didn’t save May or Gwen.
An explosion bursts in the distance. A scream racks the air. Peter lets himself fall. The free-fall wiping the tears off his face and hugging his body."
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Tears run down Peter’s face as he looks over the city he has lived for, died for, and loved for years. They never completely loved Spider-Man but they hated the man behind the mask more. All he did wasn’t for nothing. He remembers the little girl he saved from an abusive father and how safe she felt with him. He remembered the old ladies he walked home, caring their groceries. He remembered Fluffy the cat, who left him looking like he fought a blender and lost. May laughed at him for them. He saved plenty but not the one’s that mattered. He didn’t save May or Gwen.
He messed up Strange's spell. He ruins everything and everyone he touches. At least MJ and Ned will be safer without him. A cold chill needled into his bones, giving his weariness more strength to overpower him.
He wonders if falling from this height would kill him. Leaning over the edge, he peers below, only his feet holding him up. It wouldn’t. But it would hurt. Maybe a month or two in the hospital with a warm bed and food would help. No, he’s be a shitty person if he took away a bed from someone who needed it.
An explosion bursts in the distance. A scream racks the air. Peter lets himself fall. The wind wiping the tears off his face and hugging his body. As the ground nears closer and closer, Peter slips on his mask and webs to a building, arm snapping straight. His wristlets beep, warning him of low webs.
It doesn’t take long to make it to the fire. Peter’s breath hitches when he sees what building it is. His last connection to May, the F.E.A.S.T. center she spent so much time at, is gone. Flames burning away supplies, people, hard work, and memories. Memories of him and May dishing out food, funny quips being thrown back and forth between the two. The smell of soups and bread warming the air. He remembers doing homework with a few of the homeless folks, them trying to help him with his advanced classes. Laughter filling everyone's hearts. He could still feel the love and joy the building and the work brought May. All of those memories and feelings were getting burned away, both physically and mentally. He wasn’t aware he could lose more. His mask stuck to his skin painfully, silent tears freely flowing.
People are running every which way. The heroic civilians run to the fire, some running in to help and others escorting burnt victims somewhere safe. The more sane civilians run, trying to find somewhere safe to stop. A random man in the middle of the street is laughing, a gun in one hand and a phone in the other. He presses something on the phone and another explosion detonates down the street in what looks to be an apartment building.
Spider-Man shoots out a web, snapping the device from the man's hand. The man cackles and aims a gun at Peter. The villain yells out, “My name is Gillian the Villain! I don’t know what wannabe hero you are but you should crawl back to your web or it will be off with your head! Heroes they paint as great, rushing into rescue and mend fate. But tell me, what is their reflection? A lonely existence, devoid of any real connection. Have you seen? No fans, no team. Alone they’ve been, lost in their dream. Those who stand beside them have their fate decided. All because their hero’s confided.”
Gillian the Villain, for having such a stupid name, was right. Being a hero got everyone around him killed. It got Ben and May killed. It got Gwen killed. Is it really worth losing all those that love to save a few?
The man fires a few lazy shots at the masked vigilante. Peter dodges and webs the gun up, using the last of the webs in that arm. Peter walks at the man in a half-hearted attempt to contain him. He wants to grieve. He wants peace. Why is he always the hero, always the strong one? The man backs up a few paces until he falls, a web trapping one of his feet on the asphalt.
The villain at the masked vigilante and gives him a bloody smile, "Heroes hold the creed, that sacrifices breed a unique seed. But face it, you're a rarity, an oddity in a world's clarity. Your wish to aid, I'll confess, it does impress, but it's also a plea, I must assess. An attempt, so dire, to prove your fire.
"You're no hero, just a guise so hollow, seeking to follow. Hoping deeds might fill, an emptiness with an ache still. But let me share a bitter slice, kid: no matter your might, always alone in sight. Forever misconstrued, a loveless solitude. And what's worse, you know I’m right."
The man pulls out another gun and aims it at Peter. He is out of webs, out of energy, and out of resolve. His spidey-sense sings to move, he knows he can. But he just stares at the gun, forcing himself to stay still, to ignore his sense, and watches as the bullet flies closer and closer until finally, he feels a sharp pain in his head. He smiles lightly under the mask. It’s time to see May again. He would get to see Tony in the future. It's all going to be okay. Then there is nothing.
Notes:
Remind me to never write a villain with rhymes everything again. I had to ask ChatGPT for some help with that because yikes.
I kept Tony alive bc I'm sour he died in the movies but I am not currently planning a reunion.
The chapters from this point on get longer and better. I could not find the will to write this chapter
Chapter 2
Summary:
Peter wakes in the Lazarus machines, makes a friend, and prepares to head into Gotham.
"The boy cracked open the door and peered into the dark and gloomy street outside. Dim and flickering streetlights accented the questionable figures smoking in a nearby alley. Gunshots come from here and there in the distance, making Peter wince. The smell of urine, feces, rot, smoke, and drugs sat heavily in the air, refusing to give welcome to the Gotham newcomers."
TW: Vomiting (lying in vomit), mentions of abuse
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Peter wakes up in a vat of goo, lungs burning. He flails, breaking the glass. His body hits the ground hard, falling into a mixture of goo and glass shards. His body weakly coughs and throws up everything. He lies there for a few moments aching, wondering where is. Then everything comes back. May dying. Everyone forgetting him. The heat of the fire. The screams. The smoke that burned his nose. The bullet to his head. Him not being dead. If he was, this was a shitty afterlife. A sob wracks his body and turns his stomach. Bile and goo come up again, joining the mixture he is lying in. Eventually, sleep wraps up his aching mind and body, leaving him lying naked in goo, vomit, and blood.
When Peter wakes, his body refuses to move. His head hurt. Everything was burning. He wants to be back sleeping blissfully again. His eyes lazily move around the room. There are a few other tanks around, some with bodies floating in them and some without. A few are broken, goo dripping into the puddles on the floor. The place is cold and dark, without any human heartbeat around, although he could faintly hear the sounds of cars and gunshots nearby. There are a few doors around the room, some peeling blue lockers, a desk with messy files on it, and a sterile, metal table.
The faint sounds of bubbles draw his attention back to the tanks. A little girl had begun choking. He forced his aching body up, a flare of pain stabbing his brain. He rams his shoulder into the glass and carefully catches the girl before she lands and gets cut by the broken glass. A sharp pain in his forearms where the girl was being held brought notice to the glass shards poking out his skin, a few healed over completely.
He carefully flips her onto her stomach and pats her back until most of the goo is on the floor. Peter can her heart beat slowly and her lungs rattle with each breath. Peter sets gently on a cold, metal medical examination table and scans the room for where clothing and medical supplies might be stored. He finds a few scratchy and plasticky hospital gowns in a cabinet that he sets aside for emergencies. There are some locked lockers that, with a little bit of super strength, open to reveal some bags with spare clothes and other office supplies. Turning his attention to the hooks on the wall, he spies various thickness jackets and a few lab coats. A haze clouds his mind as his frustration grows and he lashes out a wall. The pain in his hand as punching concrete shocked him out of the rage. He shook his head, took a deep breath, beat back any more hints of anger, and decided to just use the jackets.
He grabs as many of the jackets as he can fit in his arms and approached the table again. Carefully, Peter wraps the kids up in one, rolling the lightest jacket into a pillow for her head and the rest to support her as he rolls her into recovery position. The kid didn’t seem to have any injuries anywhere. Her body was quite small and the goo slicked back her dark brown hair. Her hair has the strangest steak of white at the base of her head.
Looking down at himself, Peter noticed the extent of his injuries and begins pulling out the smaller shards of glass that haven’t been healed under his skin, flinching slightly as they began to bleed. There were a few larger ones in his thigh, ribs, and forearm so he uses his super hearing and pressed the surrounding area to tell if the glass if close to an artery. None were too close to remove although they did start bleeding steadily. The smaller ones had already begun to clot. He retrieves the medical supply kit that he had seen and dug through it to find a scalpel. He starts at his feet, carefully feeling the skin and cutting out any shards of glass that got healed under.
After finishing up getting all the glass out, he began digging through the bags in the locker finally finding the best-fitting clothes from each bag. He ended up putting on a worn-down pair of jeans that were a little small, a simple shirt, and shoes that were a size too large. None of the bags contained socks or underwear which made the too-small jeans very awkward so with a moment of quick thinking, he wraps his feet in bandages and uses the rest for underwear.
As he finishes, the girl begins coughing again and startles awake, looking around with a terrified expression on her face. Peter walks over with hands visible, speaking softly, telling her she’s okay and that he’s safe and here to help. She reveals her name is Teresa. Peter asks if he could do a quick health check now that she was awake, just to make sure she was okay. After a timid response, he approaches slowly and asks her where it hurts, feeling gently on her scalp for injuries, and checking on her eyes and mouth. Her body is warmer than it should be and her lungs are still raspy, likely a fever and pneumonia.
Finally, he asked what the last thing she remembered was and after a moment, she began breathing heavily, clutching at her chest and backing away from Peter the best she could on the table. Peter, recognizing the panic attack, begins trying to talk her down and sits on a desk within her view, dramatically taking deep breaths and telling her about himself. Once she is calm, Peter apologizes for pushing and asks for her forgiveness. She gives him a hug and refuses to let go, still crying a little.
Peter sits with her a little while rocking her until she falls asleep. He gently sets her on the pile of jackets on the table and begins looking around for anything more. The doors in the room lead to a hallway, a bunkroom with two bunk beds crammed in, and a storage closet. His eyes are drawn to the desk as he finishes peeking behind each door and there he finds files for all of the people in the room. Some died naturally, and others were murdered in various ways. Peter eventually finds a file that fits the girl the best, minus the eye color and weird hairstreak. It claims she is 6 and her name is Teresa Fitzpatrick. Her file states her cause of death with asphyxiation and that it was father her who suffocated her a few months ago. No wonder she freaked out. Peters's own death flashed in his mind. He begins to sweat and feel the fire burning nearby. The pain in his head flared and he winced.
He takes a deep breath, running a hand through his crunchy hair, and buries the memories, determined to her to safety. He quickly memorized every detail on the file he could before continuing to look through the files until he finds his own. His name and birthday are listed as unknown but his death was listed as a gunshot wound to the head. His death was listed between 8-10 before experimentation began. He had been in the tubes for almost a year. It’s been almost two years since May’s death. Did he go back in time? Did that mean he could save her? His heart sped up for a moment as hope began to blossom. Get the kid to safety and then find May.
There aren’t any computers in the lab, which is smart because technology is easily tracked if you don't have someone skilled behind the scenes. Maybe that’s why Tony hasn’t already found him. His heart panged as he remembered Tony didn’t know who he was anymore.
With another glance at the girl, the boy's heart hurt. She needed a home, someone to love her. The abuse from her father will have lasting effects and she needs stability to be able to manage them. Dying has to be traumatic to her and who knows what other consequences it may have. Peter resolves to find a clinic or shelter to get the kid some medical care and after, a stable home. Humming in thought, Peter debated the best course of action. He would stick with her until he got her somewhere safe. He couldn’t ruin her or her chances of a normal life. He didn’t have the knowledge to help her if her fever or lungs got worse. He had to get her out this forsaken lab.
Peter gently lifts up the sleeping girl, tying the largest jacket in a sling to hide her and free up his hands in case they ran into trouble. He braces himself and heads towards one of the doors in the room, one he knew led to a hallway.
Warily tip-toeing down the dark and frankly creepy hallway, he jumped, almost clinging to the ceiling, every time he heard the occasional bang or a rat scuttling. Finally, he makes it to the end of the hallway and opens the door a sliver to peek through. Inside is a small room with a ladder in the center and nothing else. The door lets out a horrendous creak that needles into his ears as he opens it all the way. The ladder in the next room led up to wood boards covering a hole. After carefully lifting those up to peek, Peter sees a room with wooden floors, dingy walls with peeling paint, and flickering lights in a nearby room but the room they were in was dark. He slowly climbs into the room and sees a small table with three chairs scattered and tipped over around it. A small, dark, and sharp object was lodged into the wall behind the table. Peter carefully walked over and saw it was like a ninja star but in the shape of a bat. There was some blood on the floor (and is that a tooth?) and a half-finished game of cards on the table.
Peter couldn’t hear anyone inside this building so he carefully poked his head into the small room off to the side and saw a small cot, a bucket filled with pee, and a map of a city called “Gotham” with the dots and a code next to each one. Peter was easily able to recognize his and Teresa’s codes having memorized their files, his being in some random alleyway and Teresa’s in a residential area by a building.
Peter memorized the map quickly and decided to leave the building and go find help.
The boy cracked open the door and peered into the dark and gloomy street outside. Dim and flickering streetlights accented the questionable figures smoking in a nearby alley. Gunshots come from here and there in the distance, making Peter wince. The smell of urine, feces, rot, smoke, and drugs sat heavily in the air, refusing to give welcome to the Gotham newcomers.
Notes:
Kudos and comments are always appreciated.
At the time of writing this (Aug 16, 2023), chapters 1-4 are written and chapters 5-8 have their bones, just no true words so far
Chapter 3
Summary:
Peter makes some friends and enemies and goes to the doctor.
"“Who are you,” he demanded, looking at the figure clad in black with a blue bird or hawk or something on the front.
“Have I really been out of town that long?” He muttered. Throwing a cheerful tone in his voice, the vigilante states, ”I’m Nightwing. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of me. I work with the other bats in the area to keep Gotham safe although I have been out of town helping out another city for a while.”
TW: Creepy men (very mild), mentions of abuse (vague references mostly)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Peter tries to figure out what street he’s on in Gotham but the street signs are covered in colorful graffiti, some of a strange smiling clown face, others had flowers and umbrellas. Deciding to take a chance, the boy walks up to the group smoking and asks if they know where he is and where the nearest clinic is. One of the men, teeth black and sparse, smiles, and says, “Oh ho, an ickle boy! Don’t worry, we can take of you, sweet cheeks.”
The man gave him a suggestive smile while throwing his cigarette on the ground. The men around him began pulling a variety of knives and even a gun. Peter’s heart rate spiked, and his eyes widened before he quickly bolted and ran far enough away that he has a headstart to duck into an empty ally and climb the wall. He carefully hides out of sight, listening to the group run by, spitting out curses and threats the whole time. Really talking while running doesn’t help you go any faster.
He sighs, lies on his back for a moment, lets his heart slow, and just listens to Teresa’s, ensuring the chase didn’t wake her. He reached a hand in the bundle and felt her head. She was getting warmer and the sound in her lungs worse. He made the right choice looking for help even if it hadn’t gotten anywhere yet.
While distracted, he missed the sounds of nearly-silent footsteps approaching. A masked face leaned over Peter and asked “You alright there?”
Peter shot up, barely missing hitting his head on the other man’s. He stands up and defensively wraps an arm around the kid.
“Who are you,” he demanded, looking at the figure clad in black with a blue bird or hawk or something on the front.
“Have I really been out of town that long?” He muttered. Throwing a cheerful tone in his voice, the vigilante states, ”I’m Nightwing. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of me. I work with the other bats in the area to keep Gotham safe although I have been out of town helping out another city for a while.”
Peter relaxed a little at the fact that the man was a vigilante and not some weirdo or villain. He was, however, concerned about where he was both in location to a clinic or universe. It was possible he didn’t know every vigilante but he made a point to know as many as he could, past and present, being one himself (he will never admit but it was for superhero trivia with MJ and Ned.) Was he in a different universe or did his appearance back in time mess with things already? It can’t have. Clearly, this vigilante didn’t just start. Focus, back to the kid.
“I- I’m not sure where I am. I don’t know where the nearest clinic and I need to get to one soon.”
The masked vigilante's body language shifted from unthreatening to concerned quickly and asked, “What do you need medical treatment for? I know a place does free medical care but if it’s serious, I can lead you somewhere else.”
Peter grows still at the thought of having to reveal the kid on his chest. “Um. I kinda got injured and I think I need some help with a few of the wounds”
He immediately internally smacked his head. That was dumb. If this vigilante- Nightwing, told the clinic why he was there, they may check for injuries and notice that he has healed completely.
“Oh! That’s easy then. I’ll take you to the clinic on 3rd Street. It’s funded by the Wayne Foundation and can treat most minor ailments there. Are you able to walk a few miles?”
“I can walk.”
“Awesome! I think there’s a fire escape on the other side of the building we can climb down to get to the road.”
A flare of fear went through Peter at the thought of facing more of those hostile and creepy men with a child strapped on his chest but he pushed it down upon hearing another small rattling breath from the kid.
Nightwing paused and glanced at Peter for a moment, examining him. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking with that mask on though.
Peter quickly stumbled toward and began heading in the direction the masked man was going. “Sorry! I got lost in my thoughts there for a moment. Did you want to go down first?”
The vigilante just waved him down and once he was halfway down, just jumped to the other wall and slid down. That was cool. Peter was pretty sure he would just stick or burn a hole in his suit doing that. He wonders who repairs this guy's suit because it looks mostly new although Peters's sharp eyes could pick up on a few areas that have stitching the exact color as the suit.
Nightwing briefly waited for Peter to catch up and began walking. After they passed a few streets in silence, Nightwing awkwardly said, “So what’s your name?”
“Peter.”
“What were you doing on the rooftops this late, Peter? The city gets pretty dangerous after dark.
“Running from some guys,” Peter mumbled, rolling a rock with his shoe.
“Were they the ones that hurt you?”
Peter scrunched his face at the thought. “I’m fine. They didn’t hurt me.”
“Then how did you get those shiners on your face, kid? And you mentioned some other injuries.”
Peter reached and prodded at a few areas of his face, wincing when he felt bruises. “I-“
“Peter?” A small voice asked from the wiggling bundle on his chest. Peter flinched, curling a hand around her, and looking at Nightwing. He widened his stance, preparing to run if Nightwing wasn’t safe. He wasn’t going to let anyone hurt her, not even if he had to vigilante.
“It’s fine, T. Go back to sleep,” Peter said, trying to keep his rising panic out of his voice.
“But I’m not tired anymore. Can I please get up?” The tiny voice pleaded and Peter felt torn between keeping her safe and keeping her happy.
Nightwing had stilled for a moment but seemed to recover quickly. “And who’s that you have there?”
Peter narrowed his eyes at the vigilante but Teresa poked her head out of the bundle, a few curls escaping the sticky mess the goo made of it. “I’m Teresa! Are you a hero?”
Peter started at the vigilante, waiting to see how he treated the kid.
The man smiles and waved, “Hi Teresa! I’m Nightwing. I work with Batman to protect Gotham.”
Peter help back a snort at the name “Batman” (even though his wasn’t much better) while Teresa gladly began telling Nightwing how saving people was cool and how she always wanted to be saved. At some point, she mentioned how her dad told her that no one was going to save her. This led to both Peter and the masked man pausing and tensing uncomfortably.
“Well, right now I’m saving your friend and taking him to a clinic to get some help! What did you need saving from before?”
Peter wrapped his hand a little tighter around her at this. He could feel her heart go faster for a minute and eventually, she said, almost too quietly to hear, “Dad. And from the as-ma.”
Nightwing just nodded his head and, seemingly realizing his error, began lamenting on about the time he needed to be saved by Batman and the other bats.
Peter relaxed slightly as the questioning stopped and the man rambled on about embarrassing stories.
Eventually, Nightwing paused and exclaimed, “We’re here! It’s that building right across the street. I’ll walk you in!”
Inside was a brightly lit space which a few people that had friendly faces in the lobby. A lady, her name tag read “Donna,” smiled at Nightwing and greeted him with a happy tone and loose body language. She turned the pair of dirty (the goo apparently attracted dirt as it dried), clearly homeless kids. She gave a little wave and said, “And who are these charming friends?”
Peter opened his mouth to answer when Teresa spoke up, “I’m Teresa and this is Peter!”
“Nice to meet you both! Why don’t you follow me back here and we will see about getting you checked up.”
Peter felt Teresa tense a little at those words and focuses more on her heart rate. In his distraction, he failed to notice Nightwing following them back.
As they reached a small room with a row of beds, Peter could hear a heartbeat in each bed that had a curtain surrounding it. Two seemed to be asleep and the third’s spiked when the door clicked shut behind them but calmed after a moment.
Peter and Teresa were led to two unoccupied beds in a corner. The nurse asked Peter to set Teresa down on a bed and Peter and Teresa tensed at the thought but complied. Teresa kept a tight grip on Peters's arm but didn’t try to hide or run.
The nurse, noticing their discomfort, asked Peter if he would go first to should Teresa that she wasn’t going to hurt them. Peter reluctantly nodded, knowing that it was logical Teresa may be afraid after all that’s happened.
The nurse quietly slid on some gloves and began narrating as she gently touched the bruises on Peter's face, asking how he got them. He shrugged, unsure himself but figured it happened when he fell out of the tank. His breath hitched for a moment at the thought of the tank, the choking, the taste but small fingers digging into his arm drew him out of his panic.
The nurse asked if he was injured anywhere else after finishing her inspection of his face and upon his refusal, looked at Teresa. Teresa tensed but before the nurse could move, Nightwing spoke up, “I thought you said you got injured. You sure seemed surprised to know your face was bruised when I brought it up earlier. Where else are you injured?”
A spike of fear and adrenaline ran through Peter when his lie was caught. He thought about where he last remembered any cuts or bruises that hasn’t healed yet and remembered a nasty cut on his rib but nothing else around it. He lifted his shirt up, the fabric pulling at his skin where the blood had dried, and revealed the still angry cut although the bleeding had stopped.
The nurse frowned and began examining it. She reached into the cart behind her and grabbed a flush and warned him a few moments before she squirted some into the wound. Peter held back any flinches, not wanting to scare the girl still holding onto him tight. A small piece of glass or two fell out of the wound with the fluid. Maybe he would have done that with a few of the large ones, it wasn’t very safe to have glass healed inside him.
The nurse frowned again and opened her mouth to ask a question but closed it when she saw the look in Peter's eyes. He wasn’t in the mood for more questions. He had run out of spoons, his head hurt, and Spider-Man mode was wearing off.
The nurse put some antibiotic and antiseptic cream on the wound and bandaged it up neatly. Finally, she turned to Teresa asking, “Can I look you over sweetheart?”
Teresa tensed but nodded. The nurse was just as talkative with her, explaining everything she was doing. She cracked jokes about there being monkeys in her ears and how, don’t worry, she could entice them out with this shiny mirror. Teresa began laughing and playing along, losing her fear of the woman.
Peter relaxed slightly as he didn’t want to create more bad experiences for the kid. Nightwing caught his eye and motioned for him to come over. Peter turned to Teresa and told her he saw a monkey run off into Nightwing’s suit so he better go check it out. He told her he’d be right in sight and wouldn’t leave her alone.
She nodded with a smile and turned her attention back to the nurse.
Nightwing looked at Peter and asked bluntly, “So what’s the story with the kid? You guys siblings?.”
Peter tenses and gives and small, right shrug looking away.
“Are you running from something? Do you need somewhere to stay?”
Peter can feel that irrational anger build up again at the questions. He took a deep breath and responds tartly, “Look. Her father sucked. I got her out. I’m not sure what to do from here. She needs a home and a family. I’ll be fine as long as she’s happy.”
Nightwing nodded, “Are you okay with me calling CPS and having them pick both of you up in the morning? I can put in a word not to separate you.”
Peter nods and looks back at Teresa who flashes him a grin.
“Can I know who her dad is? I’d like to visit with him.”
Peter snorts and states, “You and me both. I’m not sharing though. I don’t know who could get hurt if either of us gets more involved. There are no more kids with him. No one else he can hurt. I’m willing to let it go for now and revisit it after we have had some time to process everything that’s happened.”
Nightwing nodded in acceptance and quickly slapped his leg, loudly exclaiming, “There’s that silly runaway monkey! I think I should run before more of them get me. I don’t want Ms. Donna to have to help another person tonight!”
Teresa giggled and waved at the man as he goofily walked out of the room. A smile pulled at Peters's lips seeing her happy and he can’t help but appreciate the vigilante and the nurse's ability with her. He wonders if he should leave her with them but quickly shakes his head. It's not the time for those thoughts.
The nurse turns to Peter and says, “Well our friend here has a mild fever and pneumonia. From what she’s told me, I am pretty sure she has asthma as well but I don’t think she will let me test for it right now. She got a little riled up when I asked her to breath deep to hear her lungs. We can see about getting her tested for that in the future when she is feeling better. I’m going to prescribe an antibiotic for pneumonia and an inhaler in case of an asthma attack. The Todd-Wayne Foundation funds any treatments or medications for kids so it doesn’t cost anything.”
Peter nodded slowly, too tired to think of any questions. Teresa was playing with some tongue depressors with faces drawn on them, having them talk to each when her stomach growled loudly. Peters quickly followed suit. Nurse Donna just laughed and told the two she would be right back and closed the curtains in a way that left the two beds together.
Teresa let out a yawn and leaned on Peter asking, “Are you my mama? I saw on the tv that mamas take their kids to the doctor.”
Peter let out a quiet laugh and said, “I think I’m more your brother. I’ll keep you out of trouble and safe and always be there to support you.”
Teresa looks up at him, her green eyes watery, “You won’t leave me?”
Peter felt his heart melt and wondered if this is why Ben and May put up with him for so long. “Never. You are my sister and I will be here forever.” A flash of guilt ran through Peter at this. Surely she will be fine if he leaves after she gets into a safe home.
The tiny child gave a content smile which grew as soon as Nurse Donna walked in with two dinner trays. Peter could already smell broccoli, mashed potatoes, chicken, an apple, and milk. His stomach growled loudly again and he eagerly took their trays with a speedy thank you to the nurse. He hadn’t eaten a warm meal in weeks! His and May’s apartment was sold as there was no known family to give it to so he’d been living on the streets, eating food thrown out by restaurants.
They both began to dig in, eating everything on their plates without complaint. As they finished drinking their milk, Nurse Donna walked back in with some clothes that would fit both minors comfortably. She gave them a parting smile and said softly, “You guys get some sleep. We will have some food for you in the morning and hopefully somewhere safe for you to stay. Sleep tight, Teresa, Peter, and Monkeys.”
—-On a random rooftop in Gotham—-
“Hey, O?”
“Yeah, Nightwing?”
“I just met some really strange kids. They look kinda familiar.”
Notes:
Teresa might seem a little young for being a 6-year-old but I'm planning to delve bit by bit into how neglectful and abusive her dad was and how it impacted her growth and psyche.
Peter: tired and done with life
Nightwing: Soooo tell me everything
Chapter 4
Summary:
TW for abuse! Beware!
"The vigilante just seemed to stare at him, probably raising an eyebrow under the mask. The staring went on long enough that Peter finally coughed and said, 'So which vigilante are you? I’m afraid I only know Nightwing.'
The man squawked in offense, 'Oh that fucker! I’m Red Hood, the best of the vigilantes in the city. I'm typically over in Crime Alley but ended up here tonight.'"
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Peter really wasn’t expecting to sleep. He could gunshots and explosions. The other people in the room snoring. The smell of the clinic made his nose burn and eyes water, slowly stoking up a migraine. But he woke up with a start as Nurse Donna wheeled a squeaky cart into the room. His heart pounded for a moment as he tried to remember where he was. The groan of the child sleeping beside him and an arm flapping around trying to figure out where the warmth went broke him out of any panic.
Teresa shot up, panicked eyes darting around, nearly yelling, “Peter!” When her eyes fell on Peter, hair smooshed to one side, she relaxed and sat up to lean into him.
Nurse Donna just smiles tiredly and says, “Here’s your breakfast. My shift ends soon so I wanted to make sure to talk to you both before I left. Some people are coming to talk to you today about finding you a home so I want you to work with them and trust them. Nightwing won’t let you go into a bad home, alright?”
Both Peter and Teresa nod and murmur their thanks, more focused on the heavenly-smelling food than the kind nurse. Breakfast consisted of fluffy and buttery pancakes, a hard-boiled egg each, a few fruit cups, and some more milk. The food tastes heavenly and filled both minors up. They carefully wiped their faces with the napkins and thanked the nurse that came to take away the trays.
They didn’t have to wait long before a frazzled man walked in with a briefcase in one hand, a coffee in the other, and a clipboard tucked under his arm. He quickly sat down on the unoccupied bed and settled his stuff down, spilling a little coffee on his already stained shirt.
He spoke in a hurried voice, “Alright we have here a ‘Teresa’ and a ‘Peter,’ yeah? Great, you guys got lucky, one of our fosters had his kid age out a few days ago and is willing to take two kids in if they are siblings. What are your last names?”
Peter blinked, surprised at how rushed the man was. He didn’t even give them a chance to confirm that they were who he thought they were. With a hesitant tone, Peter stated, “Uhh, Parker.”
“Ok, Parkers, we will be taking you to your new home in a moment. I bet you are excited. Grab your belongings so we can get this show moving.”
The two just grabbed their folded clothes off of the spare chair in the room and followed the frazzled man to the reception area where the nurses there signed them out, gave them Teresa’s prescriptions, and wished them well.
Getting into the man's car was a hassle in itself. The back doors had to be opened from the inside and the back was filled with papers and fast-food bags. The whole car stank of cigarettes and Peter debated plugging his nose as he slid in.
All but one of the backseat seatbelts had frayed and ripped so Peter sat Teresa there and made sure she was buckled in tight before facing the front and watching as the man attempted to get his navigation to work.
The drive to the foster home was full of pot-holes, cars revving by, and gunshots. Peter’s spider-sense left him ansty the whole ride. He wasn’t in danger but there was potential danger everywhere.
Finally, they arrived at a dingy apartment building with a locked screen door leading into the first hallway. They passed by an elevator with a trail of blood leading out of it and an “Out of Order” sign taped crookedly to the doors. They had to climb three flights of stairs with the occasional alcohol bottle or trash littering a corner. Finally, they arrived at apartment 309. When the CPS man knocked, the sounds of 3 or 4 locks being undone joined the muttering of the man on the other side. Teresa pressed herself tightly against the back of Peter’s leg.
The door opened to show a clean apartment with a comfortable red couch facing a tv, a small kitchenette, and a small hallway that Peter assumes leads to the bedrooms. The man that opened the door was a large man with a mean-looking face and hostile body language.
The man's body language shifted as he noticed who was knocking and a pleasant smile formed on his face.
“Hi there! You must be the Parkers. It's great to meet you two. How about we head inside and we can get you both settled,” The man said in a pleasant tone.
The CPS agent stopped them before they entered and said, “Alright, kids, I have to skedaddle. If you need anything, call me. You will love it here. Bye!”
As the man hurried off and they entered the apartment, Peter realized the CPS agent didn’t provide his name or number to call. The big, bald man gestured to the couch and invited, “Here, take a seat. I’m Calvin. I will be looking after you guys till you age out. Do either of you want a glass of water?”
When both kids shook their heads, Calvin then spoke, “So which one of you is Pablo and which one is Tiffany?”
Teresa pressed herself into Peters's side, refusing to look at the man. Peter gave a wary smile and corrected, “I’m Peter and this is Teresa.”
The man gave him a funny look before laughing and bushing off his mistake, “Ah my bad! A lot of kids come through here and I have too many names rattling around in my ol’ noggin. How old are the both of you?”
The boy glanced at the kid but she didn’t move to answer so he replied, “I’m 16 and Teresa is 6.”
“There’s quite the difference between ya! You both look like you could use a shower and a nap. Let me show you your bedrooms and the bathroom.”
The hallway had four doors, one leading to a small bathroom, one to the master bedroom and two doors leading to small bedrooms that both had a single twin bed, a desk, and a small dresser. One of the small rooms had pink sheets and blankets so Teresa called that room and Peter took the other with a simple color theme. Each room had a change of clothes roughly their size on the bed so the kids grabbed before continuing the tour. The man told them they were welcome to take a short shower and get in a nap before lunch before he wandered off to the kitchen to begin cooking.
Teresa whispered to Peter that she didn’t know how to shower so Peter helped her start the water and gave her a washcloth and soap to wash her body while he began working through her crusty and matted hair. Thankfully, the mats worked themselves out with conditioner and finger combing which left the little girl with soft, dark brown curly hair that hid her handful of white curls underneath it.
Once she was done, Peter got her in pajamas before folding the towel she had dried off with into a strange animal that she sat and played with while Peter took his shower. His own curls took quite a bit of time to detangle and wash all of the goo out but afterwards, they felt just as soft as Teresa’s. Once out, dried, and dressed, Peter looked in the mirror to make sure he got all of the dirt off his face. He had a couple of yellow bruises that were healing fast but what caught his attention was his eyes and his hair. While he had noticed Teresa’s file didn't match her hair or eyes, he figured it was just a mistake but his eyes had changed as well. The green in his eyes was the same color as Teresa’s but while Teresa's were completely green, Peter’s were green at the center and faded out to brown. His hair had gained the same white streak although his was right at this hairline where he remembered being shot.
A deep, bitter weariness settled in his bones looking at his changes. He hadn’t wanted to be here in the first place, why does he have to deal with all this as well? A knock on the bathroom door alerted them to Calvin who smiled and told them to hand him the towels they used and to let them know lunch was ready.
Lunch turned out to be tomato soup and grilled cheese which made both minors stomach’s grumble at the smell. The hot lunch left the kids satisfied and blinking sleepily. Calvin sent them to their rooms to nap with a smile as he cleaned up the kitchen. Teresa, ignoring the room she chose, crawled into bed beside Peter, warm and happy. Peter’s last thought before going falling asleep was how Nightwing told the truth and got them into a good home.
Peter wakes, stomach growling, to the smell of hotdogs, broccoli, and mac-n-cheese. As he sifts to sit up and rub his eyes, Teresa stretches with a yawn and stuffs her face into the pillow which causes Peter to chuckle and begin rubbing her back to wake her up. She groans but sits up, blinking drowsily but after another yawn, Peter can see her catch the smell of the food and she shoots out of bed. Peter just smiles at her and follows her to the kitchen. At the threshold of the hallway, she slips back behind Peter and holds his leg, following him into the room.
Calvin smiles at the pair and invited them to sit at the table where he serves them a helping of mac-n-cheese with hotdog bits in it and a small pile of broccoli on the side. The pair dig in quickly, Teresa starting with the broccoli. Before she takes a bite, she whispers in Peter’s ear, “What is this?”
Peter gives a small smile and whispers back, “Broccoli, it's yummy and helps your body grow.”
Calvin gives them a look that doesn’t seem to contain hostility but Peter can feel his spidey-sense tickle the back of his neck slightly. Deciding to try and diffuse whatever was happening, Peter comments, “Thank you for the food, sir. It is delicious.”
Calvin just smiles and nods before turning his attention back to his food. Peter breathes a sigh of relief, wondering why his spidey-sense went off.
The next few weeks went much the same. The man acted pleasantly enough with the pair but Peter’s spidey-sense would go off randomly. The man was diligent in giving Teresa her medication for her pneumonia and making sure they both ate. He bought them a few extra outfits and some toys for Teresa. Teresa was a little more comfortable with Calvin but still refused to leave her brother's side.
Peter's spidey-sense just kept getting stronger though, confusing him immensely. He had planned to leave once he knew Teresa was safe but something was off and it was beginning to frustrate him. This was the same frustration he felt when he punched the wall in the lab, although much milder, and it was making Peter nervous. He couldn’t let his tempter run, not if he wanted to keep this a safe home for Teresa.
Deciding that getting out of the apartment might help with his frustration, Peter asked for permission to go to the library which their foster parent granted as long as Teresa went with him.
The walk to the library was boring and uneventful, the pair's excitement building as they approached. The building itself was huge! All three floors were packed with shelves full of books, computers, and comfortable chairs. Everything was clean and the people there were quiet and not causing any trouble. It was quite a change from what Peter had experienced in Gotham.
As they walked in, they were greeted by one of the librarians. Teresa took an immediate liking to the red-headed women and eagerly accepted the tour of the library she offered. Peter just smiled and followed along, happy to see Teresa acting like a normal kid.
“Over here is a kids section. Do you want to look at any of the books, Teresa?” The librarian, Barbara as she introduced herself, questioned.
“No thank you, Miss. I don’t know how to read,” Teresa said with a big smile, still giddy at getting to explore somewhere new. Peter furrowed his brows in confusion. Teresa had picked up everything he taught her and he had discussed some pretty advanced topics with her. What kid could explain genetics but not read? Another bout of frustration grew in him as he realized the monster that killed her didn’t even bother to teach her to read. For the matter, he didn’t teach her how to clean herself, what broccoli was, or that mother is more than some random teen who takes you to the doctor. A growl threatened to escape him as his rage built.
As if she sensed the change in his mood, Teresa ran up and grabbed his hand, dragging him to a table with legos in it. He forced down the anger, still simmering, and saw Barbara wheeling up behind them, staring curiously at him until Teresa laughed loudly as her tower fell over and Barbara joined in. Teresa was doing so well emotionally. She was clearly built from stronger stuff than Peter.
After Teresa lost interest in the legos, Barbara continued to the tour, leading them to the upper floors. In the elevator, she asked, “So what school do you go to Peter?”
Peter glanced down at her with wide eyes, unsure of how to answer. “I- uhh. My foster father hasn’t enrolled us in school yet.”
Barbara nodded and smiled, “You should remind him that school starts in a month. The city just passed the truancy bill, meaning every minor needs to be at school during the week.”
Peter nodded, glad she didn’t dig more into it. How could he explain that he probably didn’t even have school records in this universe, if that’s what happened, and that Teresa was likely never enrolled in any form of school by her shitty dad.
The next floor had mostly shelves with some tables and chairs strewn about. A few people browsed about, looking for books but a father and his son inspecting a book at a shelf near the elevator caused Peter's spidey-sense to hum. He shivered a little at the tickle but didn’t act. It wasn’t imminent danger but more potentially dangerous people. It was different from Calvin, though. His was more a potential danger to the pair as opposed to these two who were just dangerous. How a tiny kid that could match Teresa in size was that dangerous, left Peter frowning.
The pair turned to the elevator, causing Peter to grab Teresa’s shoulder, just to be safe. The very tall, very broad man smiled as he caught sight of Barbara but the smile turned into a slight frown as he inspected Peter. The kid standing beside the man already looking at the group with a level of hostility that made Peter lean back, preparing to run.
“Bruce! Damian! I didn’t realize you were here!” Barbara sounded awfully chipper considering the looks the father and son were giving the group.
The large man smiled, no trace of his previous frown left, and replied, “We just got here! We would have said hi but you looked busy. Who do you have with you there?”
Peter shrunk into himself for a moment before feeling Teresa lean into his leg. He hadn’t even realized she had moved behind him.
“This is Peter and that’s Teresa. I was showing them around the library since it’s their first time here.”
The man just glanced at his son and gave Barbara an odd look before approaching and offering his hand paired with an easy smile to Peter, “I’m Bruce. This is my son Damian. I hope we didn’t ruin your tour.”
Peter held back another shiver as his spidey-sense tingled and shook the man’s hand firmly. “Not at all, sir. We were just looking around. If you need Barbara, we can show ourselves around.”
“Ah, no need! I think we can figure out how to check out the books by ourselves, isn’t that right Damian.”
The look the boy shot his father made Peter wonder who was actually the parent in that relationship. There was enough venom in a single look that Peter vowed never to be alone with that child.
“Who are you? Why are you-“ the boys blunt questions were cut off with a hand covering his mouth as Bruce offered a quick apology and practically dragged the boy away.
“Sorry about them. They should know better than to bother me at work,” the woman stated with a roll of her eyes.
The rest of the tour went without a hitch. They didn’t run into the pair again but Peter spied them watching from the second floor railing as they finished their tour.
“Now, would you guys like library cards? As long as you have an address and email for me, I can set you up right now.”
“Oh, um, I don’t have email yet but I can make one really quick,” Peter replied, eager to be able to check out books and learn about Gotham. Hopefully he could search for May on the computers as well although he still needed to confirm whether he was in a different universe or just back in time.
Barbara just nodded and told him to come back down when they were ready to check out books and she would make the cards then.
—
B- Hey Dick, you wouldn’t believe who’s at the library
D- Bruce and Damian? Yeah I saw them leave.
D- I almost went along but Damian threatened to stab me and I just healed from the last one ;D
B- Could have used a heads up but no
B- The mystery kids from the other night
B- Seems the boy has some of the classic signs
D- Damn. This is going to suck, isn’t it?
B- Absolutely. What music do you want played at your funeral after you tell J?
—
Teresa was finally calm enough to skip beside him as they walked back to the elevator, talking about what she wanted to learn and asking if Peter would read to her. Clearly, the dangerous friends of Barbara they met upstairs put her on edge too.
The computers were, thankfully, on a different floor where he had seen Bruce and Damian watching him. Hopefully, he wouldn’t run into them again. A quick google search for May Parker led to nothing, nor did watching her maiden name. There didn’t seem to be any Parker’s that matched Peter’s lineage. A deep sadness welled as the hope he had of saving May was ripped from him. He just couldn’t win, could he?
The thought of being in a different universe was concerning and exciting, the combination of those and the sadness leaving Peter feeling overwhelmed and lost. Teresa, once again seeming to sense his mood change, grabbed his hand and asked if they could look at the books so he could read some to her when they got home. He gave her a smile and pushed every emotion down, locking it in a box. Quickly creating an email, he grabbed her hand and led her to the superhero sections first, as it was on their floor. A section for superheroes seemed a bit much until Peter saw the amount of books in it.
He ended up choosing three books: The Rouge Gallery: How to Survive Them, Batman: The Encyclopedia, and Superheroes: A History. It was hard to narrow it down but it seemed like these had the most general information for Gotham. A book solely on not pissing off Poison Ivy wasn’t partially helpful at the moment.
They stopped at the kids section next, Teresa trying to add every book from the shelf to Peter’s arms which made him laugh. He had to explain how libraries normally have a limit and that they have to leave at least a few for other kids to read. Peter suggested a few easy reading level books that he felt Teresa would be able to read on her own quickly enough and the time came for them to head back to Barbara, Teresa walking like she was holding an egg on her head trying not to drop the stack of her books in her arm.
Barbara was able to get Peter a library card easily, even letting him choose between two different designs and then checking them out. “Alright, you are all set! You have two weeks to return the books and any damages come out of your pocket. Any questions?”
Peter and Teresa both shake their heads, stacking the books in their arms.
“You two have a safe trip home and be careful. It’s already getting dark and I don’t want to see either of you getting hurt.”
The pair wished her well and headed to leave. It had gotten quite dark out, which surprised Peter. He didn’t feel like they had been in the library that long. He could already see the body language of the people on the streets change to defensive and hostile. His spidey-sense thrummed lowly as he rearranged his books so he could hold Teresa’s shoulder as they began the walk home. Surely it wouldn’t be that bad, no one had really given the two a glance as they walked to the library.
Peter couldn’t have been more wrong. They hadn’t even made it a block before a group of men dressed in clown outfits began harassing them. His spidey-sense was ringing in alarm, telling him to run and hide, to climb up high to safety. He couldn’t run easily with Teresa, though and he couldn’t afford to ditch the books to carry her. The sounds of the groups creepy laughter was setting Peter even more on edge and he prepared to ditch his books and run, hoping Barbara would be forgiving.
His spidey-sense flared briefly and leaned over Teresa to cover her as a red and black clad vigilante jumped off a nearby roof, taking two of the men down into a heap. The remaining four began laughing even harder, pulling out their weapons and twirling them around.
The vigilante didn’t play around as he took down the men, not pausing to respond to their jabs or threats. The last clown decided to run off and the man used something between a lasso and whip to catch the man’s ankle and drag him back before kicking him in the head. Peter pulled Teresa even closer to him as the masked man looked over at them, the eerie white eyes of the mask making Peter tense.
The man scoffed and asked, “What are you two kids doing around here this late?”
“Trying to get home. We live a few blocks down,” Peter explained, hoping this vigilante was as nice as Nightwing. His spidey-sense seemed to think he would be.
“Ugh. I’ll walk you home. Can’t have more of these fuckers bothering kids,” the man said as he kicked one of the clowns.
This vigilante sure seemed a lot different from Nightwing.
Peter looked down at Teresa, fixing the books in their hands, and said, “Please don’t say ‘fuckers’ in front of Calvin. It’s a bad word for little ones to say.”
“Who’s Calvin?”
Peter jumped, not realizing the vigilante had gotten so close to them. “Our foster father.”
The vigilante just seemed to stare at him, probably raising an eyebrow under the mask. The staring went on long enough that Peter finally coughed and said, “So which vigilante are you? I’m afraid I only know Nightwing.”
The man squawked in offense , “Oh that fucker! I’m Red Hood, the best of the vigilantes in the city. I'm typically over in Crime Alley but ended up here tonight.”
Peter just huffed a laugh as Teresa began asking him questions about who he’s saved and if he ever needed saving. Peter could see the men get tense but before he could redirect the kid, red Hood said, “Well, I’ve saved loads of people! I save my team all the time, just don’t tell them that. I think Artemis would kick my rear. She rather likes to think she saves me all the time.”
Both of the kids laughed at this and Teresa let out a yawn, slowly beginning to slow down. Peter eyes her up, trying to figure out if he could carry her and the books or if she could make it to the apartment by herself. RedHood chuckles and offers a hand for the books, which Peter handed over without a fuss. Teresa gladly snuggled into Peter’s chest as he lifted her and let out another yawn before mumbling a thanks.
After a few minutes of walking in silence, the masked vigilante hesitantly commented, “Nice hair streak you got there. How did you get it?”
Peter stiffed a little, carefully keeping his heart steady so as to not wake the girl on his chest. He quipped back sarcastically, “Yeah it’s great, right? All the rage right now. Definitely something I chose to get.” A scoff escapes Peter at the end as he feels bitter anger flare up at his lack of control about his situation. He didn’t choose to come here. He didn’t choose to have a scared kid imprint on him. He didn’t choose to have his eyes and hair changed. He can’t even choose to keep his temper in check like he used to be able to.
The man beside him let out a bitter bark of laughter, surprising the teen. The white eyes of the man’s mask burning into Peter as he stared at him before the silence was broke by a quiet, “I like you kid. You remind me of me. If you need help, I’m here. I’m not sure but I think you are going through something similar to what I did.”
Peter scoffed openly at that. There was no way this man knew when Peter was going through. He had died, been brought back to life in another universe, had his looks changed without his consent, and couldn’t even rein in his emotions. Yeah, there’s no way this random vigilante would be able to help.
The awkward silence sat between the two after that short conversation ended quickly as Peter approached the building where Calvin lived. He rearranged Teresa so he had an arm to carefully stack the books on before shooting the vigilante a quick thanks. The man waved and both quickly headed their own ways, eager to escape the tense atmosphere.
Getting into the apartment was a story of its own. The door was locked and Calvin hadn’t given them a key. Peter gently kicked the door, hoping the man would know he was knocking. Peter could hear his heartbeat get closer and smell the alcohol before the door even opened. The man reeked. His clothes were disheveled and dirty. His eyes were angry and his face was twisted into a scowl. He pointed to the living, tension swirling through the air.
TW: ABUSE
He spoke, snapping the tension, “Put her in bed and get back out here, boy”
Peter’s spidey-sense screamed. Something bad was going to happen. No one else was in the apartment, so it had to be Calvin.
Peter hurriedly tucked the girl in her bed before placing the books in the right room. His heart raced, mind whirling as began to walk to the living room again. Calvin was standing there, glaring at the boy, beer in hand.
“Where the hell do you think you’ve been?” He snarled, making Peter flinch.
“We’ve been at the library, sir. We lost track of time-“
The man cut him off, “I told you to be back before dark. Did you think I’d just let you go play around in the city late into the night? That you could go get into trouble and bring your sister along?”
“No sir! We headed straight home after the library!”
“Do not talk back to me, boy,” the man snapped, bringing his hand across the boy's face.
Peter just stared in shock. Did the man actually just hit him? He had been so nice before now.
“Get in your room. Now, boy.”
Peter scrambled into his room as fast as he could, making sure to close the door tightly without slamming it. Silent tears ran down his face as he realized he ruined another thing. He couldn’t even keep the peace with one person.
Needing to get further away from Calvin, Peter climbed out his window and sat on the roof. He could hear Calvin dropping into bed and snoring. The sky was covered in clouds and smog, threatening to drench everyone in the city. The air though, was cold and bitter. It snapped Peter’s shock at his foster fathers actions and he lifted a hand to his check. He could still feel the sting of the slap and of the betrayal. More tears ran down at his face as the reality of the situation sunk in. If he was willing to hit Peter, what was stopping him from going after Teresa? How could Peter take Teresa away from somewhere where she was supposed to be safe? She didn’t deserve to be treated badly, by anyone! She was smart and kind and well behaved. Did he really just put a child freshly killed by a shitty father, into a situation with a shitty father? God, he should never have trusted Nightwing. CPS never does shit. Not his universe or this one.
Eventually, Peter's tears had dried and he began shivering so hard he was worried he would fall off the roof so he slipped back into the room and curled up under as many blankets as he could.
—
“Hey Babs, I need a favor.”
“What’s up, J?”
“Did you meet some kids today? They were on their way home from the library.”
“I did, actually. A teen and his little sister. Both had curly, dark hair.”
“That’s them. Keep an eye on them please.”
“I will be. Is everything okay?”
“For the moment. I’ll let you know if that changes.”
Notes:
Every. Single. Barbara. was spelled Barabra.
If you didn't catch it, Teresa is quiet around men (minus vigilantes) and very comfortable with women.
I had ch4 all planned out! A whole arc was to be completed here. But noooo, now the resolution for Calvin has to wait and a bunch of stuff originally not supposed to be here is. They weren’t going to be at the library, or enroll in school yet! It’s all messed up 😭
Ch5 is almost completely written and edited (Closing the Calvin arc naturally is a pain!)
Any kudos, comments, and feedback are appreciated (meaning I take a screen and send it to my friend to talk about how nice people are)
Chapter 5
Summary:
Peter and Teresa bond some more, he takes the scholarship exam, and the both of them attend new-student orientation.
TW: Abuse
"At one point, he brushed against the freshman, Damian. His spidey-sense rang out immediately, forcing him to take a few steps back. The kids just snarled, 'Touch me again and you are dead.'
Alrighty then. He was correct to want to avoid the boy. That kid was scary! He must have a Napoleon complex or something. It wasn’t very common for kids to be scarier than their parents. Bruce was scary, his spidey-sense told him that much, but Damian was worse. "
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The next morning, Peter was awoken by a pile of sharp limbs stabbing into his ribs. He groaned and pulled the warm child into his arms, curling around her and muttering, “What a cozy teddy-bear. So warm and soft.”
He gave her a gentle squeeze and she began to giggle and squirm, nearly shouting, “I’m not a teddy-bear!”
Peter opened eye and replied, acting confused, “Wait, T? How did you get here? Where did my teddy-bear go?”
The girl giggled again before freeing herself and dragging the blankets off Peter. “Wake up! I want you to read to me today!”
Peter chuckled again, happy she was excited to read the books they borrowed from the library. He sobered quickly as he remembered the events of last night though and his body tensed, heart pounding. He was going to have to face Calvin again today. What if he hurt Teresa?
Peter’s breathing began to grow fast and shallow as he panicked. He didn’t know how to handle this. He would call the CPS agent but the man hadn’t left any name or number to find him.
Teresa ran out of the room which channeled Peter's fear into protectiveness. He didn’t want to let her out of his sight. Not here. His fears were for not, at least for now, as Teresa ran back in with one of her books. She threw the book into his lap, hurriedly climbing up next to him.
The book was the Velveteen Rabbit. Not a great choice for Peter to have suggested. It made him cry every time, being was about toys forgotten and discarded by their kids. That’s a story that will hit close to home.
“Do you think you could choose a different one?”
A pouted lip and puppy dog eyes made Peter sigh before opening the book. The second he starts reading, Teresa is hooked. Peter pointed at the words as he spoke them and made a silly voice when each character spoke. He forgot about his worries for a few moments as he got lost in a world with the person that matters most to him. A few tears did trickle out during the story but the girl just wiped them up and demanded he continue reading. This is what the kid deserves. She deserves to giggle and have fun. Her imagination should be able to run wild. It wasn’t fair that she kept getting dealt shitty cards.
Teresa asked to read it over and over until finally, Calvin called them for breakfast. Chills racked Peter’s body as he took a deep breath to prepare. Teresa, having no knowledge of the previous night's events, just pulled him out of bed and pushed him towards the kitchen.
Calvin greeted them both with a smile and invited them to sit down, not a single hint of his previous mood showing. Even Peter’s spidey-sense wasn’t going off more than a dull hum.
As they ate, the man began asking questions about their trip to the library, genuinely seeming interested. Peter remained silent, his eyes on his plate, but Teresa had no such qualms. She had had a good morning and wasn’t afraid to speak up, at least for the time being.
“We played with legos and looked at books and talked to Miss Barbara. Miss Barbara was so cool. She got us a library card and showed us around and told us stories! She told us to ask you about school,” the girl said excitedly, only pausing to breathe and eat at the end.
“It sounds like you two had a lot of fun! She is right, I have been meaning to ask you about school. I have a lot of thoughts on the topic but I enrolled Teresa in Gotham Elementary. I know it’s very well-liked around here.
“Peter, I wanted to give you a choice on which school you go to. There are a few on my list that I can’t afford without a scholarship but if you wish to go there, I can sign you up for the exam. Otherwise, there are a few public schools you can attend.”
Peter shrunk down at the mention of his name and murmured a quiet, “Yes, sir.”
His brain refused to wrap around this. Did Calvin get replaced? He is acting completely different. Was it really something Peter did? Parents do have the right to discipline their children but hitting seemed too far. Maybe he deserved it? He did stay out late, even if he didn’t know there was a curfew.
“I can make a list for you, Peter, if you want to go back to the library and research. I don’t mind so long as you are home before dark.”
Peter gave a quick nod. He wasn’t going to make that mistake again. It would be good to see Miss Barbara again. She had been very kind to them.
After cleaning up their dishes, the pair hurried to get dressed, grabbed the list, and ran out the door, one eager to get to the books and the other to get away.
The walk there was as long as the previous ones although only a very drunk man tried to bother them. The man made it halfway through a suggestive comment before passing out, hitting the ground face-first. The pair just steered clear of him and continued on their way.
A sign at the front of the library advertised a Children's reading group today, which Teresa squealed about once Peter explained it to her. The group was easy to find and Teresa easily found a spot between a toddler attempting to eat its hand and a boy about her age.
Happy that she found something to do, Peter wandered off, keeping an eye on the group and the door in case something happened. He stopped at the front to see Barbara who smiled when she heard his voice but her face turned murderous as she looked at him.
“Who did that to you?” Her voice was sharp, making Peter shiver and reach up to touch the bruise.
“Ah, no one. Just ran into a wall, I guess,” he attempted, trying to brush it off without sharing that he messed up and got in trouble. He didn’t want Barbara to think she played a part in him getting in trouble for arriving home late!
“You guess? Awfully unsure considering how hand-shaped that bruise is.”
A flare of annoyance sparked in Peter. Narrowing his eyes, he bit, “It’s really not your business. I don’t want any trouble. I’m just here to check out schools to attend. Please drop it.”
Barbara gave a huff before slapping on a fake smile and apologizing in a customer service tone, “Ah, my bad. I must have seen it wrong. Seems my eyes are getting older. The computers are open for you to use freely all day. I recommend Gotham Prep. Have fun!”
Peter’s irritation spiked further and he held back a growl before offering a mirror smile and walking back towards the reading group. He really needed to get this anger under control. He can’t just punch everything that makes him a little mad. What if he hurt or scared someone? What if he scared Teresa?
Sitting at the back of the group, he practiced measured breathing and rather than stuffing the anger in a box, addressed that he was angry because of the questions, accepted he was upset and moved on. It got a little more complicated when it came to wording an apology. It wasn’t right to blow up at people. He should have learned it the first time with Ben but it felt like every little thing was making him angry since he died. Was this what Bruce Banner felt like all the time? He kinda wishes he could tell Tony to quit messing with him because this sucks.
The reading group ended shortly and Teresa threw herself at Peter, more than just a little wound up in excitement. His heart softened a little more every time he saw his sister happy. She deserved the world.
Steeling himself, Peter hugged Teresa in his arms as he approached Miss Barbara. He met her eyes steadily, smiling sadly before apologizing, “I’m sorry, Miss Barbara. It wasn’t right of me to snap at you like that. I’ve been so angry lately and I’ve been struggling to keep in check. I know better and I know you don’t deserve to be treated that way.”
Barbra’s eyes widened as he spoke, clearly not expecting the apology. “Oh, Peter. I forgive you. It was wrong of me to keep pushing. I should know better. I’m the adult here and I should have recognized you were uncomfortable. Do you forgive me?”
Peter definitely wasn’t expecting an apology back. “You did nothing wrong, Miss Barbara! I shouldn’t have lost my temper, it had nothing to do with you. There’s nothing for me to forgive you for.”
Barbara just laughed and said, “I have a feeling we will just keep apologizing to each other all day if I reply to that. How about you get your research done and tell me what you decide? Teresa can even be my helper if you want some space.”
Peter tensed a little. As much as he trusted the woman, Teresa was everything. He couldn’t leave her alone with someone he barely knows. He decided on just saying he wants Teresa’s opinions before saying goodbyes and heading towards the computers.
Calvin had given him a list of 4 schools in the area. Two public and two private. One of the public schools was quite a distance away so he scratched that one off the list. One of the private schools only offered partial scholarships which he didn’t think Calvin would like so he marked it off. The last two schools were close by, free or had a full scholarship, and had decent ratings. Gotham Prep was right beside Teresa’s school and offered full scholarships, which included lunches and uniforms. Gotham High School was closer to Calvin’s apartment, free to attend, good ratings as well, and was not full of rich kids.
Turning to Teresa, who was singing as she pressing random keys on the keyboard, he asked which she thought was better. Acting out dramatic thinking motions and noises, Teresa waited until Peter leaned in to hear the answer before deciding on Gotham Prep. It was an easy decision for her to have her brother going to school right next door.
He smiled and printed out the application form for the scholarships and headed down to inform Barbara of his choice. He needed to hurry so the pair could get home before dark.
Barbara seemed happy in his choice, informing him that she knows some of the students and thinks he will get along great with them.
After exchanging quick goodbyes, the pair began the walk home. Teresa was giggling, hitching a piggy-back ride as Peter jumped the cracks in the sidewalk and spun around potholes. It was good for the girl to laugh and it made him happy. Sadness welled up at the thought of him having to leave her. He couldn’t risk being around her for too long.
They were both surprised when they made it back to the building without anyone bothering them and hurried upstairs to get into the apartment.
Calvin was sitting on the couch, watching some random game show as they walked in. He smiled and informed them he would make dinner in an hour so they needed to be ready to eat. Both of their stomachs grumbled and they realized they didn’t eat lunch but Peter was still too wary for ask for a snack.
After a quick shower, both kids wandered back into the kitchen where Calvin was cooking. Nervously, Peter brought up that he chose Gotham Prep and printed out the scholarship application forms. Calvin congratulated him and handed him a pen to begin filling it out. It felt like it took forever, especially since Peter didn’t have any school records, any vaccination records, no records period. At least he had a guardian who could sign off. It did seem like both kids were going to need to be vaccinated before the school started but they had time.
Late into the night, Peter stared awake at the ceiling. Calvin was a puzzle he was struggling to solve. Was it just a fluke of the moment thing? He seemed as kind and soft as usual today. How could someone go from that hostile to that loving overnight? It just didn’t make sense.
Deciding a glass of water might help his thinking, Peter shuffles to the kitchen and opens the cabinet to get a glass. A noise behind causes him to flinch, whipping around. Calvin was standing there, glaring at him. His spidey-sense was going wild again, sending a rush of adrenaline through his body.
“What are you doing out here, boy? Stealing from me?”
How had he arrived at that conclusion? Meekly, he spoke, “I was getting a glass of water, sir. Sorry if I woke you.”
The man’s anger rose and his spidey-sense screamed, willing him to run, hide, anything. “You think you can lie to me, boy? I saw that guilty look on your face. Get over here, now.”
His heart was slamming in his chest. His eyes flickered between the front door and the man before finally dropping. The steps towards him felt like miles and like inches. What did he do wrong? Was it just a misunderstanding?
His spidey-sense spiked, warning him of the hand coming at his face and he forced himself to stay. At least Flash did one good thing in his life by teaching Peter how to ignore his sixth-sense.
The pain from the slap caused Peter to cover his face as his eyes welled up.
“Oh, are you a baby now? Should I call the wha-m-bulance? Quit your crying!” A fist to his ribs winded him, causing him to curl over.
“Get in your room. I don’t want to see you again tonight.”
As quickly as he could without running, he left. His instincts leading him to climb the walls to sit on the roof of the building.
A sob tore out of him and he quickly covered his mouth. It wouldn’t do any good for someone to find him up here.
Did he deserve that? It could have seemed like he was stealing but Calvin didn’t even give him a chance to explain. Was it Calvin’s fault? It can’t be, he’s so nice. He doesn’t ever treat Peter like that unless he’s done something wrong.
A throat clearing startled Peter out of his thoughts. If he wasn’t enhanced, he would be able to see the figure standing a few feet away. It was a different vigilante this time. This one was in a red and black suit like RedHood but more red and less black.
“Are you okay?”
He sounded young. Was he any older than Peter? Should a kid his age be fighting crime in a city like this? Maybe it’s hypocritical to think that but it is true.
“Kid?”
Peter blinked in surprise. He had gotten lost in thoughts apparently. “I’m fine. Just a rough night.”
“Ah, nightmares?” The vigilante sat next to Peter, swinging his legs over the edge.
“Yeah, a nightmare. I guess.”
“Don’t worry man, I get them too. Do you have anyone to help you?”
Peter thought about Teresa but it wasn’t a child’s duty to help carry that weight. He shook his head until he saw the masked kid still waiting and muttered a negative.
“I didn’t for a long time either. It’s gets better. Don’t give up just yet. You’ll find your people.”
Peter just sighs. He wasn’t giving up. Teresa needed him. It was just nice to express his emotions, his confusion about everything.
He flops back, the other teen following. They stared at the sky in silence for a long time, long enough that Peter felt he wouldn’t get warm without a hot shower.
He turned to the vigilante before asking, “Who are you again?”
The masked teen just laughed and said, “I get that a lot. Although normally it’s Red Hood, not civilians saying it. I’m Red Robin. And you are?”
A smile broke out on his face as he thought, ‘Red Robin, Yummmm’ but he pushed away the mirth and replied, “Peter.”
A buzz rang out from Red Robins comm, directing him to a crime. “Well, it’s been nice talking to you, Peter. I hope you feel better.”
A sigh breaks out of Peter as he slowly climbs back into his bed, nervous for the coming days.
The next few days went by without another incident. The pair stayed inside, reading their library books and playing with Teresa’s toys. The books on the hero’s were interesting. At least now he’d be able to recognize the vigilantes and the rogues on sight. Teresa had taken to reading like a duck to water. In those few days, she learned to read her books by herself. Whether memorization or actual learning, Peter was impressed.
Calvin was pleasant with the both of them but Peter was on edge. He was walking on eggshells trying to not anger the man. Every day that passed without an incident just set Peter more on edge. When was he going to mess up again? When was Calvin going to snap?
Heart racing, Peter hesitantly asked, “Can we go to the library today, sir? I’d like to get some more challenging books for Teresa.”
Peter’s spidey-sense flared up for a moment before the man gave his permission with a reminder to be back before dark.
It was a breath of fresh air to finally leave the house, even if the outside air wasn’t clean or fresh. The tension seemed to drain from Peter as they walked further away from the apartment. He was thankful that Teresa wasn’t burdened with the same battles. He was pretty sure he would get close to killing Calvin if he laid a negative finger on the girl. Those moments of anger were intense and paired with super strength made for a deadly combination.
The library was as grand and peaceful as ever. Barbara greeted them excitedly as they walked in, likely missing the pair. Thankfully, Peter had no bruises on his face for the woman to worry about this time, the previous ones having healed.
Returning their books went quickly, both having taken care to not damage any. Teresa was bouncing in excitement at the thought of getting more to read. She had definitely found her first love. At least this one didn’t need a shovel talk.
This time, Peter grabbed some science books as well as a history book and a book on anger management. It definitely wouldn’t reference his unique scenario but maybe it would have some helpful tips.
Teresa grabbed another stack of children's books, giddy to read some more. It was heartwarming to watch. She deserves the happiness she has. Peter would take her to the library everyday if it made her happy.
As before, the pair checked out and left quickly. Barbara was missing from the front so they didn’t need to say any good byes although they did wave to the other librarian.
Nothing happened on the walk home or later that night. It felt wrong. The suspense was building. At least some of it was because the scholarship exam for Wayne Prep was tomorrow. Surely it would be fine.
The next morning, Peter quietly reminded Calvin who replied, “I work today. You need to figure out something to do with Teresa. She can’t be left alone in the house.”
“She can come with me. I’m sure she will be fine.”
The man just raised an eyebrow and shrugged, clearly not concerned.
The two grabbed Teresa a few books and began the walk to the school.
Teresa, skipping and swinging Peter's hand, questioned, “Have you been to school before?”
“Yeah, I went to a school in Queens, New York.”
“What is school like?”
“It’s fun! The teachers will help you learn things you don’t know and you will make friends you can play with.”
“Did you have any friends?”
A pang of grief rang through his heart as he thought about his friends. He misses building legos and trivia nights. He misses his guy-in-the-chair and his very complicated relationship with MJ. He even misses Harry, despite the boy trying to kill him. He smiled sadly before replying, “I did. My best friends were Ned and MJ. We had so much fun together.”
“Do you think I’ll make any friends?” Oh. She’s scared. It is her first time going to school and it’s not like Calvin told her what to expect.
“I know you will. You are smart, and kind, and amazing. I know you make just as amazing friends.” Peter gave her a spin, trying to get a laugh out of her. With laughter and joy in their hearts, they approached Gotham Prep.
The school was massive and had an ambiance of wealth and class. Doubt churned in Peter’s stomach. He was an outcast at Midtown and while it was expensive, it wasn’t a school for the fancy, rich kids. Could he handle another kid like Flash and deal with Calvin at the same time?
Signs guided them to the auditorium where maybe 50 students sat. As they approached the check in desk, an administrator wearing a “They/Them” badge, asked, “Names? Is she going to be testing as well?”
“Peter Parker. This is Teresa. She won’t be testing but I couldn’t leave her alone at home.”
The administrator did not seem amused. “She won’t be allowed in if she’s not testing.”
Of course. Maybe this school really wasn’t for him because things did not seem to be going his way. “Can she sit at the front by you and read? I promise she will be quiet and well-behaved. I really don’t have anyone else to watch her.”
The person stared into Peter’s eyes for a moment before sighing, “Fine. She can sit up front with me but if she is distracting or I catch her helping you cheat, then both of you are out and you will not be receiving a scholarship.”
Peter nodded eagerly at the chance, flashing the person a genuine smile. Teresa was inspecting the auditorium from her position at Peter’s side, likely her first time seeing a school gym.
“There are lockers in the room to the left. Place all items in it, including jackets, phones, water bottles, pencils, and paper. Scrap paper, pencils, and a calculator will be provided once the test starts. You will have an hour to complete it. Sit down at a desk once you put your items away and I will come to collect Teresa before the exam begins.
If you need to use the bathroom during the test, you are allowed to but the clock will continue counting down. The exam will be all multiple choice with one free answer question. After you are finished, place your exam on the desk at the front and return to your seat. The tests will be graded after the hour is up with the free answer question being the tie-breaker if needed. Any instances of cheating will result in removal from the scholarship application and any future attempts to attend Gotham Prep will be denied.
You have 15 minutes before the exam starts. Good luck. ”
The rules seem pretty strict. It’s a wonder they even decided to allow Teresa to sit in.
Peter didn’t have anything on him besides Teresa and her books so he headed directly to a desk that would give him a clear view of the front where Teresa would be likely sitting. Even though the test administrator seemed nice and his spidey-sense was silent, he didn’t trust Teresa to be out of his sight.
“Hey, T. I have to take a test right soon, okay? This means that you can’t sit beside me because they are worried you will help me with it. Can you sit quietly in front and read when the administrator comes and gets you? If you can, I’ll read you as many books as you want before bed.”
The girl nodded eagerly, looking around for the administrator. She was so eager for approval and attention. It was a wonder how anyone disliked her.
Shortly, the doors leading outside slammed closed and the administrator led Teresa to their desk at the front where they pulled a chair and got the girl settled before repeating her speech about the test and starting the clock.
The test was fairly simple. The science and math sections were so easy, neither the calculator or scratch paper were used. Although, there were a few scientists in the science section that he hadn't heard of before.
The history section was hard. While he had read up on the superheroes and villains of the world, he still didn’t know major historical figures. He didn’t even know who the current president was!
The English section wasn’t hard in terms of lacking knowledge but in that it’s more opinionated than the people that wrote the test believed. Asking what emotion a piece of text inspired would lead to a hundred different answers because everyone feels differently. This was not the subject for multiple choice questions.
The final question on the exam asked why they should receive the scholarship over everyone else. How was he supposed to answer that? He had chosen this school because it was close to Teresa’s. Sure, it had a great science program but that’s a lousy reason to need a scholarship.
Peter ended up deciding to write about how he had taught himself everything he knew and wanted to get into a school that would challenge him. He even added a piece about taking care of his sister and needing to attend a good school so he could support her in the future. It may not all be true but he didn’t have a single school record in this universe so he might as well.
There was still 10 minutes on the clock after he turned his exam in at the front, waving to Teresa. A few other kids were finishing up but a lot of them still had their pencils moving as fast as they could.
It was boring to sit there with nothing to do. He had already counted the ceiling tiles and the amount of lights in the room. He had moved on to listening to everyone’s heartbeats and guessing if they were doing well or terrible. Some people were definitely nervous but their heartbeat was still steady although fast, others let out groans every so often and their heart rate spiked with each new question they read and bubble they filled.
Finally the administrator called for pencils to be put down and tests to be delivered to her desk. The room was informed they could retrieve their items from the lockers and do whatever they wish, as long as it was quiet, until the tests were graded.
Teresa ran up to where he was sitting, immediately asking him what a word was in her book. He read over her shoulder as they waited and answered any questions about the book the girl had. The others in the room were all on their phone or chatting quietly with each other which made the doubt about this school swirl uncomfortably.
It didn’t take long before the administrator returned, results in hand. They waited until the room was silent before saying, “I will announce the scholarship placements in a moment but I ask that you stay and receive feedback on your exams. Thank you.
“The winner of the first place scholarship, including paid lunch and tuition, free uniforms, and provided school supplies is Eleanor Quinn.
“The winner of the second place scholarship, which includes paid lunches and tuitions and discounted uniforms, is Peter Parker.
“The third place winner is-“
So he had managed to get a scholarship even though he had definitely flunked the history section. Even with his doubts about the school, this scholarship was a big deal. Maybe he would even be able to go to college in this universe. A bittersweet feeling gurgled in his chest as he thought about how proud May would be. They would have gone out for dinner and watched movies late into the night. His heart felt it was constantly reaching out for her, trying to fill the gaping in his chest (or his head).
Eventually, they finished announcing the placements. Only 25 got a scholarship and only the top 10 got all tuition paid, the rest just getting partial coverage. The administator began approaching the applicants with feedback. Peter was the second one they approached and they gave him a massive smile before congratulating, “You did wonderful on the exam, Peter! You have some of the highest scores in math and science we have seen in years. The only reason you didn’t place first was due to the history section. Orientation is in a week and school begins the week after. You will receive your class the first day of school at the office and if needed, can request any changes there. They will use your results from this exam to place you in the classes best suited for you.”
“Thank you for the information! I really appreciate you allowing Teresa in here. I know you broke the rules a little.
“I think this opportunity will help me a lot in the future and I will always be grateful you gave me a chance.”
They laughed at that before replying, “You flatter me. I hope to see you around Gotham Prep. My name’s Alex Morgan if you didn’t catch it.”
“I will definitely see you around, Mx. Morgan! Thanks again!”
The walk home was full of laughter and dancing. He couldn’t believe he got in! He knew nothing about this universe. Teresa was matching his happiness, excited to read with Peter that evening. It has been a long time since he felt this happy. They stayed up late that evening, reading curled up in Peter’s bed, both content as could be.
The next week rolled around and both of the kids had orientation on the same day. Thankfully Teresa’s was in the afternoon and Peters was in the evening. They had both decided to wear their second-hand uniforms, taking care that they didn’t get wrinkled or dirty. Their foster parent just waved them out the door and said he was working again, although the game was on tv and a beer was in his hand. The man seriously bugged Peter.
Teresa’s school looked a lot like Peter’s although the kids and parents walking in weren’t drowning in wealth. It made them both feel better in their second-hand uniforms. Peter was by far the youngest person accompanying a child but it didn’t bother him because Teresa was chattering away in ear about everything she is seeing.
Teresa’s new teacher was a kind woman who introduced herself as Ms. Emily. Peter could already tell Teresa would flourish in her class. She had funny motivational posters on the wall. The wall had a section for family photos and drawings. There were stuffed animals and variety of seating options around the room, ranging from couches to yoga balls to beanbags. A full bookshelf full of books immediately caught Teresa’s eye. She tugged Peter over but he stopped her as the teacher called for the parents and students to take a seat.
The pair sat on the floor, Teresa in his lap, and listened intently to the teacher.
“Good morning parents, guardians, and students! My name is Emily Foster but you can call me Ms. Emily. I went to school at Gotham Instistute of Education and have been teaching for about 5 years now. I have lived in Gotham my whole life and I have a cat and a dog.
“As for teaching, I believe in the philosophy that children learn best through play so we do a lot of fun, hands-on activities in this class. I also believe its cruel for kids to be forced to sit still in a plastic chairs all day so you may have noticed the variety of seating options.
“Supply-wise, everything your child needs in provided by the school with the exception of show-and-tell materials and the occasional poster-board. Any supplies donated by parents and guardians are greatly appreciated.
“The school does require uniforms and unfortunately does not provide them or discounts on them. If you are having trouble getting a uniform, you can speak to an office admin. Every Friday is casual day where students may wear whatever (appropriate) clothing they wish.
“Now, thats enough about me! I am going to hand out packets detailing everything I just told you as well as anything I forgot. It will also include an “About Me And My Family” page that I’d like filled out for the first day of school. Any questions?”
As Ms. Emily passed out the packets, a few parents asked questions but Peter and Teresa had to leave before they could introduce themselves, having to be at Gotham Prep shortly.
The parents and students walking to Gotham Prep were starkly different than the previous schools. Each of the kids uniforms were perfectly fitting and clean. Both parents and kids wore shiny shoes and jewelry. Peter felt out of place in his secondhand outfit with no parent beside him. Teresa on the other hand, was excited to explore Peter’s new school. His orientation was different than hers in that they led tour groups around campus, explaining the code behind the room numbers and where certain locations where.
The group Peter got assigned consisted of a few familiar faces. The man and son from the library, Bruce and Damian, were there with four other kids milling around him. As they approached, he spied Barbara with group, a dark-haired girl talking with her.
Eagerly, her said, “Miss Barbara! It’s been a minute. How have you been?”
His eagerness faded for a moment as all five kids, Barbara, and the large man turned to him. His spidey-sense hummed lowly, warning him of the groups danger.
“Peter! Teresa! I have been doing great except for missing you two. What have you been up to?” Barbara sure seemed eager to greet him although it didn’t calm the rest of her groups subtle hostility.
His spidey-sense was refusing to die down so he carefully replied, “We have been reading the books we checked out over and over. I think Teresa here has found a true love.”
Teresa tightened her grip on his leg as her name was brought up and some attention was directed her way. He wasn’t sure but it seemed Bruce was the one she was truly afraid of.
“I’m really glad to hear that. It feels like kids her age either loving reading or hate it and loving it is by far the better option.
“Have I introduced you everyone here?”
At Peters head shake she began pointing at each person in the group, “I think you know Bruce already. These are his kids although I do steal Cass sometimes. She the one with dark hair glaring at you over there.
“Steph is the blonde one over by Cass. They are both seniors so they will be graduating this year.
“Tim and Duke are those two over there. They are both juniors so you may have some classes with them.
“And finally, we get to my favorite little munchkin. The tiny one with the big smile is Damian. He is a freshman this year but I’m sure you will see him around. He is who the group is here for.
“Everyone, this is Peter and Teresa. They are my friends from the library. Be nice.”
Well that’s not comforting. The scary child he vowed not be alone with was going to the same school (and was definitely not smiling or at all happy with the teasing). At least Tim, Duke, and Steph seemed nice despite the rest of their groups hostility. Maybe Barbara would cover him if he needed to run.
Bruce was the first to approach, scaring Teresa more into Peter’s side. He held out his hand again and smiled. “Nice to see you again, Peter. I hope life has been treating you well.”
At this point, Teresa was going to take him out from how hard she was leaning on his legs.After shaking the mans hand, he carefully maneuvered her so she could grip his free hand rather than hiding. This also discouraged the other from shaking his hand as his remaining hand was filled with papers from Teresa’s orientations.
He just smiled and nodded at the group, hoping their guide would appear soon. Eventually, an extremely tired senior walked to the group. Their badge read “Riley They/Them.” They greeted Cass and Steph quietly before beginning the tour.
Peter kept Teresa at the edge of the group the whole time, holding the quiet girls hand. It was unnerving how much she changed when men like Bruce were around. At least she got along with himself and Barbara. It may have been easier to leave her if she didn’t like him but a positive association with a man was still a milestone for her. She still gazed at everything going by but no longer gave Peter a running commentary.
Deciding he had enough of the quiet girl, he whispered his plan and gently lifted her onto his shoulder, crushing the papers in his hand. The girl let out a giggle as she found out pulling on his ears would get him to move. He ended up looking like a chicken with its head cut off. He was walking in circles, stopping suddenly, running gently into walls. Although, he made sure not run into anyone else or block anyones path.
He truly did not care what Bruce and his kids thought as he acted silly. A few of them laughed but Peter only had ears for the little one on his shoulder. Plus, it made the tour a lot more fun. Just hearing a tired, monotonous voice drone out about the cafeteria and the gym was boring.
The others in the group occasionally tried to talk to him but he kept his replies short and was always led away quickly. Plus it was hard to hear over a squeaky voice going, “This way, Horsey!”
At one point, he brushed against the freshman, Damian. His spidey-sense rang out immediately, forcing him to take a few steps back. The kids just snarled, “Touch me again and you are dead.”
Alrighty then. He was correct to want to avoid the boy. That kid was scary! He must have a Napoleon complex or something. It wasn’t very common for kids to be scarier than their parents. Bruce was scary, his spidey-sense told him that much, but Damian was worse.
Deciding to fuck with the kid, he rested his hand on the boy's shoulder, earning himself a snarl. With every ounce of seriousness in his body, he said, “If you could get death to stick to me, I would worship you for eternity.”
None of the others noticed their exchange but the small boy was glaring at Peter so venomously, he was surprised he didn’t die on the spot. Or that Damian didn’t get an aneurysm. That would be funny. At least until the other very dangerous members of his group turned on Peter and Teresa.
Finally, the tour ended. Peter had learned very little about the school but that was a problem for future him. Current him was worried about the steadily quieting child on his shoulders. It was going to be a long walk home if she was going to be asleep before they left the building. He shuffled her around so she could koala to the front of him.
Bruce stopped them, eyeing the fading girl. “Do you want me to give you a ride home? It’s not safe to walk after dark.”
Peter took a step back at that, his stranger danger alarmed at the offer. He shook his head and replied, “No, we don’t live far. No offense, but I don’t trust you.”
The man just smiled, “None taken. You are a smart kid. I wish my kids had as much sense as you.”
Peter almost chuckled at the glares and offended looks that were thrown at the man. Barbara rolled forward and offered, “I can drive you if you’d like Peter. It makes me nervous knowing you and how late it is.”
Peter just rolled his eyes and make sure his tone was joking, “I’m almost offended you think I can’t stay safe walking home. Come on, we are best friends, Miss Barbara. Trust me. But really, we are fine.”
Peter began walking off after that, hoping that no more of those strange people try to get him in their cars. He heard Barbara yell out that her offer still stands before she began talking quietly with the rest of the group. He was far enough away at this point that he couldn’t hear what they were discussing but hopefully it wasn’t about kidnapping him or getting him in their cars. Clearly that Bruce guy has a problem. It’s not easy to obtain that many kids with such similar ages. Was he a playboy like Stark? At least Tony was mostly over that era by the time they met.
Getting home after dark that evening seemed to be the straw that broke the camels back. Or rather, Calvins patience. Peter could tell the man was angry before he even began the walk up the stairs. Was he mad at them? Was he going to hurt Teresa? He debated not even going into the apartment but he wouldn’t be the one that ruined a home for the girl.
Carefully opening the door, hoping to sneak past the man, Peter tried to sneak into the dark flat. His heart was beating too loud to hear anything and his eyes were still adjusting from the well-lit landing to the pitch-black apartment. A fist to the side of his face startled Peter. A light suddenly flicked on, making the boys eyes water more.
A voice rang out, “Put the girl in her room. We need to talk about your behavior, boy.”
Again? He was in trouble again? At least Teresa was excluded from any punishment. Maybe he should have taken that ride. It still would have been dark but maybe not so late. No, there was nothing he could have done to be home before dark besides skipping his orientation.
After tucking Teresa in and making sure her door was firmly shut, he walked back into the living room, eyes watching his feet. He couldn’t even tell the difference between his panic and his spidey-sense at he waited.
“What have i told you, boy? Be home before dark. It ain’t that hard. Are you stupid or somethin’?”
Tsk. It was like he could have changed anything. Calvin could have easily come with them. It wasn’t like he was actually working. What was the man's problem?
A punch to gut had Peter crumpling to the ground. He was not prepared for that.
“Answer me, boy! You think it’s alright to have your sister out this late? She could get hurt and it would all be your fault,” The man snarled before kicking him again and shuffling off to his bedroom.
Peter laid there on the cold floor for a long time. It would have all been his fault. He was making the same careless mistakes that got Gwen and May killed. He was the problem, not Calvin .
Notes:
Did I say Calvin was going to be gone in CH5? Yes. Did it happen? No. Why? I have no idea but I know it will Ch7 (Calvin won't really play a big part in ch6 but his arc will finally end in ch7)
Bruce and Barbara absolutely pulled strings to get them in the same group. Damian was absolutely fuming at this.
A huge thanks to all the folks leaving kudos and comments. They mean a ton to me and are probably the reason I was able to crank out a 7000+ word chapter in a night when my normal chapter length is 1000 words.
I will be writing and polishing some chapters this weekend and then posting them throughout next week <3
EDIT: Thank you to anonymous user Toad :] for the comment suggesting, " I don't know, in my head, when Damian said he would kill Peter if he ever touched him again, Peter would have put a hand on his shoulder, with an expression of "would you do this for me?" "
This led me to add: " Deciding to fuck with the kid, he rested his hand on the boy's shoulder, earning himself a snarl. With every ounce of seriousness in his body, he said, “If you could get death to stick to me, I would worship you for eternity.”None of the others noticed their exchange but the small boy was glaring at Peter so venomously, he was surprised he didn’t die on the spot. Or that Damian didn’t get an aneurysm. That would be funny. At least until the other very dangerous members of his group turned on Peter and Teresa. "
Chapter 6
Summary:
Peter and Teresa go to school and have dinner at BatBurger.
'Damian spoke up, glaring at the girl, “I’ll have you know that I have never said ‘fuckers’ in my life.”
Teresa blinked before replying, “Yes you have.”
Damian squawked in rage, “No I have not!”
“Yes, you have. You just did,” the girl countered.'
TW: Mentions of Abuse
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Calvin’s anger did not let up over the next week. Teresa was never in the room when he snapped but he could tell she was starting to notice something was up. She had begun sticking close to Peter whenever they were awake, even sitting in the bathroom as he showered. She still didn’t initiate conversation with Calvin at all but continues to reply whenever he spoke to her.
It was the first day of school. Calvin had bought them what they needed for school supplies (although it had earned Peter another beating for being ‘ungrateful’) and had even walked them out the door that morning, straightening their uniforms and wishing them a good day. His act made Peter’s stomach churn.
The day picked up as they began the walk, however. The sun was actually shining, no one tried to mug them, and Peter had found a $20 bill on the sidewalk (a real one!). Teresa spent the whole walk asking Peter questions about school, many of which he had to dodge. He wasn’t about to tell her about how he was bullied and how none of the teachers cared or even believed him about anything. School had to be a positive, safe place for the kid. Who knew how long the peace between her and Calvin was going to last? Hopefully forever but Peter had to prepare mentally for the worst.
As they approached Teresa’s school, she began to walk slower and get quieter and quieter before finally, it came time to let her go. She looked up at Peter with a teary expression that made him want to give in to her every demand and his own eyes pricked with tears. It felt like she was going to crush his hand with how hard she was gripping it. “What if no one likes me? What if I get lost? What if something happens?”
His heart cried out at this. Clearly, he had not done a good enough job making school positive. Even worse, these were all valid fears, minus the liking part. There’s no way anyone would dislike her unless it was in jealousy.
“Hey, I promise it will be okay. I will be right next door if something happens. I think I can even hear you if you yell my name super loud!” Maybe he said that as a joke, maybe not. “If anything happens, you tell me right away and I will help you. I’ll even make you a deal. If you give school your best try today, that means trying to make friends and listening to your teacher, then we can go out to dinner somewhere special tonight.”
Her face lit up at that, absolutely no trace of her previous nervousness left. Did she just trick him? Even if she did, her smile mattered more. The cash he found this morning would go to good use.
She gave him one last parting grin before running into the building. He feigned sadness before dramatically wiping away a fake tear and muttering, “They grow up so fast.”
He definitely felt like hiding on a rooftop from nervousness as he walked up to his own school. He was once Spider-Man! How was he afraid of a new school? (Bullies. Judgment. Gossip. Staring.) At least School gave him some time away from Calvin. It was getting hard to avoid the man and his sleep was beginning to suffer. He spent the typical night racking his brain for any possible solutions to the situation besides leaving or hitting the man.
After a quick stop at the office, he received his class list. His first hour was AP English, then AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, lunch, General History, and finally Programming. At least he ended the day with something positive, even if he already knew how to code. Granted, he was used to StarkOS which consisted of a mishmosh of languages. At this point, he could use a refresher course on some of the basic languages. It wasn’t easy to remember any of the languages without practicing them regularly and it had been almost a year since he worked with Mr. Stark.
He missed Mr. Stark. The man would have already been thriving in this new universe. He wouldn’t have tolerated Calvin. Peter didn’t even want to think about how much trouble he’d be in for the stunt he pulled that led him to this universe. He definitely wouldn’t have been allowed in the lab for months and would probably have been forced to go to therapy. Ugh. Oh man, he would have totally lost his Legos too. And been grounded till he graduated college. He missed his old life.
But for now, he had to focus on his new life. He had to watch over Teresa, at least till he got her somewhere safe and that required going to school. At the very least, he didn’t have to redo sophomore or freshman year. He shivered at the thought of being in the same class as Damian.
AP English turned out to be pretty close to the office, which gave him enough time to not be late. Turns out it takes longer to drop off a clingy 6-year-old than he thought. He entered the class a moment before the bell rang and quickly slid into the only open seat. For being a fancy private school, they sure filled every seat in the class.
Turns out, he had sat down next to Duke, one of Bruce’s kids. He was tempted to ask about the strange man but ignored the desire in favor of pulling out his supplies for the class.
The English teacher talked a lot. Enough that Peter had resorted to scribbling spiderwebs in his notebook in boredom. It was strange how since his bite, he had become scarily good at drawing spiderwebs. It was almost like his instincts wanted him to make one. How funny was that? A human making spiderwebs.
Eventually, the English teachers had them do a writing assignment as an icebreaker with the person sitting next to them. They were supposed to list their commonalities and differences and explain they may impact their relationship. The first the other boy asked was “How did you get those bruises man? They look rough.”
Shit. He had forgotten about those. It wasn’t like Teresa or Calvin mentioned them and he avoided looking at himself in the mirror, wanting to pretend he still looked the same as before he died. Play dumb, Parker.
“Uhh, what bruises?”
He’s an idiot. It’s a wonder he never died. Well, he did. But he chose to die that time. Did getting dusted count as dying? That was mostly out of his control, though. Even more of a wonder how it took as long as it did for his secret identity to get out.
“The ones on your face? You literally have one that’s partially swelling your eye closed.”
He’d facepalm if it wouldn’t hurt.
“Ah, those bruises! Yeah, I got them- uhhh- when I got mugged?”
“Are you asking me? Because I have no idea how you got those,” the dark-skinned boy said while raising an eyebrow.
“How about we just start the assignment? Uhh- I’m Peter Parker. I grew up in Queens, New York, and ended up in Gotham a month or two ago. I have a little sister. I was raised by my uncle and aunt until they passed and I was adopted by my mentor who also passed. Kind of? I’m not really sure.”
That was a more honest answer than he was expecting to give. Curse his stupid awkwardness in uncomfortable situations. He knew Duke had a loving father and quite a few siblings. How awkward did he just make this conversation?
The other boy just stared for a moment before sighing and saying, “I’m Duke Thomas. I’ve lived in Gotham my whole life. Bruce took me in after my parents passed about a year ago. You’ve met some of my gaggle of siblings but I’m not even sure how many there are at this point.”
That wasn’t so awkward. It was actually just as honest as his own answer. Alright, so maybe this Bruce character's last name was Thomas? He took Stark's name briefly after he was adopted by the man but had to shed it after Mysterio and Strange's spell. And even Bruce’s kid acknowledged the amount of kids!
“I was meaning to ask about that! How did he come to have so many kids?”
The other boy laughed before replying, “All but one of us are adopted. Pretty much all of us are orphans that he found at some point and took in. Damian, the scary one, is his only biological kid.”
“That makes sense. They are both scary.” He got chills thinking about the look both of them gave him in the library and on the tour.
Duke furrowed his eyebrows before chucking. “You think Bruce is scary? I’ll have to tell him that. He will be so offended. He is the softest man around kids and if he knew a kid thought he was scary, well I think he’d cry.”
Oh shit. “No! Please don’t! I don’t want him to dislike me more.”
“Peter, that man could never dislike a kid. I think you could murder someone and he would just tell you how good of a job you did and how to hide the body while asking to adopt you.”
“That doesn’t help at all,” he deadpanned before directing their attention back to the assignment. How in the world were they supposed to do this assignment? Sure, they both live in Gotham now, we’re orphaned, have been adopted, and have siblings.
“So, what bs should we put for this? That we will ‘bond closely’ because we were both orphaned and adopted and can relate because we both have siblings? We can even throw in that we may ‘face difficulties’ due to me not being a native Gothamite.”
The boy just blinked at him for a moment before grinning and throwing an arm around Peter’s shoulder. “We are going to get along so well. Do you know how terrible my partners in my classes have been these last two years? I had to do everything by myself.”
Well, that was a surprise. He hadn’t planned on making friends at this rich kid school. In fact, he thought he was only going to make bullies. Hopefully, he didn’t get this friend killed, turned into a goblin, or get his memory erased. He wasn’t Spider-Man here so maybe his friends would stay alive and healthy.
Eventually, the bell rang and they handed in their assignments before parting ways, Duke letting him know he will keep an eye out for him at lunch.
His next class was AP Calc. The tiredness that had been chased off by excitement and nervousness was beginning to creep in, muddling his thoughts. It was far too early (when you didn’t even sleep the night before) to go to an advanced math class.
He walked in early, finding a seat and letting his head fall onto the table with a quiet groan. Shit. He had forgotten to eat this morning. He made sure Teresa was fed and then Calvin had begun helping them get ready so he was too on edge to remember breakfast. No wonder he was more tired than usual. At least lunch was in two hours.
A few moments after the bell rang, he felt someone slip into the desk beside him. The kid probably sweated coffee with how strongly he smelled of it.
Peter lifted his head up as the math teacher began explaining how the class worked, not even bothering to glance at the kid beside him. Apparently, this teacher didn’t believe in lectures which was a stark change from his previous class. He just handed out work packets that gave examples and explained that if they had any trouble, he would be at the group table and could help them. They were also welcome to work with their classmates as long as they remained quiet and stayed on topic.
The day's workbook was easy. He knew he would have it done within 15 minutes and then he could nap the rest of class.
As soon as he put down his pencil, he could hear the boy beside him do the same. He turned his head to see if he was actually finished or just taking a break and saw Tim, another one of Bruce’s kids. Were they following him or something? It did seem as if Tim was actually done with the work, though, as he took a few gulps of his coffee and grabbed a book to read.
Peter debated saying something but decided against it, not wanting to disturb the boy's reading. Before he had a chance to find something other than inspecting the boy to do, Tim whispered, “Hey. It’s Peter, right? I’m Tim. Did you finish the assignment?”
“Hi. Yeah, I’m Peter. I did finish it although I’m not sure what to do now.”
He waved off Peter's worries, replying, “Don’t worry about finding something. I’ve had this teacher since I was a freshman. He couldn’t care less what we do as long as the room stays quiet. Do you want to compare answers?”
The question seemed friendly but Peter could almost feel the challenge behind it. Tim was testing him. Did he think he was lying about being done or did he want to know if Peter did it right? Maybe Peter was being too harsh and Tim just wanted to be friendly. Either way, he scooted his desk over, leaving a few inches between them, and slid his paper over.
It took a minute but all of their answers matched. They had found some of the answers in different ways but each answer was exactly the same, even to decimal.
It was kind of shocking. Even at Midtown, Peter didn’t have anyone that could go toe-to-toe with him. His friends and classmates were smart but he was just a bit smarter. This was going to be fun.
He whispered a question, hoping to start a conversation. “So Duke is your brother, right? I had English with him and he told me a bit about your family.”
Tim took another gulp of coffee (how much was in that cup?!?) and replied quietly, “Yeah. He was adopted last year but we are already pretty close. He’s awesome. I still beat him at Mario Kart every time though. No one can be perfect I guess.”
Peter almost laughed but saved himself before asking, “Any chance you can pull your brother strings and get him to not tell your guardian something?”
Tim raised an eyebrow before slowly asking, “And what was he going to tell Bruce?”
Peter blushed before murmuring, “That I think Bruce is scary.”
Tim did not bother holding back his laugh. Everyone glanced at them briefly before turning back to their work, unconcerned with the boy. “Oh Bruce would hate that. Yeah, I’ll talk to Duke if it means that much to you.”
Peter let out a sigh of relief at that. He did not need another very large, very scary man upset with him.
That pair chatted the rest of class discussing everything from math theories to their favorite superhero (which Peter’s was NOT Nightwing). When class ended, they moved to continue their conversation in the hall however the rush of students led to them being separated.
Peter just resolved to talk more with the boy the following day. He had really enjoyed talking to someone that could challenge him mentally.
His next class was AP Chemistry. The instructions on the board directed the students to sit in pairs at the table and whoever they sat with would be their lab partner for the year. Most of the tables were still empty so he decided to wait and see if he’d be able to work alone.
Slowly, the class began to fill. Some of the tables were full of chatter, long time friends happy to be partners. Other tables have off an air of awkwardness, neither person having met before now. Soon, Peter was the only one without a partner. At least he wouldn’t have to do all the work for someone else.
Just as the tardy bell rang, Tim hurriedly shuffled into the room, a new coffee cup in hand. Where was he getting those? The boy’s face lit up as he saw Peter and quickly slid into the seat next to him.
“Peter! I lost you in the hallway back there. Do you mind if I sit here?”
“Oh, sure, so long as you are fine being my lab partner for the year. Where did you get another cup of coffee?”
“As long as you aren’t terrible at chemistry, I think I will be fine. I got the coffee from my locker.”
“… Why did you have coffee in your locker?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
Before Peter could respond, the chemistry teacher moved to the front of the room, their crutches tapping on the ground.
As they explained the class and what topics they were going to study throughout the year, Peter wondered how Teresa was doing. Hopefully she was making friends and finding her way around the school. He had been listening throughout the day and hadn’t heard any screams or heard her yell his name.
The chemistry kept them busy during class, not giving Peter and Tim a chance to talk. The beginning of the year safety unit had some time-consuming projects that neither of the boys could breeze through.
As the bell rang, Peter and Tim waved and went separate ways. Tim was likely going to refill his coffee again and Peter’s stomach was guiding him to the cafeteria for lunch.
The food at Gotham Prep was as nice as the school was. He was used to cardboard tasting Pizza, frozen tiny juice boxes and unseasoned vegetables. Deciding to grab as much as he could so he didn’t have to buy as much food for himself at dinner that evening, Peter stacked his tray with a little bit of everything they served.
After he managed to precariously balance everything, he turned to find somewhere to sit. The cafeteria was busy. The sounds of cutlery and chatter came and went in waves, threatening to drown Peter. Students were walking every which way and there wasn’t a single empty table. A spike of pain lanced through his brain from the chaos.
Before he even had a chance to analyze which table seemed to have the friendliest looking people, Duke called his name. He was standing by a table with the girls from the tour, Steph and Cass. Duke waved the boy over and Peter briefly considered just eating in the hall but decided against it. It would be rude to ignore him, especially since he was so nice to Peter earlier.
Peter sat down in a seat at the edge of the group and waved at the girls before turning to his food. His stomach was convinced it hadn't eaten in days since it hadn’t ben given breakfast that morning. Granted, he hadn’t been eating as much due to the stress regarding Calvin but he had still been eating.
Tim slid into the seat across from him, smiling and commenting, “Peter! Glad you chose to sit with us, man.”
Peter just smiled and nodded, not really sure how to reply.
Steph cleared her throat before asking, “So, Peter, how did you get those bruises?”
Ah man. Not again. These people already set off his spidey-sense and now he, the world's worst liar, had to lie to them. It was embarrassing to admit that he got in trouble so often.
“Oh, the bruises. Yeah, Duke pointed them out earlier too. As I told him, I got mugged.”
The dark-haired girl, Cass, glanced between him and Duke for a moment before landing on him. He shrunk from her gaze. It reminded him of Natasha. She had a look that felt like it could read everything about you and it probably could.
“Uh-huh. Okay. Do you need bruise cream or anything? Those look nasty, “ Steph offered, reaching for her bag.
Did she have bruise cream in her bag? Why? “I'm okay. It looks worse than it is and I’m already using bruise cream. I have a feeling that they will be gone by the end of the week.”
They would be gone by the end of the week so long as Calvin didn’t give him anymore. It was a good thing the group couldn’t see his torso because they most certainly would not let his topic go.
Cass raised an eyebrow at him as he finished talking and his instincts urged him to get away. This girl was dangerous and she knew he was lying.
In a desperate attempt to change the topic, he blurted, “I thought you guys had a little brother that goes here too. Why isn’t he sitting with you guys?”
Steph spoke up, “Oh Damian has a different lunch since he is a freshman. I’m not even sure he would sit with us even if he had the same lunch, though. He thinks we are ‘embarrassing’ and ‘not worthy’ of being around him.”
Peter let out a bark of laughter at this, causing the rest of the table to follow suit. That kid was so scary that he was funny, kind of like those animals that so ugly they are cute.
The group chatted throughout lunch, the topics of conversation being light and fun. Even with his reservations about the group, he still found himself relaxing and laughing. Was his spidey-sense wrong?
Eventually the bell rang and the group exchanged promises to sit together the next day. Peter’s next classes were history and programming.
With his stomach full and his mood light, he found himself dozing during history. The teacher didn’t even seem to notice, more focused on droning monotonously word for word from the slides he had up.
The sharp trill of the bell woke Peter up and he rushed to put his belongings in his bag and get to his next class. The programming teacher directed the students to an online course where they would work at their own pace as she monitored their computer usage from her desk. The teachers at Gotham Prep must be a different breed because Midtown’s teachers would never have let them have this much freedom. He had three teachers that hardly seemed to care what the students did during their classes.
Finally, the bell rang and Peter was first out the door. He practically sprinted out of the school and over to Teresa’s elementary school. He waited eagerly at the front, scanning the crowd for the girls dark curly hair. Before he could even see her, a small body slammed into his legs, wrapping them in a hug.
“Peter!” Teresa cried out. He couldn’t see her face to judge if she upset or happy. A spike of panic rose in him as he thought about everything that could have gone wrong. He gently pried her off of him and relaxed as he saw the grin on her face.
“Hey, T! How was school? Did you have fun?”
“School is awesome! I made a new friend and he sat with me at lunch. Miss Emily was super nice! She let me read one of her books after I finished my work.”
“Thats awesome, T! What’s your new friends name? Did anything else interesting happen today?” Peter inquired as they began walking.
“His name is Elliot! We had a lot of fun playing together during recess. He was a puppy and I was his owner. He had to bark at a girl that told me my hair was messy and that my mommy needed to brush it.”
Elliot seemed like he would protect from other kids at least. This ‘mean’ girl may be problem. Teresa’s hair was curly and wasn’t typically styled so he could see why the other girl may think it was messy. Maybe Peter would try to get Calvin to buy some products so he could style Teresa’s hair some mornings.
“That sounds like a lot of fun. Did what that girl said upset you at all?”
“Not really. I was just confused because I don’t have a mommy but Elliot told me kids typically have a mommy and a daddy. Is it wrong to not have a mommy?”
“Not at all! Some kids have two parents and some just have one. Sometimes they even have two mommies or two daddies. You have a big brother and Calvin. Maybe we should go to the library after school tomorrow and check out a book on families.”
“Two mommies sound like a lot of fun! I want two mommies to do my hair and take me to the doctor and to play with.”
He really needed to address the girls thoughts on moms and dads. Both parents should be caretakers and should never treat kids the way her father did. It wasn’t right that her birthfather messed up her views around parents so much.
For now, he just nodded with a smile and let her ramble about mommies and school as they walked to the BatBurger on 5th street. He had heard good things about it in passing and it was on their way home anyway.
As they walked into the themed food joint, he dug the money out his pocket and offered a few different food choices to Teresa. She ended up choosing the Two Face nugget meal and he ordered two burgers. They both decided to get a shake, Teresa getting strawberry and Peter getting vanilla. Peter threw the handful of coins in change into the tip jar.
After collecting their meal, they looked around for somewhere to sit and spotted Tim waving them over from a table near the window. “Peter! Peter’s sister! Over here!”
“Hey guys! What are you doing here?” Peter asked as they stood awkwardly by the table.
“This is out favorite place to get celebratory meals at and since it’s Damians first day of highschool, we decided to eat here.”
“That sounds awesome! This is my first time trying BatBurger so I’m hoping T and I can make a tradition out of it,” Peter admitted, balancing his tray as he scratched his head.
“Why don’t you guys sit with us? There are plenty of seats. The other will be back after they grab the food,” Tim suggested, patting the seats next to him.
Peter hesitated. He didn’t really trust this group yet but they hadn’t exactly done anything to warrant it. He didn’t want to seem rude but he didn’t know if Teresa would be comfortable with them. If they sat, Teresa would either sit between Peter and Tim or between Peter and another one of the group. That was a little close for comfort, especially if Damian is in the group.
Before he could make a decision, Teresa climbed into the seat beside Tim and turned to Peter, holding out her hands for her food. Peter raised an eyebrow in confusion but slid into the seat next to her and distributed their food.
The rest of the group showed up quickly. Duke slid in across from Tim and Steph and Cass sat across from Teresa and Peter. Damian was last and he made a face as he sat at the end beside Peter and Cass.
“Ah man, you stole Tim, Peter!” Duke joked, trying to break the awkwardness.
“Seems like you were too slow. I mean, me and Teresa are almost done with our food already. You should see someone about that. I’d hate for you be ‘Reverse-Flash: Snail-Man,’” Peter said with a dramatic flair at the end. He could hear Teresa’s giggle as she struggled to open her box and reached over to force it open without even looking. He set whatever figurines were in his bag into her box as he emptied the bag onto his tray.
The group let out a laugh at his joke, Duke sputtering and pointing at Peter’s still untouched food trying to save himself. Peter just looked him in the eye and slowly unwrapped his first burger and took a bite. Duke slumped down in his seat, dramatically stuffing a fry in his mouth. Peter opened his straw and shot the wrapper at Duke, earning him a squeak to which he gave a loud slurping noise as he drank his milkshake in response.
Damian frowned before demanding, “Why are you here? I don’t recall you being invited to a family dinner.”
“What? They didn’t tell you? I got adopted an hour ago by Bruce,” Peter said seriously, straining to keep the smile off of his face.
Damian turned to the rest of the group who all nodded stoically, Steph even asking, “You didn’t know? We must have sent it in the group chat you aren’t in, sorry.”
Damian sputtered for a moment and thats all it took for Peter’s mask to crack. He broke out laughing, tears welling up in his eyes. The rest of the group, bar teresa who was busy carefully eating the breaded crust off of her nuggets, began howling in laughter. Cass, who Peter was surprised found this funny, slung an arm around Damian and ruffled his hair, still laughing. Damian let out a squawk and shoved the girl away, nearly pushing her off of her chair.
Tim gasped for a breath to cry out, “Your face! We might need to adopt Peter and Teresa just for that joke. Did anyone record that? Dick and Jason are going to be sad they missed it.”
At that, Steph held up her phone triumphantly and announced, “I started recording the second I realized what was going on. Don’t even think about stealing this phone, I already sent it to them as well as Alfred and Bruce.”
Damian sent a venomous glare at Steph before aiming it at Peter. He snarled out, “Fuck you.”
Tim slapped his hands on his cheeks with a gasp before sarcastically scolding, “Language! You know Alfred would not be happy about that.”
Peter narrowed his eyes suspicious for a moment. What was the home life like for these kids? Steph had bruise cream in her bag. Damian and Cass were aloof and hostile. Tim seemed as tired as Peter was. Was there something going on at home?
Teresa’s giggle derailed Peter’s train of thought. She spoke with a serious tone, “Yeah, Damian, you don’t use language like that. Even Peter and Mr. Red Hood knows not to say ‘fuckers’ around daddies.”
Peter covered his hand with his mouth so Teresa wouldn’t see his laughter. Leave it to a 6-year-old to think that Red Hood agreed not to cuss around people like Calvin. The man hadn’t even been concerned about that, only about Calvin. Although she did bring up an interesting point. Were Alfred and Bruce husbands? It would make sense since Alfred was mentioned in a guardian context almost as frequently as Bruce.
Tim, Cass, and Damian stared at the girl while Steph and Duke hunched over laughing.
Between laughs, Duke gasped out, “Did ‘Mr. Red Hood’ actually say that? Because he doesn’t seem like the type to not cuss around his dad.”
Peter just chuckled and shook his head. “No, he said ‘fuckers’ and I reminded Teresa that we don’t say those things around Calvin, our foster father.”
Tim and Cass gave them an even closer look. It made Peter feel like squirming. He hadn’t said anything weird, right? He didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable, especially since Teresa seemed to like the group.
Damian spoke up, glaring at the girl, “I’ll have you know that I have never said ‘fuckers’ in my life.”
Teresa blinked before replying, “Yes you have.”
Damian squawked in rage, “No I have not!”
“Yes you have. You just did,” the girl countered.
Damian let out a yell of frustration before crossing his arms in a pout. Cass turned to him and pet his head, speaking softly, “There, there. It’s okay. She’s only a kid. You will be able to beat her battle of wills one day.”
Damian let out another yell before stomping out of the restaurant, the groups laughs following him. A few of the teens were wiping away tears as they congratulated Teresa on making Damian mad.
Tim glanced outside and turned towards Peter, “Tonight was a lot of fun! Thanks for sitting with us, you two. Do you need a ride home? Dick is here to pick us up and we could squeeze in an extra body or two.”
Peter just shook his head and threw away his trash as he walked out the door with the boy. “Thanks for the offer but we like close by. Hopefully we can hang out like this again!”
Outside, Dick was laughing while ruffling Damians hair, making the small boy flail as he tried to get away. The man stopped his assault as Peter and Teresa walked up to the group to say their goodbyes.
“Holy shit! Thats a big shiner you got there!”
Peter startled at the new voice, not expecting the man to talk to him. He just shrugged and lied, “I was mugged.”
Peter turned his attention to Teresa, picking her up for the walk home. With his attention diverted, he missed the look the older man gave him. Dick made himself a mental note to check up on the two. Those bruises were in too many shades of healing to have been done by one mugger.
The group, besides Dick and Damian, hollered out goodbyes as Peter turned towards home, Teresa in his arms. Peter was too happy and full to have a single worry about it being after dark.
—Later that night—-
“Hey Duke, Peter asked me to talk to you about his problem with Bruce.”
“Oh man, are you going to stop me from telling Bruce? It was going to be so funny.”
“Duke, my man. This is me talking to you about it. I never said I would stop you. Please, tell Bruce. I want to be in the room for this. Actually, we need to get Cass and Steph. They will want to witness this.”
“So Bruce, you know Peter right?”
Bruce narrowed his eyes, looking at four of his highschool-aged kids before replying, “Yes? I thought we all knew him. I put you in his classes to keep an eye on him.”
Duke and Tim exchanged a look before they broke out in mischievous grins and Duke said, “He told me today that he is scared of you!”
Bruce’s face paled a few shades at that and he looked like a kicked puppy. “I’m not scary! Am I? Do I really come off scary to kids? Tell me, Duke. You would know right? Tim? Should I ask Damian? He is the youngest out of all of you.”
All four of the kids broke out in laughter at this before Tim mentioned, “His little sister, Teresa, seemed awfully scared of you as well. There might be a pattern here Brucey”
At that Bruce hopped off the couch and ran out of the room hollering for Alfred and Damian.
Steph turned off her camera at that and held up the phone in triumph. “We now have blackmail material for the next time Bruce decides to ground us from vigilante work. Nice work fellas!”
—-
Notes:
I was giggling the whole time I was writing this chapter. It was so much fun writing the interactions between the characters.
Dick 100% had a very awkward conversation on the ride home bc he thought Peter and Teresa would be safe.
Ring, Ring. Ring, Ring. What's that? The red-flag alert! (And early chapter alert since I found out I’m working in the morning and I normally crash after watching a wild 3 year old. Ch7 might come Monday night or Tuesday morning. Depends on how quickly I can write it)
I wrote all of this work so far while I have been sick and I am terrified to see if my motivation drops when I am better.
Why. I posted this and found a ridiculous amount of typos that somehow escaped my 6 different editing reads.
Chapter 7
Summary:
Calvin is kicked to the curb, Peter and Teresa explore the city, Jason makes an appearance, and everything starts to look a little brighter.
' Eventually, the man returned with a few bags in his arms. “You by yourself or staying with someone?”
“It’s just me and my sister. Don’t try anything, though. I told someone we were coming here,” he bluffed.
The man snorted before stating, “Chill, kid. I just needed to know how many bags to give you.”
“Oh. Two is fine if you can spare them. We can get by on one if you can’t.” He felt like an idiot. Seriously, what was wrong with him? '
TW: Abuse, Medical Neglect (sort of)
Notes:
It took me forever to write this chapter. Between driving around in the rain (bc hell yeah), working, and watching the Harley Quinn show, I didn't have a whole lot of time to write but I sure did have the motivation. I am so happy that people actually like my writing and continue to read it.
I have truly never written this much in my life. Not for other works (not even the ones I spent weeks writing as a young teen), not for school projects, not for college assignments, not even for my winning science fair project
I think my ability to write such a long work is stemming from the love this fic has been getting. Thank you, every single one of you, for the kudos and hits. I would never have imagined I could get over 50 kudos, much less over 100!Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It had been a long week. Calvin had not been happy that Peter and Teresa had arrived home after dark again. It had been a pretty shitty night for Peter and he was reminded why they hadn’t left the house much during their stay there.
The next day after school, the pair had gone to the library to return their current books and get new ones. Barbara had immediately dragged Peter into the staff lounge and fussed over his face. Even the group at school hadn’t been this upset. They had just offered some pain medication and a few bandaids for the worst of the injuries. The kids hadn’t even pressed for answers after he refused to answer the first of the questions. Clearly, it wasn’t that bad.
At the library, Teresa got some books on families and even checked out a few books without pictures. Her reading ability was developing faster than Peter learned to swing. She was incredible and he once again vowed to support her the best he could.
The library trip had spurred another fit of rage from Calvin. It was getting worse both in severity and frequency as well as regarding Teresa. She hadn’t even been asleep yet when Calvin had snapped. When she had shuffled out of her room, Calvin had snarled at her to get back into her room and she had.
This event led Teresa to close herself off to the man and she grew quieter with Peter. The tension was rising faster now that it was beginning to affect Teresa. Peter was getting frustrated, Teresa was scared, and Calvin was angry.
Throughout the week, Peter had spent most of his classes and lunch sleeping whenever he could. Despite the loud and unfamiliar peers surrounding him, it felt safer to sleep there than at home. He spent most of the nights wide awake listening to Calvin’s every movement, tensed in preparation to grab Teresa and run.
His friends had noticed, Tim even bringing a blanket to throw over Peter’s shoulders whenever he could. Both Tim and Duke covered for him in class, telling the teacher that Teresa was sick so Peter had been up late caring for her. It was a smart lie and the teachers believed every word of it.
Still, Peter made it through the week without snapping and without the teachers calling CPS. He spent the weekend working on homework with Teresa curled into his side reading. The pressure was building and something was going to explode soon.
Sunday was when shit hit the fan. Peter and Teresa had been reading one of her books on Peter's bed when Teresa had started acting odd. Peter could hear a wheezing sound coming from her lungs occasionally interrupted by a coughing fit. He flew off the bed to try and sit Teresa in a comfortable position and began asking, “Teresa! Are you alright?”
She just shook her head and grabbed her throat, wheezing the whole time. He could hear her breath get shallow and quick as she panicked. Peter forced himself to go into Spider-Man mode and view the situation more rationally. She was having trouble breathing. Wheezing and coughing in addition to hyperventilation from panic. What was her past history? He could almost hear the click as the puzzle fit together. She was having an asthma attack. She was panicking because this is how she died. She needs her inhaler.
Peter picked her up and rushed out of the room to find Calvin. The man was on the couch watching a game show with a beer in hand. He didn’t turn to look at the kids as Peter rushed in the room but as Peter yelled his name, he snarled, “What?! Can’t you see I’m busy?”
Peter flinched before demanding, “Where is her inhaler? She is having an asthma attack. Please.”
“Why should I know? She’s supposed to be keeping track of her own stuff.”
Rage burned in Peter at that. Not once had this man told Teresa to keep track of her inhaler. She hadn’t even held it because she didn’t need to use it! He took a deep breath to keep himself from resorting to violence before asking, “Where might it be? Teresa doesn’t know and we need it. Now.”
Calvin turned to the boy with a murderous face. He was not happy to be interrupted again. Peter took a step back but maintained eye contact.
“Did you just interrupt me again, boy?” The man growled as he got up, slowly moving to the kitchen. “That will have consequences. You should know better than to interrupt me. I only want the best for you two but I cannot tolerate this disrespect.”
Peter caught something as it was thrown at him. It was her inhaler. He carefully set her down and pressed the inhaler into her hand. She had no problem taking two puffs of it and quickly began to catch her breath.
Peter grunted as something kicked his side from where he was kneeling in front of the girl. He rolled over to look at the man looming over him. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. His stomach felt like it was flipping upside down. He was fucked.
A kick to his head confirmed his thoughts. He was truly fucked. He glanced over at Teresa, hoping to convey that he wanted her to go to her room with his eyes. The girl looked mad. She looked madder than Peter had ever seen. For such a level-headed kid, it felt wrong.
Before Peter could even flinch, the girl let out a furious battle cry and threw herself at the man. The scream gave Peter chills. He could feel her rage, her fear, her protectiveness. Calvin was fucked.
Teresa immediately began clawing at the man, going after his ears and eyes. Shit. Calvin was too shocked to even move until she left a deep trench on his neck with her nails. She was going to kill the man.
Peter leapt up and grabbed the girl, sticking his hands to her so she couldn’t wiggle free of him. He peeled her off of him and pinned her into his chest. Now without a child diverting his attention, Calvin turned his gaze back to Peter.
The man had bloody gashes all over his head and neck which only made the look he gave the pair even more terrifying. Peter couldn’t hold him off and keep a struggling and screaming Teresa contained.
So he didn’t. He ran. He held the girl close and threw open the front door and ran. He didn't listen to see if Calvin followed. He wasn’t even sure he could have heard if he did. Teresa was still thrashing and screaming in rage and Peter’s heart was so loud, he wouldn’t be surprised if Teresa could hear it.
He ran until his legs collapsed, sending him falling forward. He carefully rolled to the side, protecting the girl in his arms. He felt the concrete tear up his arm and face as he slid. That would be a pain to hide from everyone at school.
Teresa stopped thrashing the second they fell, her screams quickly turning into sobs. Peter wiggled his way to the nearest alley wall, not letting his grip on the girl loosen. He leaned against the wall and rocked the girl back and forth until her crying slowly ebbed and she began trying to gently push her way out of Peter’s grip.
This time, he let her go. She stood and faced him, face blotchy and covered in tears and snot. She stared at him until he could feel tears slowly begin to wet his own face. She stepped and kneeled, hugging him tightly. Peter could feel the dam break and his tears flowed out, accompanied by mangled sobs.
The two held on to each other for a long time. Long enough that their eyes dropped and bodies shivered. Long enough that Peter ended up curled around Teresa, both embraced in sleep’s comforting arms.
When Peter woke, it was bright out. They seemed to be in an unfamiliar alley on an unfamiliar street. He mentally cursed himself for not having explored the city in his time here. Peter must have shifted because Teresa shot awake, slamming the top of her head into Peter's chin.
Both kids muttered their hurt and rubbed the offended body part before finally standing on wobbly legs. Peter was sore. It felt like he had just run a marathon pre-powers. Teresa seemed to be in a similar boat. She rubbed her arms up before catching sight of something on her fingers. Her face paled before she whispered, “Did that actually happen? Did I really do that?”
Peter nodded solemnly before gently asking, “What do you remember?”
“I- We were reading and I got an asthma attack. You brought me to… to Calvin to find my inhaler. He wasn’t happy that you kept asking for it but eventually gave it to you. Then he hit you. I got really mad. My brain got fuzzy and I could only think about how angry I was. I think I hurt Calvin. I can remember feeling kinda happy that I hurt him the way he hurt you,” Teresa recalled. Her face twisted in anger as she spoke, only looking up from her hands when she mentions Peter getting hurt.
He nodded before explaining, “I was wondering if you’d experience that. I’ve been having been feeling that rage occasionally since I woke up in the machine. I was hoping you wouldn’t have to deal with it, especially since you hadn’t yet. When we have some time, I want to talk more with you about this. I don’t want either of us to have to be scared of ourselves.”
Teresa looked up her brother before meekly asking, “We aren’t able to go home, are we?”
Peter’s heart broke. She sounded so sad, so broken. She seemed to be as guilty for them not being able to go back as Peter had been each time he angered Calvin and risked her home. He shook his head before replying, “We aren’t. But it is not your fault and it will never be. Calvin was angry long before last night. You didn’t do anything. We will find somewhere else to stay. We can make our own home, okay?”
The girl's green eyes grew watery as Peter spoke and she nodded quickly once he finished. He grabbed her hand before slowly walking out of the alley, still unsteady on his legs.
They had no shelter, no food, no water, no supplies. They only had the clothes on their back and each other. Their school bags were still in their rooms. Shit. It was Monday. They were supposed to be at school already. Hopefully the school would be lax since it was their first absence. If they called Calvin, he could report them. They may even end up back with Calvin or with someone worse.
Think, Peter. First off, find shelter. Second, a job for food, water, and supplies. Third, figure out custody. That was manageable. Only three things, right?
He gave Teresa's hand a quick squeeze before they began walking, trying to figure out where they were and how to get back to somewhere they know.
It didn’t take long before they ran into a homeless man begging. The man looked like a skeleton. His bones seemed to stick out of his thin skin and his eyes were gaunt. But Peter’s spidey-sense didn’t give a single warning regarding the man.
Peter decided to ask for help, gripping Teresa’s hand tightly. “Excuse me, sir? Do you know where we are? I’m afraid we got a little lost.”
The man gave them a warm smile, only slightly dimmed by his discolored and scarce teeth. “You are in Crime Alley, kid. Not a great place to be lost. Where are you trying to get to?”
“The Gotham Prep area.”
“Ah, that’s an easy one. You actually aren’t far at all. Just keep heading down this road and you will be there in no time.”
He must have run towards Gotham Prep at some point. He hadn’t been in this part of town since he came back to life. “Thank you, sir! I wish I had something to give you.”
“Don’t you worry ‘bout that. Are you hungry? Some kind soul gave me a fifty this morning and I can’t think of a better way to spend it.”
Peter was going to decline but both his and Teresa’s stomach growled loudly at the thought. Maybe a meal wouldn’t be so bad. This man didn’t seem to be dangerous at all.
“Really? For free? I don’t want to take any money away from you.”
The old man nodded before he gathered up his stuff and began shuffling down the street until they reached a cafe with a design on the window reading ‘Neal’s Cafe’. The smell of coffee and pancakes had both kids drooling, the pair already forgetting their wariness about the man.
An older lady at the register lit up as the man walked in and greeted, “Mori! It's been a minute! Life been treating you well?”
“Stella! Life’s been life. You know how the streets of Gotham are, especially with all of the Rogues out of Arkham right now.”
The Rogue Gallery is out of Arkham? That’s not good. It wasn’t safe for Peter and Teresa to be on the streets normally, much less when the villains were wreaking havoc.
The man ordered both kid’s meals and hot chocolates before guiding them to a table. It didn’t take long for Stella to bring over the plates overflowing with pancakes, eggs, and sausage and the mugs of steaming hot chocolate.
The siblings immediately began to devour the food, only stopping to drink the hot chocolate. By the end, the pair both had full stomachs and eased minds.
“So what are you two kids doing in the streets?”
The question seemed innocent but Peter narrowed his eyes before asking, “Are you planning on telling CPS about us?”
The man chuckled before stating, “CPS? I’d never tell those idiots anything. I grew up in the system and there were times when it was easier on the streets than in a shitty home.”
The siblings relaxed before Peter admitted, “We got into a fight with our foster father last night. He didn’t want to give Teresa her inhaler and got upset with me when I continued to ask for it. We ended up having to run.”
The old man hummed before stating, “I wish I was able to help you with more than a meal. I do have some information that might be useful. There’s a clinic on 5th street that offers free medical care, you know it? Just down the road from it are a few abandoned buildings that are all boarded up. Some of the most secure ones I’ve seen. Most of the folks around here don’t even bother trying to get into them anymore. It might be a waste of time but maybe you’d be able to find a way into it. If not, come and find me again. I’ll be keeping my ears open for anywhere safe and unoccupied.”
Peter nodded, mentally marking the information. The clinic wasn’t very far from their schools so it would be a positive if they could find somewhere to stay around there.
“Ah, I almost forgot. There’s some fella around here who gives care packages to homeless kids. He’s trustworthy. There’s not a single word that he has ever harmed a kid so don’t go worrying about that. I’ll even give you my word that he is safe and my word ain’t light. It’s all I have left.
“His apartment is back the way we came, in the building without graffiti on it. Look for the red door on the top floor, only one in the building. Just knock and let him know why you are there.”
Peter hesitated. Should he really trust a man he just met and go meet another stranger? He couldn’t afford not to really. He didn’t have anything. He gave a short nod, hoping the older man would move on.
Teresa looked at the old man for a long moment before saying, “Are you Santa? You bought us food and are nice and have a white beard.”
Peter held back his laugh, not wanting to embarrass the girl. Mori just grinned and put his finger to his lips while winking. Teresa’s face lit up and she quickly began talking about what she wants for Christmas (book, books, and oh what’s that? More books.)
Eventually, the older man stood up and prepared to leave. He looked Peter right in the eyes and spoke, “It is going to be rough for a while but I know you will be alright. I can already tell you are strong and smart and stubborn. Just don’t let that stubbornness keep you from accepting help.
“And you, young lady, make sure your brother takes care of himself. He may forget it but he matters just as much as you do.”
Both of the kids nodded, accepting the man’s advice. Peter sighed and stacked all of their dishes on the table before leading Teresa out the door. First stop: shelter.
The clinic was easy to find once Peter realized where he was. He followed the man’s advice and began searching the nearby street for somewhere safe. There were quite a few boarded up buildings, many covered in graffiti with groups of people loitering around. Peter could hear people and rats in a few of the buildings so he crossed them out mentally.
There were two buildings that weren’t occupied by people or rats, looked securely boarded up, and weren’t falling apart. With Teresa clinging to his back, Peter scaled the wall of the first building. He checked the room access door to find it locked and carefully instructed Teresa to wait there before checking the second story windows. There weren’t any openings for this building and he’s rather not force his way in yet.
The second building didn’t have any way in on the first floor so he repeated the process and brought Teresa up to the roof. He checked the roof access door but it refused to open just like the other so he crawled down and checked the windows. Just one of the windows was missing the security bars and opened just enough that he could possibly squeeze himself through. Each inch he slid in was accompanied by the sharp pain of splinters breaking skin. That was going to be a pain to deal with later.
After what felt like ages, he fell to the floor inside the silent building. Immediately, the smell of paper, ink, and dust wrapped him up in its comforting arms. He ignored it for now and sprinted to the roof access to undo the lock and allow Teresa inside.
Teresa was ecstatic at their potential shelter. She was bouncing on her toes as she ran her hands over the nearest books, even daring to take one off the shelf. Of course, it immediately assaulted her with a cloud of dust, triggering a coughing fit. Peter kept a close eye on her, wary of another asthma attack. The pair slowly began exploring the building.
The building was even more secure than he had thought. He had spied that each window was covered by security bars on the outside but they had additional storm shutters pulled down on the inside. It was pure luck that one of the windows had been forgotten.
The first floor had similar protections on the windows but also had a mental security gate covering the front entrance. There was a counter at the front, lacking any technology on it but containing a few messy stacks of books. The whole building was covered floor to ceiling in bookshelves and books. It was truly Teresa’s dream.
Speaking of Teresa, the girl came barreling the stairs, almost falling. “Peter! Peter! Look! They have the Velveteen Rabbit! There are so many books! You will read them all to me, right? Right?”
Peter couldn’t help but laugh, her happiness fueling his own. “I’ll read as many as I can but there are so many books here that it may take us years! Can I let you in on a secret? We don’t even have to return these books to the library. We can keep them.”
Teresa let out an excited shriek at that, causing Peter to plug his ears as he laughed. He sobered for a moment as he thought about the library books still at Calvin’s. Those were going to be some hefty fees to pay whenever they returned to the library. If they returned. It wasn’t like they needed to anymore.
After some deeper snooping, Peter ended up finding a box of music supplies with bells in it, a box filled with printer paper, some holiday decorations, and a box of craft supplies. These would be useful at some point.
Now that he was certain the building was empty and safe, he lifted his hirt to carefully pluck out the splinters. It looked better than he thought with there being more scratched than splinters.
Deciding to secure the place a little better, Peter pulled out some of the holiday decorations and carefully extracted the thin, stretchy string and attached bells to each end. He repeated this progress a few times before arranging the contraptions on the stairs and in front of the windows and doors. The string was thin enough that it would be hard to see so if someone managed to make it inside, they would hopefully step on or trip on the string, causing the bells to make a ruckus. That should give them just enough time to flee.
He taped a bell an the doorframe above the door that opened to the ladder to the roof as well, to alert them anytime it was opened. Just to be safe, he set a tiny ripped peice of paper in the crack of the door to the roof to inform if the door was opened while they were gone.
The building had a few arm chairs and a couch that Peter hauled up to the second floor and placed in the furthest corner from the roof access door and the partially opened window. He lined them up in a way that made something similar to bed albeit a dusty and awkward one.
He then drug some of the shelves around to conceal the makeshift bed before moving some of the books off the shelves facing the bed in preparation of supplies.
The building did have a bathroom but didn’t have running water meaning the toilets would ‘flush’ but didn’t have any water to wash down solids. Peter figured if they stayed there, he could make some sort of system to collect rain water to power the toilets. It wouldn’t be clean enough to drink or wash with but it would work for flushing toilets. They could even try boiling it if they couldn’t afford to buy clean water.
With shelter and water sorted, that left supplies. They needed money, food, sleeping bags, and school supplies. A groan escaped Peter as he realized the easiest way to get their school supplies. He would need to break into Calvin’s apartment and steal them.
It was a risky move. If Calvin was home and caught him, he was dead. But if he took the risk, he wouldn’t have to worry about buying new school supplies or paying for their library books. He kicked a wall gently in his frustration before calling for Teresa. He wasn’t sure about leaving her alone yet, especially when they hadn’t discussed how to be safe in their new home.
With Teresa on his back, Peter hopped from roof to roof until he reached their old apartment. His heart was racing as he squatted on the roof, listening. He could hear someone on a different floor cooking but nothing was coming from Calvin’s apartment. Just to be safe, he peeked into the windows, checking to see if the man was anywhere. The apartment was empty.
After instructing Teresa to stay quiet and still on the roof, he crept into his window and began stuffing everything he could into his school bag. Once he had filled the bag to its brim, he set it on the room before creeping back into Teresa’s room. She didn’t have as much for school supplies so he was able to fit more clothes into the bag. He grabbed as many of her jackets and warm clothes as he could before sneaking into the kitchen to look for her inhaler and found it tossed in the trash. He wiped it off the best he could before sticking it in the girls school bag. He then handed the bag back to Teresa, making sure she was doing alright.
Deciding at the last second to take some more items, he climbed back in and grabbed the pillows and blankets off of their beds and wrapped all of it up with his comforter. Hopefully they would be able to keep warm with all of the bedding.
The rooms looked pretty bare as he left. A flash of fear struck him as he wondered if Calvin would report the theft and he considered putting the bedding back. He decided against it. If Calvin called the cops, Peter and Teresa would report his abuse. Peter had no doubts that Miss Barbara and his friends at school would attest to his bruises. No matter how cruel the man was, he wasn’t dumb enough to turn himself in.
The walk home took a lot longer. Teresa wore her backpack and clung to Peter's chest while he wore his bag backwards and held the bedding bundle in his arms. It was awkward and slow and made jumping between buildings difficult but they made it back without anyone seeing them.
After organizing all of the supplies, Peter reviewed his mental list again. They had found shelter. They had supplies for school and sleeping. They just needed money for food and water now.
How could he get money? They needed it immediately and most jobs took a week or two to get hired. A grin broke out on his face as he worked out a plan.
“Teresa! Grab your library books, we are off to see Miss Barbara.”
Peter facepalmed as he walked up to the public library. It was Monday, they were supposed to be in school and he had no idea what time it was. He knew they were already going to face trouble for missing school that day but that trouble could come immediately if Barbara turned them in.
He didn’t even get a chance to decide what to do as Teresa dragged him in, eager to see one of her favorite people. Barbara was at the front desk where she always was. The woman smiled and wheeled over to meet them as they walked over. Teresa was wiggling like a puppy in excitement as she began to ramble. “Miss Barbara, you would never guess what happened! We met Santa and he told us about this super cool building! It had so many books so we boobytrapped it!”
Barbara shot Peter a questioning look but he just grinned and shrugged before dropping their books in the return bin. He wasn’t sure what to tell the woman. They were in a very precarious spot. If Barbara was a mandated reporter, she’d be obligated to inform the correct people about the siblings' situation. Even if she wasn’t, it wasn’t guaranteed that she would keep it to herself. He liked the woman and trusted her more than most people but he did not trust her with Teresa’s safety which included their secrets. He didn’t even want to think about how far he would go to protect Teresa.
He placed a hand on Teresa’s shoulder, stopping her chatter, before guiding her up to the computers after a quick wave to Barbara. The computers were empty so he sat himself near the wall and made sure none of the cameras in the building could see his screen. The time on the computer informed him that it was after school hours. They were safe on that front.
After signing into a guest account, he began his search. He started with forging emancipation papers. There were going to be a lot of holes in them but it would give him a lot more freedom to move around. It took some time to make them seem semi-legit but no one should be looking into it if he played his cards right and stayed out trouble.
Now legally emancipated, he listed Teresa as his ward. While legal, this wasn’t something CPS would be likely to allow, especially with their living situation. In theory, no one should look into it very hard. If they did, Peter would have accept the consequences.
With guardianship figured out, Peter moved on to opening a bank account. It took a little bit of round-about work to get the bank to open an empty account but eventually it did without sending any alerts. They were going to send him a debit card for the account but he needed somewhere to have them mail it to. The building they claimed didn’t have a true mailbox and Peter didn’t own a PO box. He decided to request a physical pickup from the bank. They wouldn’t have time to go that day but he might be able to make it after school one of the following days.
This led to the next step. Stealing. Quite some time ago, Tony had lectured him on who to take money from and how to do it in a safe way. The first step was to find someone with old money. He had seen a brief mention in one of the books he read about a Bruce Wayne guy funding the Justice League. If they were anything like the avengers, there were tons of random purchases.
The next was getting into Wayne’s bank account. It was easier than he predicted considering how often banks got robbed. Maybe they didn’t have any money left over to reinforce the technological side of things. He scrolled through the charges to Wayne’s account, looking for any repeating charges with varied amounts. There were more than he was expecting so he just picked one at random. Then he chose a random amount to transfer that didn’t exceed what was normally charged to this place. He turned to Teresa, who was playing games on a kids website, and asked her for some random numbers. She offered ‘6’ and ‘4’ so Pete typed in ‘$764.14.’ It would be less noticeable for the charge to be a random number than a pretty one. He forced the system to display that the money was transferred to the random place and checked his account to see if it went through. Lo and behold, the money was there. He had successfully stolen.
He had committed multiple serious crimes today, enough that he would likely face actual jail time if caught. If anyone looked too close, he was screwed. It was impossible to make some of these documents look real in a single day. At least Teresa was only connected to him in one document so if they got caught, he would be the one in trouble.
Needing to find something non-criminal to do, Peter began searching for jobs. A lot of the listings needed work during school hours or weren’t suitable to have Teresa near. He needed somewhere that was smaller and more open to letting her sit in while he worked.
A listing for a small plant store called ‘Verdant Vines’ caught his attention. They were looking for part-time help in the evenings and seemed to be flexible with their scheduling. He sent in a quick application for them and decided to do some research on how to best care for plants. He’s always done fairly well caring for them but he wasn’t sure about terminology or how to heal a sick plant.
Happy with his progress that day, Peter closes out the computer, making sure there wasn’t any trace of his activities. It took some time to convince Teresa to leave the games but she eventually conceded and followed Peter to the elevator.
Barbara greeted them as they stepped out and asked, “Everything okay Peter? I know you don’t like me asking but you have some nasty injuries on your face, worse than you normally do.”
Peter gave a genuine smile before answering, “Everything is perfect. I think things are really looking up for us.”
Barbara looked relieved. “I’m glad. I really worry about you two. If you ever need anything, including hiding a body, you let me know, okay?” Barabra gave them a wink as she joked. At least, Peter hoped it was a joke.
It had been a long day but it wasn’t over yet. Neither kid had eaten or drank anything since breakfast. While he had the money, he didn’t have a card yet. Remembering what the older man had mentioned, he began walking back to where they had woken up that morning. The graffiti-less building stuck out like a sore thumb. Peter carefully brought Teresa up to the roof and reminded her to be quiet. “Okay, T. I'm going to talk to the man Santa told us about. If I’m not back in a while, you climb down the fire escape and go find Barbara and tell her what happened. Can you tell me what you should do if I don’t come back in a couple minutes?”
The girl's green eyes were wide as she repeated what Peter told her. “Are you going to leave me?”
“Never. I am just going to ask for some help and then I will be right back. I will do everything I can to make sure nothing bad happens to me but if it does, Barbara will keep you safe until I can find you.”
Teresa nodded, a worried look on her face. She seemed more scared now that when he had gone back to Calvin’s. Before Peter could climb back down, she wrapped her thin arms around him and squeezed. He could feel her heart racing and her hands shake. He could smell the syrup from the pancakes they had for breakfast in her hair. He gave her a final look over, memorizing everything he could. He would not let this be the last time he saw her.
The old man was right, there was only a red door. Peter gave a tentative knock, listening for movement within the apartment. A click of a gun had his stepping back before the sound of multiple locks being undone greeted him. His stomach churned. This was a lot like when the CPS agent brought them to Calvin.
He stuffed his fear down and attempted to put on a stoic mask as the door squeaked open. It needed oil on the hinges. A man with a similar figure to Calvin appeared in the opening. His figure was intimidating. He was tall and broad, his face etched with scars and discolored with bruises. His dark hair interrupted with a flash of white near the front.
Peter’s eyebrows furrowed. The man’s white streak was in the same spot as his. Even the man’s eyes were the same shade of green as Teresa’s and Peter’s. “You look like me,” he blurted, frowning.
The man just raised an eyebrow before deadpanning, “Seems so. Can I help you?”
A flush of embarrassment burned Peter's face. “Oh, um, Mori sent me. He said that you give supplies to kids that need it.”
The man stared at him for a moment before turning around and walking away, leaving the door open. Peter glanced around nervously and shifted his weight between his feet. Was he supposed to follow or was he meant to leave?
Eventually, the man returned with a few bags in his arms. “You by yourself or staying with someone?”
“It’s just me and my sister. Don’t try anything, though. I told someone we were coming here,” he bluffed.
The man snorted before stating, “Chill, kid. I just needed to know how many bags to give you.”
“Oh. Two is fine if you can spare them. We can get by on one if you can’t.” He felt like an idiot. Seriously, what was wrong with him?
“Two it is. Any allergies or major dislikes?”
Peter shook his head, not paying attention as he listened for Teresa. It sounded like she was pacing.
“How’d you get those bruises, kid?”
Peter flinched for a moment before deciding to tell the truth for once. “Shitty foster father got mad. We don’t need to worry about him anymore.”
The man frowned before handing the bags to Peter. “Got a name? I’d like to make sure he doesn’t hurt another kid.”
That was a good point. What’s to say that Calvin wouldn’t get another foster kid in the future? Would he hurt them too? “Calvin. Not sure of his last name. He lives near Gotham Prep. I think the address is-“ Peter gave the address he remembered writing down on his school forms. Hopefully he won't regret this decision.
The man wrote it down on his hand with a pen that somehow just appeared before looking Peter in the eyes, “Thanks kid. I’ll handle it. Do you have somewhere to stay?”
Peter hesitated before nodding.
“Good. If something happens, my door is always open. The name’s Jason. If you can’t get here for any reason, mention my name at the clinic or the library. They will help you until I can.”
Peter gave a quick nod while giving a quick prayer that he would not have to seek out the man again. “I’m Peter. Thanks- for all of this. Why do you do it?”
“The bags? Because I was once a kid on these streets and I know much anything can help. If you meant dealing with ‘shitty’ fuckers that hurt kids, then I do that because I had some of them in my life as well and it makes me feel safer knowing they can’t hurt another kid.”
Mori was right. This man was safe. Peter resolved to come here again if shit hit the fan. While he could tell the man was dangerous, his spidey-sense assured him that he was safe. It was an odd feeling. Normally his sixth sense warns of danger and doom not safety.
Both stood there awkwardly staring at each other for a moment before Peter cleared his throat. “Thanks again. These will really help.”
Jason gave him a nod before gently clicking the door shut and locking the many locks again. That went better than he expected. Grabbing both the bags, he made his way back up to the roof to retrieve Teresa.
The second Teresa saw him, her eyes welled with tears and she slammed into the front of him. “I was so scared you weren’t coming back,” she cried.
“I’m sorry for worrying you, T. I think I’d be scared too in your shoes. Do you want to stay like this for a bit longer or do you want to see what is in the bags?”
Teresa mumbled, “Stay like this.”
Peter slowly sat himself down, pulling the girl into his lap and squeezing her. He began humming a song as he waited for the tension in girl to fade. The sun had long been down and a chill was beginning to set in by the time Teresa relaxed enough to let Peter go.
“Ready to see what’s in the bags, T?”
The girl nodded and reached for one of the bags while Peter grabbed the other. Inside, there were a few jackets, underwear, socks, lots of vouchers and gift-cards to stores and restaurants, peanut butter, protein bars, canned fruits and soups, lighters, basic first aid kits, an empty thermos, hair brushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, baby wipes and some cash.
The weight of the day was washed off as Peter looked at the contents of the bags. They would be able to get by for quite some time with these supplies. They would be okay.
After putting all of the heavy items in his bag and all of the lighter items in Teresas, he slipped Teresa in her normal spot on his back and began jumping from roof to roof to find the nearest store that Jason had given them a gift-card to.
The store was still brightly lit despite the time of night, surprising Peter that it was open. He grabbed a few gallon jugs of water, some bread, plastic cutlery, paper bowels, paper cups, a cheap pot, and the cheapest battery-powered camping stove he could find. He’d have to keep an eye out for solar panels. While Gotham rarely got sun, it may be able to charge the stove and some lights.
The cashier give him a funny look but informed him he still about $25 left on the gift card and wished him a good evening. If he ever met Jason again, he would thank the man on his hands and knees. They were saved, at least for now.
Teresa was asleep on his back by the time they got so Peter gently woke her up once he landed on their roof. She yawned the whole way down the ladder into the building. Peter just sat her on a pile of a books before digging through the bags to find some bread and peanut butter. After making a quick sandwich, he handed it to the girl with a cup of water.
While Teresas groggily ate, Peter organized their supplies. He put the food on higher shelves to discourage any rats or mice from getting to them. The clothes were folded and set on the shelves, separated by owner. He turned the shelf below their food into the ‘kitchen’ placing the camping stove and paper dishes on it. He stashed the money, gift-cards, and vouchers inside a few different books and made sure to place them away from each other.
Once the girl was done eating, Peter climbed into bed with her and covered them both in as many blankets and comforters as he could. While it wasn’t as cold inside the building as it was outside, it was chilly enough that both kids could get ill easily.
Running his hand through Teresa’s soft, curly hair, Peter began to quietly sing an Italian lullaby that Tony had sang to him while he was sick. It didn’t take long before he was dreaming of Tony Stark and Teresa getting into mischief together while Peter tried to stop them and May laughed in the background.
Notes:
Show of hands, who is happy Calvin is gone? I hated writing him and just want to get to the healing and fun parts already. Fluff here we come (soon. Not yet. I still have to hurt everyone some more)
Peter's spidey-sense knows Jason is safe because I'd like to think he'd rather die than hurt a kid (even proven in some of the comics. He doesn't hurt kids and he is a very gray moral character that will let a criminal go if they had a good reason and aren't trying to hurt people). If any of the other bats suspected Peter was a potential bad guy, they would have very little issue hurting him.
Thanks again to Toad :] for ideas!
The next chapter will probably be Thursday, Aug 24
What do you think about the title of the work? I am not sure I vibe with it but I can't think of anything else
EDIT: I changed Peter's response to the allergy question slightly and corrected Toad :] 's name from Frog :]
Chapter 8
Summary:
Peter and Teresa go back to school and Peter gets a job.
In other words, Peter is oblivious and only gets lucky because he looks like shit and has puppy eyes.' “I’m fine. You should see the other guy.”
“I don’t want to see the other guy. I can see you perfectly fine and it looks like someone ran over your face. Repeatedly.” '
Warning: Mentions of Abuse
Notes:
I just want to let everyone know that I spent hours trying to write and made very little progress until I realized that I forgot to put my glasses on smh. No wonder the words were blurry despite me not being too tired (the fact that I did this more than once while writing this)
(Update: I triggered a migraine writing this long past when I normally sleep, without glasses on my bright-ass computer in the dark. This chapter is (not) sponsored by Tylenol Migraine)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
When Peter woke, eyes bleary from sleep, dim light was shining through a window. He rubbed his eyes and stretched before gently shaking Teresa awake. He didn’t have a clock yet so hopefully they would have time to get ready for school.
Peter forced open the lids of two fruit cans, having to use his stickiness and super strength in place of a can opener. Teresa wandered out of the bathroom shortly after he got them open.
“Morning, T. You hungry for some fruit?”
The girl gave a sleepy nod as she sat down on a stack of books. While she was eating, Peter shared their plan for the day. “After you finish, we are going to get cleaned up and then dressed. We need to stop at your school and explain the situation or at least part of it. Try not to tell anyone where we are living or what happened with Calvin. I don’t want us to get in trouble.”
Teresa gave him a nod, mouth full of the fruit. Her cheeks were puffed out like a hamster. She clearly was enjoying her breakfast.
“I’ll pick you up from school like always and then we need to stop at the bank for my debit card. After that, I want to stop at the store where I applied to work. Can you pack a few books to read while I talk to the owners?”
Teresa gave another nod, trying to speak past the food in her mouth. She just ended up spitting fruit all over Peter which had him bent over laughing. His laughing caused her to laugh and spray more juice on him.
“Aww, gross, T! I’m all sticky now!”
“‘Least you will smell good,” the girl remarked, mouth still full.
Peter gave her a playful shove before grabbing his uniform and the baby wipes on the way to the bathroom. It took him a few minutes and quite a few baby wipes but his hair was damp and he felt cleaner. He could still smell the sweat and stink from the last few days on him but it was overpowered by the smell of the wipes. He really needed to figure out a place to shower.
He put a little bit of strawberry toothpaste on his brush and scrubbed his teeth. He scrubbed until he was sure his gums bled. It was a relief to clean his teeth and have his breath smell nice. He grabbed one of the water jugs and a paper cup before using that to rinse his mouth. He spit it back in the cup and used it to clean as much of the toothpaste off his toothbrush as he could. It was a little gross but he wasn’t going to waste any water to clean his brush. He dumped the minuscule amount of water down the toilet he and Teresa had been using, hoping to wash some of the smell out of it.
As he finished, Teresa walked in to get dressed and brush her teeth. Peter snagged the brush Jason had given them to hopefully brush out some of the tangles in the girl's hair. He didn’t have any supplies to style her hair yet so he moved it a little further up his grocery list. He had always loved when MJ let him style her hair. He had gotten good enough that Natasha, Pepper, and Wanda had requested he do their hair regularly. Warmth and happiness bloomed in his chest as he thought about those memories. He wanted to give Teresa memories like that. Memories that were warm even during cold times.
Packing the bags took a bit longer. Neither was sure if they should bring anything other than their school supplies. Peter decided to bring an extra shirt for his interview in case something happened. Teresa took a few minutes but eventually chose a few books to read.
Teresa’s school was fairly empty when they arrived. Putting on their brave faces, the pair walked into the office and asked to speak to someone about changing Teresa’s guardian and emergency contact in her file. The principal was able to see them right away.
“Good morning, Parker’s. I hear you are trying to change some things in Teresa’s file. You need a legal guardian or parent here to do so,” the woman said, a tired smile on her face.
“I figured,” said Peter. “That’s actually why we are here. Over the weekend there was a change in guardianship over Teresa. I’m now her legal guardian so we would like to change that in her file. I’d also like it if you could list my school as her emergency contact. I’m afraid I don’t have a phone yet.”
The woman raised her brow at Peter. “Excuse me if this comes off rude but what happened over a weekend that led to this change?”
“I’m afraid we aren’t able to talk about it quite yet. I was advised by the police to keep the situation quiet until formal charges could be brought to our previous guardian.” That is the smartest thing you have said in a while Peter. They couldn’t question it and they wouldn’t be likely to hand Teresa over to Calvin if he came to pick her up.
“I understand. I can make those changes right now. We typically require a fair bit of paperwork for this but I can pull some strings this time. Is there anything else I should be aware of?”
Peter shook his head before replying, “Nothing besides not to let him pick her up from school. I’d appreciate being notified if the school is aware of him trying anything. Thank you for your help.”
The lady gave him a nod before walking them out of her office. Peter gave Teresa a kiss on the head before reminding her that he’d be back that evening.
Students were starting to arrive as Peter walked up to Gotham Prep.
Peter asked one of the office people to change his guardian on his form and was directed to the principal, just as he had been at Teresa’s school.
“Mr. Parker. How may I help you?” asked the balding man.
“I need to remove the guardian listed on my file and inform you that I have my sister's emergency contact listed as Gotham Prep since I don’t have a phone yet.” He really needed to get a phone after he got a job.
“I’ll need your new guardian to be present before I can make that change. I don’t know if we can allow our school to be an emergency connect either.”
“I got emancipated after an event this weekend. I cannot share more in that regard as the situation is still under investigation.”
The man’s chair squealed as he leaned back with a sigh. “Mr. Parker, I am finding this story hard to believe but this is Gotham. Just about anyone here can be bribed to do anything and you are here on a Wayne scholarship.”
Huh. Was that the same Wayne that he stole from yesterday? The name must carry more weight than he realized. “Are you asking me for a bribe?”
“No. I don’t take bribes from kids.” You take bribes from adults? “I am just trying to figure out your situation. I’ll accept it for now but there may be some issues if we don’t get the right paperwork within the next few months. I can email you the forms I’ll need by the end of the semester.
“In regards to your sister, I will allow the school to field any calls to you as her emergency contact. I need you to understand that is technically against the rules so I would appreciate you removing us from the process as soon as possible,” The man informed, rubbing his chin.
“Thank you so much, sir. I really appreciate it. It has been a long few weeks and your help just made it a bit easier,” Peter thanked as he collected his bag and left for class.
Duke was already in the room and as he spotted Peter, he whisper shouted, “Fuck, Peter! You look like shit.”
Peter gave a fake smile and pretended to flip his hair over his shoulder. “Thank you. I am quite beautiful, aren’t I?”
Duke snorted and waved Peter over to his seat. “What happened, man? You missed school yesterday and then you show up looking like this?”
“I got into a fight with some idiot on Sunday and stayed home yesterday. You should have seen the other guy. I’m fine now,” Peter shrugged, hoping to end the conversation. Technically he didn’t land a single hit on the other guy but Teresa sure did.
Duke gave him a searching look before asking, “Do you need somewhere safe to stay with Teresa? I know Bruce would be happy to let you stay with us.”
Peter shook his head immediately. “No thanks. We have somewhere safe already and even if we didn’t, I’m not sure I’d trust Bruce around Teresa.”
Duke's eyebrows furrowed. “You really don’t trust Bruce? I thought you were joking about that.”
Peter just shrugged and turned his attention to his backpack.
“Peter, Bruce isn’t bad. Please don’t judge him before you know him. The man loves kids more than himself. If things get bad, Bruce is safe. I promise.”
“I believe you, Duke. Do you know what I missed yesterday?” He didn’t believe Duke but the boy wouldn’t have dropped the topic until Peter agreed.
Duke happily handed over notes he took for Peter, not even noticing the topic change. Thankfully the teacher kept the class busy and didn’t allow for group work so he was able to avoid talking to Duke the rest of the hour.
Tim was definitely related to Duke. His face made the exact expression Duke had when he saw Peter sitting in the math classroom. The boy practically threw himself into his seat as he asked, “What happened? Why do you like that?”
Again? “Don’t I always look this awesome?”
“Peter, this isn’t a joke. What happened?”
A spike of anger rose up at the question. “I’m fine. You should see the other guy.”
“I don’t want to see the other guy. I can see you perfectly fine and it looks like someone ran over your face. Repeatedly.”
That would have been funny if Peter wasn’t already upset with the questions. “I already told Duke all of this. I got in a fight with an idiot. I am fine. I stayed home yesterday to figure some things out. Before you even ask, yes, I have somewhere safe to stay. No, I don't want to stay with Bruce.”
Tim didn’t look amused at Peter’s answer. “You know Steph and Cass are going to give you hell for this during lunch, right?”
Peter’s face soured. “I know. Any chance you’d explain it to them before I get there?”
Tim just snorted. “I can but that doesn’t mean anything with those two. Steph will probably have bruise cream on your face before you get a word in. Seriously man, you look terrible.”
A sigh broke loose. “I know. I saw myself in the mirror this morning. It was a bit of a long weekend and I really don’t want to keep talking about it.”
If he kept talking about it, he’d inevitably share something he didn’t want to. The last thing he needed was for his friends to share his situation with someone who had the power to look closely at his situation. As much as he’d like to trust his friends, his spidey-sense warned that something just wasn’t right with them.
“Okay, I hear you. I will see what I can do. Do you need the notes from yesterday lessons?”
With Peter’s affirmative, Tim handed over some notes for calculus and chemistry that looked like a chicken wrote them. “Tim. How do you read this? I don’t think even a chicken could write this terribly.”
Tim, who had been drinking his coffee, choked. He coughed and gasped for a moment before sputtering, “Rude! I can read it just fine!”
Peter raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What’s this part say?”
Tim inspected the particularly messy section closely, squinting sightly. “Clearly that says… umm- it explains chemical bonds?”
“Uh-huh. I didn’t realize we were learning about chemical bonds in calculus,” Peter deadpanned, holding in his grin.
Tim rolled his eyes and gently shoved Peter’s shoulder. Peter flinched slightly at the pressure on his injuries but grinned nonetheless.
The pair continued their banter until lunch where Tim wandered off to refill more coffee. Peter hesitated after he filled his lunch tray, unsure if he wanted to answer more questions from the rest of the group.
A violent flinch jolted through his body as a hand landed on his shoulder. The hand removed itself immediately, hesitating mid-air before returning to its owner. Steph gave him a look before tilting her head in the direction of the table they normally sat at. She stared at Peter until he gave in and began walking.
Cass and Duke were already at the table when Peter and Steph walked up. Cass's expression was nearly indescribable. It was somewhere between murderous, concerned, and confused. The intensity of the look made Peter take a step back before Staph nudged him forward and waited until he sat before she found a seat of her own.
“So, I have to ask. What happened?” Steph ventured hesitantly.
Peter just shrugged. “I already did this with Tim and Duke. Ask them.”
“We’re asking you,” Cass deadpanned, her face back to blank.
Peter could feel his frustration rising again and pushed it down as far as he could. Now wasn’t the time for the anger nor did he have a moment to calm himself.
“Got in a fight. Other guy looks worse. Stayed home to figure out some stuff. Everything is fine,” Peter snapped. His anger wasn’t staying down as much as he’d like.
Steph and Cass exchanged a look before Steph moved over to sit by him.
“You are a shitty story-teller. Can I look at your face? I’ll be able to tell if anything is broken.”
Peter huffed but nodded his approval anyway. The girl's hands were icy as she gently felt his face. He winced as she pressed on some of the nastier bruises but didn’t pull away.
“Nothing seems to be broken but I’m worried that a few spots got close. Any chance you’d let us take you to the clinic to double check?”
Peter shook his head. “I’m fine. It looks worse than it is.”
Steph just sighed and pulled out the bruise cream.
“Are you allergic to any medications? I forgot to ask last time.”
“No. I don’t think I’m allergic to anything besides mint and some essential oils.”
“You are allergic to mint? How do you brush your teeth?” Tim quipped as he walked up. Steph was generously smearing the cream on his face. He’d probably look like an idiot after this with his face bruised and shiny.
“With a toothbrush.”
“Duh. What about toothpaste?”
“There are other flavors of toothpaste than mint, Tim.”
“Oh,” Tim said, a thoughtful look on his face. “Are you anaphylactic allergic or do you get minor reactions?”
Peter shrugged. “Depends. If it’s baked into stuff, I throw it up but don’t swell up or anything. Toothpaste and gum make me throw up and I can get hives and swell up. Smells can make me throw up as well but mainly give me a migraine and make it hard to breathe. I think I even passed out once too.”
Tim blinked before asking, “How’d you even find this out?”
“Oh my da- my mentor gave me a piece of gum after we had fish one night and the second I put it in my mouth, I spit it out. I think he laughed until he saw that I was looking sick.
“As for the smells and baked-in knowledge, Ms. Pepper liked to run a diffuser in her office and I forced myself to stay in there when we were talking until I passed out. She was not very happy about it. Literally the next day before we could figure out it was the diffuser, she made lemon-mint cookies and I ate nearly the whole box. I ended up throwing up all night. We figured out everything I was allergic to after that with some tests,” Peter shared happily, lost in the memories.
“What all are you allergic to? Alfred likes to bake and I think he’d like to know exactly what to avoid if he was baking for you,” Duke inquired, a concerned look on his face.
“Not sure why he would bake for me but whatever. Mint, citrus, lavender, eucalyptus, and lemon grass are the big ones. Clove, cayenne, and even cinnamon can affect me if I get enough of it.”
Tim looked flabbergasted. “How do you even find stuff to eat?”
“Most of it I can have in small enough quantities but mint, citrus, and lemongrass are the more serious ones,” Peter shrugged, unconcerned.
Cass rolled her eyes. “While this was an enlightening conversation, we aren’t finished talking about your face.”
MJ would have loved and hated Cass. He had completely forgotten his frustration during his trip through memory lane but it made itself known as the interrogation began again. He groaned, letting his tender face slam into the table.
“That feel good?” Cass asked.
“No.”
“I’ll give you my bottle of Tylenol if you tell me what actually happened.”
He groaned again before mumbling, “I did actually get into a fight. The guy jumped me while I was helping Teresa. We both worked together to kick his ass. I promise everything is fine. You aren’t even the first people to check on my face.”
“Who else helped?” Tim asked.
“An old guy named Mori who Teresa thought was Santa and some guy named Jason.”
“Did this Jason happen to be a big, ugly fella with a white streak in his hair like yours?” Tim prodded.
“Yeah? You know him?” Peter lifted his head off the table as he replied.
The group chuckled before finally answering. “Yeah, we know him. He doesn’t like us very much,” Tim answered, still chuckling.
“I don’t think I want to know his reasons. I already don’t like you idiots and I think his reasons would work against you.”
The group laughed again before Cass answered, “You are definitely right.”
The bell rang a few moments after Cass spoke, enticing another groan out of Peter. He didn’t even get to eat! He stuffed anything that wasn’t too messy into his coat pocket before attempting to inhale everything left on his plate. It seemed as if he had been bitten by a snake instead of a spider because he somehow managed to eat everything remaining on his tray in less than ten seconds.
The rest of the day went by quickly. Peter snuck bites of the rolls and french fries in his pockets whenever the teachers weren’t looking.
After school, Peter sprinted to Teresa’s school to grab her before running the both of them to the bank.
Peter felt extremely out of place at the bank. Everyone was way older than the siblings and most of them were dressed nicely. He approached a teller and asked, “Umm, good morning. I was supposed to pick up a card for my account here?”
“May I please have your driver license or other form of identification please?”
“I don’t have a driver's license.”
“Then I will need another form of government identification or your birth certificate.”
“I don’t have those either.”
“Look kid, I don’t know how I can help you if you can’t prove who you are.”
“Please, ma’am. We just left a bad situation and I couldn’t bring anything with me. Is there any other way to prove my identity?”
She sighed, running her hand down her face. “Do you have a school ID? I know how hard it can be to leave an abusive situation. I can bend the rules a little this time but don’t expect me to in the future.”
Peter dug around in his backpack for a moment, remembering the ID he was given when he received his schedule on the first day of school. They had even had him take a picture for it and everything.
“I can make this work. Please don’t tell anyone I did this, I really need this job.”
“I promise I won’t. You are literally a lifesaver right now.”
“Wait right here,” the lady requested as she walked into the back. She returned with his ID and a shiny, new debit card. “Here. There is a fee if you lose the card. As a reminder, if your account goes under $25, you will be charged an overdraft fee. I recommend keeping a close eye on the amount because the bank is not light on their fines.”
Peter nodded with a bright smile before leaving the bank. Once outside, he stuffed the card into the bottom of his bag before hoisting Teresa onto his back.
He needed to get that job at the plant shop. He didn’t want to spend two weeks emailing back and forth on computers and scheduling interview times so he decided to make an impression in-person.
The run to the shop took longer than he was expecting and by the end, he was sweaty and tired. He ran his hand over his hair, trying to calm the wild curls before grabbing Teresa’s hand and walking in.
A green(?) woman stood at the counter. She gave them a fake smile as they walked in and tiredly stated, “Welcome to Verdant Vines. I’m Ivy. Can I help you find anything today?”
Peter was still a little in shock. He had seen his fair share of colorful aliens, sure, but he hadn’t seen anyone like this in Gotham. Once his mind recovered a little, it connected the woman in front of his to the picture he had seen in one of the books he checked out. This was Poison Ivy, one of Gotham’s ‘villains.’ The book had mentioned that she was more an eco-terrorist and was currently taking a break from crime. He’d be a little more wary of working for the woman if he didn’t agree with what she was trying to say. He definitely didn’t agree with her methods but she was right about people destroying the planet.
He could vaguely hear Teresa marvel, “Wow! There are so many pretty plants!”
“If you are here to cause trouble, please just leave. I’m not in the mood tonight,” Ivy said, a frown on her face.
“Oh, Sorry! I’m actually here about your job posting. I applied yesterday but I don’t have a computer to check so I decided to apply in-person as well.” After he spoke, he shifted and his sweaty shirt clung to his skin. He facepalmed internally. He probably looked like a sweaty, dirty, bruised teen who was here to cause trouble. At least his uniform looked professional despite the sweat stains.
“Do you know anything about plants?” She didn’t seem very eager to get an employee.
“Yes. I’ve always loved caring for them and I studied biochemistry for a while researching how to better use plants in medicine. I specifically researched latex and sap and how it could be used for wound dressing and provide an anti-microbial barrier.”
The woman blinked before grinning. “I like you. When can you start and what’s the deal with the kid?”
It looks like biochemistry was useful this time! Tony had tried to convince biochem was a waste of his time and that he should focus on engineering instead. Peter still wasn’t sure if it had been a joke or for real. His research had ultimately failed because of the commonality of latex allergies but he had published a paper on his findings and ended up conducting a similar study using his web formula.
“This is my little sister, Teresa.” Teresa looked up from the plant was was inspecting to wave. “I don’t have anyone to look after her. I promise she will be quiet and read while I work. I can start today as long as you are alright with her being here.”
Poison Ivy hummed in thought before suggesting, “How about this? You have a working interview tonight and if your sister behaves, you can start working here.”
“That’s perfect! Thank you, Miss Ivy!”
Ivy gave him another smile before requesting that he wait a moment while she grabbed something. Peter turned to Teresa and instructed, “Teresa, I need you to listen super good tonight. Miss Ivy is going to pay me to work here but only if we both are on our best behavior. Do you think you can read quietly for a few hours while I help her?”
Teresa gave an eager nod, already reaching to pull her books out. Peter led her over to a comfortable armchair surrounded by plants. It wasn’t visible from the entrance of the store which eased Peter’s mind about leaving the girl unattended.
“Alright, T. I’m going to help Miss Ivy. If anyone comes up to you, shout for me. I love you.”
Teresa muttered an ‘I love you’ back, too focused on her book to give Peter much attention. Peter could hear a throat clear behind him and turned to see Miss Ivy with a gardener's apron in her hand.
“I’ll show you around the shop. Once you are familiar with everything, I will have you assist the customers in finding what they want, keeping the place clean, and helping with any tasks that I didn’t get to.”
The shop was small but every inch of it was filled with plants. A clear walkway winded through the store eventually leading to a small backroom. The back room was filled with soil bags, gardening supplies, seeds, and a staircase leading up to an upper floor.
“The staircase and second floor are off-limits to you and the customers. Only me and my girlfriend, Harley Quinn, are allowed up there. I recommend you not even try. There is a man-eating plant up there who doesn’t typically like people.”
“If I may be honest, I am really intrigued by the man-eating plant. Does it need to be fed? Is it sentient? If it is, can you understand it?”
Ivy gave him a curious look. “Normally people get uncomfortable at the mention of man-eating plants. Actually, normally people aren’t comfortable with the idea of being around me and plants.
“To answer your questions, Frank does need to be fed regularly but Gotham has no shortage of idiots with guns that try and go after Harley and I. Frank is sentient and can talk. I think everyone can understand him although it’s mainly Harley and her crew that meet him and I wouldn’t say they are sane. I think Harley talks to her bats like they are sentient as well.”
Peter wasn’t sure if he should laugh at the last comment but his curiosity at the plant overtook everything. “I’d love to meet Frank- without getting eaten- someday! He sounds fascinating. Do you know how he was created? Is he smart? Can he eat other things besides people?”
Ivy chuckled before stating, “You sound like I did when I was younger. Don’t use that brain of yours to get into trouble like I did. I’ll show you my notes on Frank some other day when it’s slow. I may even let you meet him when he’s not hungry.”
Once the tour was finished, Ivy showed him where the cleaning supplies were and handed him a book. A quick flip through informed Peter it was a book on the plants in the shop and their needs.
“I recommend reading through that. We will play matchmaker between customer and plant so you need to know everything about the plants to make sure they go to the right person. You can’t give azaleas to someone who isn’t going to be able to care for them as often as they need.”
“You really love these plants, huh? It’s actually kind of awesome. I know I will never be as good at this as you are but I hope I can show the plants I love them even half as much as you do.”
The woman gave him a pat on the shoulder before handing him the broom. The night went by quickly, with not a single customer showing up as Peter cleaned. Ivy had left to the back to repot a few plants. Peter was deep in his thoughts about talking plants when he heard the bell ding. He leaned the broom on the wall and carefully made his way to the front.
“Oh, Pammy,” A voice sang. “I have a surprise for you.”
“Are you here for Miss Ivy?” Peter asked, his spidey-sense unsure of the woman.
The pale woman's eyes narrowed as Peter came around the corner. “Who are you?”
“I’m Peter. Miss Ivy is thinking about hiring me.”
The lady's face switched to happy immediately. “Why didn’t ya say so? I’ve been telling her to get help for some time now but she kept saying she was fine on her own. I had to post a job listing for her because she never would.”
Peter just nodded politely, still unsure of who this was. He could hear Teresa flip the page of her book and the tread of Ivy’s boots as she made her way up.
“Harley! I thought you were getting home later. Did everything go okay?”
“Everything went just peachy, Pammy. I got ya a present,” Harley declared.
“Please don’t tell me you got me another body.”
“I got ya another body!”
“Great. Thank you. Can you just give it to Frank?” The green woman asked, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Aww, don’t you like my gift?” Harley asked, putting on a pouty face.
“I do. I just don’t like bodies when I am trying to stay out of trouble.”
“Boo. Good Ivy is boring.”
“You love good Ivy, Harls. Don’t pretend like you don’t.”
“Ya got me. I love you no matter how good you try to be,” the pale woman said staring lovingly at Ivy. Peter was surprised at the relationship between the two. He hadn’t expected their relationship to be so healthy. Well, bringing a dead body as a gift was a little unhealthy but their relationship was healthier than Tony and Pepper’s from what he’d seen. Those two butt heads like cats and dogs although they always made up. Sometimes he felt like Tony objectified Pepper and MJ always agreed with him. MJ never liked the man, though. She felt he didn’t respect women like he should and that he ‘encouraged toxic masculinity.’
Peter cleared his throat before asking, “Do you need anything else, Miss Ivy? I should get Teresa home before too late.”
Ivy shook her head with a smile. “I’m alright. You are definitely hired. You can come in whenever you have time. I don’t need the help but I’ll always appreciate it. I still can’t believe your sister was here the whole time. She was quieter than the plants.”
Peter’s chuckle was interpreted by Harley's exclamation. “Is there a kid here? I love kids!”
Before Peter could stop her, the woman had run off in search of Teresa. He glanced at Ivy who gave him a comforting smile. “She does really like kids. If Harley manages to find her, Teresa will be fine. Go ahead and get Teresa home if you can get her away from Harley..”
As he went to take a step, Teresa's voice rang out, a wary tone in it, “Peter!”
He appeared at her side in seconds, surprised to see Harley pouting nearby.
“She doesn’t like me!” The grown woman whined.
“I think you just surprised her,” Peter offered, too tired to deal with the childish lady. He helped Teresa put her bags in her books and began to lead her out of the shop.
The girl turned to wave at Harley with a smile before whispering to Peter, “You asked me to yell if someone came up to me. Did I do something wrong?”
Peter let out a bark of laughter at that. “You did nothing wrong. I’m proud of you for following directions tonight. Miss Ivy was very impressed and hired me. Are you comfortable coming back here again?”
Teresa nodded quickly. “All of the plants were so cool and it was warm in there. Plus it was super quiet so I was able to read almost all of my book!”
Peter gave her a kiss on her head, his heart warmed by her easy love. She hadn’t given him any trouble, only bringing happiness and love. She hopped on his back and he began the long walk home.
Notes:
I was listening to Welcome to Nightvale again and they said something that reminded me of this fic: “Teeth like a military graveyard”. It has so many different interpretations but I found myself thinking about Creepy Guy 1 and Mori
They also said “I think the best way to die would be to be eaten by a giant snake. I mean, going feet first into a slimy hole brings a nice symmetry to life” which spoke to me the way a fever dream does.I cannot express how excited I am to bring in Ivy and Harley. They are my favorite relationship (I am barely in s2 of the Harley Quinn show so no spoilers please). I finally rewrote the summary now that I've introduced them so let me know what you think!
I want everyone to prepare themselves for the coming chapters. There will be angst. There will be grief. There will be pain. (and humor, and love, and comfort)
My plan is for ch9 to be posted Monday but if I magically finish it by Friday afternoon, I will post it early
Chapter 9
Summary:
Peter and Teresa struggle with their emotions/pit rage, Red Hood gives Peter some advice, Peter saves Red Robin, and Dick investigates Calvin.
'The victim was a Bat, Red Robin if Peter remembered right. “Hey man, you alright?” Peter asked as he hauled the man to his feet. Normally he’d do a medical check but he needed to get back to Teresa.
“Pe- What happened?” Did Red Robin just start to say his name? No, he couldn’t have. He hadn’t met the vigilante before.
“You were getting your ass handed to you by the big guy over there,” Peter stated, pointing at the slumped shape.
“How’d you do that?” Red Robin was finally standing on his own. He reached to touch his comm after he asked the question.
“What? Hit him with a pipe? I took ballet.” At that, Peter turned on his heel and ran off, leaving the vigilante standing there.'
Notes:
This chapter brings back rooftop talks which was something I desperately wanted to include throughout the work
I hope Peter doesn't seem too out of character in this chapter.
(I totally published with Redwing instead of Red Robin smh)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Peter had woken up in a great mood the next morning. Gotham had a rare moment of sunshine, his bruises were healing, and he got a job. It felt like nothing could bring him down. Even Teresa woke up in a good mood, eager to get ready for school. She chattered the whole time about a science experiment her class was doing today.
Peter was so focused on the girl's chatter that he failed to notice his spidey-sense growing agitated until it suddenly spiked. A dirty, pee-smelling man had jumped out in front of them brandishing a knife. “Give me your money, now.”
Peter blinked. Did they look like they had money? The only thing decent-looking on them were the uniforms. “We don’t have anything, sir. We are literally dirt-poor orphans on our way to school.”
The man shook his head like he was trying to shoo off a fly. “No. Give me your money or I’ll- I’ll stab the girl.” The man lunged at Teresa.
Peter could feel the adrenaline kick in, sharpening his vision and clearing his mind. He reached out and redirected the arm holding the knife that was heading towards Teresa. The action sent the unstable man right into a wall where he promptly passed out.
Peter sighed before pulling his sleeve down over his hand and taking the knife from the man. He chucked the knife into a nearby dumpster. He knew he shouldn’t but the man clearly needed help so he searched the man for a phone. Upon finding none, he hoisted the man onto his shoulder and moved him somewhere hidden behind a different dumpster than where he threw the knife. If he had water or food to spare, he would have left with him but he didn’t so he tried to leave the man in a comfortable position. They walked by this alley on the way home so if the man was still there, Peter would consider taking him to the clinic Nightwing had brought him to.
The adrenaline wore off quickly once the fight was over. That is if he could even call it a fight. A bubbling and acidic anger sat in his stomach. His hands twitched as his brain ran through Spider-Man protocols, telling him to web up the man, call the cops, get the victim to safety, and then get up high.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind. It didn’t help that Teresa had decided to walk up and begin poking the man.
“Who’s he? Why did he have a knife?”
Peter tried to push any irritation out of his tone before he answered, “We don’t know him. His brain is very sick right now and he thought we had money we could him. He wanted it so bad that he was going to hurt us to get it.”
He had been honest as he tried to keep it simple. Hopefully, the girl wouldn’t be too scared of the experience.
“Oh. Does he need to go to the doctor?” Teresa asked, very concerned.
“He does but we are going to be late for school as is so we can’t help him.” Shit. They needed to get a move on. He stuffed all of his emotions in a box before setting Teresa on his shoulders and jogging to school.
They were so late. The bell rang as they walked up Gotham Elementary which had Peter practically throwing Teresa off his shoulders and encouraging her to run to class. The girl had no problem with this and ran off, giggling the whole way.
Peter's heart raced as he ran into the office of his own school. He was going to be so late if the office gave him trouble. However, the office didn't care. A familiar face handed him a tardy slip with a smile and asked him to fill it out. When Mx. Morgan glanced at the copy Peter handed back and asked, concerned, “You got mugged? Do you need to see the nurse?”
At Peter’s head shake, they gave him another smile and instructed him to hand the other copy of the slip to his teacher. He sprinted through the empty hallways and barged into the English classroom. The teacher looked unimpressed but accepted the slip without comment.
As Peter slid in beside Duke, the boy leaned over and whispered, “Are you okay? You aren’t normally late.”
What did he mean ‘normally?’ They had only been in school for a week or so. “I’m fine. Someone tried to mug us.”
Duke gasped loudly, drawing the attention of the room. Peter pointedly stared at the teacher until the attention was back on the lesson. It didn’t take long for Duke to start whispering again, “Is Teresa okay? Are you okay? What happened?”
Peter did not want to talk about this. He just wanted to focus on the lesson and get through the day. He felt dirty and tired which only fed his rising annoyance. “We are both fine. A guy with a knife asked for money but fainted before anything could happen, and we continued on our way. Can we focus on the lesson now?” Peter snapped.
“Mr. Parker, Mr. Thomas. Please remain focused and quiet. If I have to give you another warning, you will need to see me after class.”
Both boys nodded their heads and turned to the front. Embarrassment mixed with frustration, lowering Peter’s already low mood.
During the math class, Tim kept trying to create conversation. “So, Peter, what is something interesting you’ve done in life?”
That was a lazy prompt and not one he wanted to answer. Sure, he could say he’s published research papers or invented all sorts of things but none of it existed in this universe. “My math work.”
“Yikes. Bad mood?”
Peter just shrugged and continued doing his math work slowly. He didn’t want to finish and have to talk to the boy. He managed to occupy himself by doing the math in the slowest and most roundabout way possible until class ended, not noticing the looks Tim gave him.
He was not as lucky in chemistry as it was a lab day and Tim was his partner.
“What’s going on, Peter? You aren’t normally like this,” Tim insisted, stopping Peter from grabbing the labs supplied.
Peter gently moved him out of the way, ignoring the question.
“I expect this attitude from Damian but not you,” Tim stated, trying to get an answer.
Rage bubbled over. “Just leave me be! I’m done talking for the day.”
“Ok, I hear you. I’m sorry for pushing. I’ll be here when you are ready to talk.” The boy didn’t look like he was going to drop it but at least Peter would have quiet for now.
Tim didn’t talk the rest of class. The boy hadn’t even sipped his coffee. It was quite off-putting for Peter. His anger drained away as he watched Tim. He was being a bad friend. He couldn’t control his emotions and it was hurting his friends. What was wrong with him?
Class ended before Peter could work up the nerve to apologize. Tim had disappeared the second the bell rang so Peter walked to the cafeteria by himself. He moved on autopilot, grabbing as much food as possible and sitting at the table. He was the first one there for once.
His stomach churned as he looked at the food. It had been quite some time since he felt so guilty he couldn’t eat. The rest of the table minus Tim arrived and began to eat their food. When Steph started to talk to him, both Duke and Cass shook their heads, stopping the girl. He could have sighed in relief. He didn’t want to snap at anyone else but he didn’t feel like he had any control.
Tim showed up near the end of lunch and just stared at Peter the whole time, still not talking. The guilt was eating away at Peter. He wanted to apologize but not in front of Steph and Cass. It already felt like Cass judged his every move, he didn't need her thinking he was a dick too.
He didn’t have a chance to apologize before the lunch bell rang. His stomach was too full with guilt to eat so he just threw away the food, only making his guilt worse. The day went by in a haze as his mind came up with and tossed out apologies. The bell rang and he began his walk to get Teresa.
He didn’t make it far before Tim and Duke ran up, calling his name.
“Peter! We wanted to make sure you were okay. You were acting really of today and you didn’t touch your lunch.”
Peter wanted to strangle the anger that rose up at the questions. Why couldn’t he stop getting angry? He just wanted to apologize and be a good friend. Instead, he could feel himself losing the battle against his anger. He tried everything he knew. Nothing was working! Not deep breaths, not counting, not happy memories, not even stuffing it down. He felt like a shaken bottle of soda that just needed to explode so it could stop fizzing.
Peter could feel the moment the anger won and took control. It was like he was looking through a haze. He could feel his body and his emotions but he had no control over anything.
His body stilled and tensed, almost like he was preparing to pounce. His eyes were focused on the boys, unwavering in its intensity. His body crouched slightly as it took a slow step towards them. He could see the fear in the boys' eyes as he stalked them. He could feel the satisfaction it brought him.
“Peter?” Tim spoke warily, shifting his weight in preparation to run.
Peter could feel a small part of himself fight but it couldn’t find any holds to begin taking control back.
“Peter, you’re scaring me,” Tim said slowly, his eyes analyzing Peter.
Peter wanted to stop. He wanted to apologize and leave. His anger was just too much for him to control.
“Hey Peter, I hope you can hear me. It must be really frustrating to have everyone keep asking you questions. Do you think you could calm down a little? You are scaring us,” Duke spoke softly, his tone level and calm despite the fear in his eyes.
“What about Teresa? You need to pick her up from school. Come on, Peter, snap out of it.” Tim sounded nervous now.
Teresa. She was the lifeline that helped Peter gain some control. As soon as he was able to get a grip on the anger, shame washed over him. He had been ready to hurt, maybe even kill, his friends. He had scared them. What was wrong with him?
“Shit. I’m so sorry. I- I don’t- Sorry,” Peter stuttered as he ran off, using a bit of enhanced speed. He was a monster. He had been happy that he scared them. He wasn’t safe for them to be around. He needed to apologize and put some distance between them.
He could feel frustrated tears pricking at his eyes when he arrived at Teresa’s school. He just didn’t understand why he couldn’t control himself. He had always been good at keeping his emotions in check except for a few times before he got bit. He had butt heads with Ben and had gotten frustrated with the man but he never wanted to kill him!
His thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a head of curly hair running towards him. Teresa took one look at his face and wrapped her arms around him. Peter could feel a few tears escape but he knew the worst of it was waiting for safety.
He gently separated Teresa from him to ask about her day but was started by her appearance. She was filthy. There was dirt all over her uniform, her arms, and her face. It even looked like her hair had mud caked in it.
“What- Why are you so dirty?” Peter asked, flabbergasted.
“The lunch aides let us play in the mud today! It was so much fun. We had a mudfight and we made mudpies. We even pretended to be pigs and rolled around it!”
Baby wipes were not going to be enough. As much as he wanted to go home and sulk, they needed showers.
Peter shook his head with a sigh and started to lead Teresa home. The girl continued to talk about her day, eager to share the results of the science experiment. The man that attacked them that morning wasn’t behind the dumpster anymore so they kept walking until they made it inside where Peter grabbed them both a change of clothes and their soap. They started the walk to a nearby gym.
The gym was pretty empty so it didn’t take long for Peter to get them both a membership. It would take a decent bit of money every month but they had access to hot showers.
Even better, it looked like they had a gender-neutral / family bathroom so he wouldn’t need to bring Teresa into the men's locker room. The bathroom even had complementary shampoo and conditioner as well as towels. He helped Teresa undress and start the shower before beginning to scrub out her hair. It took nearly half the bottle of shampoo to get the dirt out and half of the conditioner to get the tangles out. He felt a little bad about using so much of it.
Once Teresa was clean, she grabbed her book and read while Peter took his own shower. The hot water felt like heaven and it washed away some of the stress of the day. He hadn’t realized how uncomfortable being dirty made him.
After he showered, he scrubbed his and Teresa’s school uniforms. It took forever to get them to a state of semi-clean but it would last until Peter could find a laundromat. He rung the clothes out and tried them up in a grocery bag before putting them in his backpack.
Teresa seemed to be in an even better mood after her shower. She was singing and skipping as they the building and started their walk home. It was starting to rub off on Peter and he found himself singing along at some points. He was getting so into it that he almost didn’t hear the sounds of a scuffle coming from the alley they were approaching.
He stuck his arm out in front of Teresa and motioned for her to be quiet. It was quiet but he could definitely hear a scuffle.
“Fucking Bats! You’d think Batman would have learned not to send his minions out by themself after Robin number two.”
Bats? Whoever was getting beat up was loosing to the angry man. Peter grabbed Teresa and set her on the roof of the building beside him before handing her his bag and telling her wait.
He slipped into Spider-Man mode and crept forward to peek around the corner. A large man was kicking a curled up shape on the ground just past a very smelly dumpster. Peter looked around for a weapon and saw a rusty pipe that had rolled under said dumpster. He carefully snuck in to grab the pipe, grabbing it slowly so it didn’t scrape on the ground.
He watched and waited until the man was mid-kick and couldn’t dodge if he spotted Peter before bringing down the pipe on the back of his head. The man collapsed immediately, falling on huddled shape of the victim. Peter used a little bit of his super strength to drag the man off.
The victim was a Bat, Red Robin if Peter remembered right. “Hey man, you alright?” Peter asked as he hauled the man to his feet. Normally he’d do a medical check but he needed to get back to Teresa.
“Pe- What happened?” Did Red Robin just start to say his name? The vigilate shouldn't have recognized him. It had been quite dark the last time they met.
“You were getting your ass handed to you by the big guy over there,” Peter stated, pointing at the slumped shape.
“How’d you do that?” Red Robin was finally standing on his own. He reached to touch his comm after he asked the question.
“What? Hit him with a pipe? I took ballet.” At that, Peter turned on his heel and ran off, leaving the vigilante standing there.
He retrieved Teresa, keeping an ear on the Bat the whole time. Teresa was still happy as could be. It was a little odd how she was so torn up by Peter going to Jasons but not by Peter fighting crime.
“Hey T? Why were you okay with me leaving you then but not the other day when I went to get help from Mr. Jason,” Peter inquired as they began walking home.
“I don’t know. We didn’t know Mr. Jason and you seemed scared so I knew I needed to be. You didn’t seem scared this time so I knew you were going to be safe,” She replied easily.
Peter hummed as they finished making their way back. The girl watched him closer than he realized. He’d need to be careful about making sure to show the appropriate emotions at appropriate times. He wanted to make sure she grew into an emotionally mature adult and currently, he was the model she was following. It was a little concerning considering the day he had with his emotions.
The second they made it inside, Teresa was in bed with her book out and a flashlight pointed at the pages. Peter debated joining her but he needed space to think. He gave her a kiss and told her he was going to be on the roof and to holler if she needed him.
It was already quite dark and the cold was biting at Peter. He hugged his jacket tighter as he stood at the edge of the roof and stared over the city. He had been in this same pose not that long ago but now he was on a different building with a different mind frame. He had friends and family again. He knew he needed to live this time.
He could hear gunshots and screams but he could also hear laughter. A lot had happened since he came to this complicated city.
He’d been brought back to life and he’d found a sister. He had trusted someone with his and Teresa’s safety and they broke that trust. He had survived Calvin and gotten Teresa out of there.
He shifted his weight forward a little as he thought about Calvin. A hand gripped his shoulder and yanked his backwards. He stumbled but caught himself and whirled around. “What the fuck?!?”
There stood Nightwing in all of his untrustworthy glory. Peter took a step forward and shoved the man back, his anger egging him on.
“What the fuck man! What the hell are you doing,” Peter demanded. He wasn’t happy to see the man and he was less happy the man touched him.
“You looked like you were going to jump?” The man hesitantly offered.
“So fucking what? That doesn’t give you the right to mess around in my business again!” The vigilante had fucked things over for them the first time. He hurt Teresa.
“I’m sorry? Did you want me to just watch you jump?” Nightwing asked, getting frustrated.
“Yes! I wasn’t even going to but you just had to meddle in other people's business again!”
“Why are you even up here by yourself? Where’s your sister?”
“That’s none of your business, asshat. It’s not like orphans have many people looking over them anyway,” Peter spat, turning his back to the man.
“Can you please tell me if you are safe?”
“Sure, I’m safe. No thanks to you.” He hadn’t meant to say that out loud but he was satisfied at the vigilantes flinch.
He could hear the vigilante take a breath like he was going to say something but pause as his comm clicked. A voice informed the man that there was an emergency nearby.
“I- I don’t know what’s going on but I have to go. Please don’t jump,” the vigilante pleaded as he himself jumped off the roof. He could hear the grappling hook shoot off and watch on the corner of another building.
“I’d only jump to spite you,” Peter muttered before sitting down at the edge of the roof. He kicked his feet as he thought about what just happened.
Nightwing didn’t seem to know about Calvin but that didn’t mean much. He had given them his word that they’d go somewhere safe and they didn’t. He couldn’t forgive the vigilante even just for the effects his actions would have on Teresa.
He sighed before letting himself fall backwards. He stared at the dark and smoggy sky. So much happened and he didn’t know how to feel. He didn’t trust Bruce but everyone told him he should. He trusted Barbara but couldn’t fully trust her because of her relation to Bruce. He liked his friends but his instincts kept him from trusting them fully. The only people he trusted were Jason and Mori and he hardly knew them. Of course, he trusted Teresa as well but it wasn’t right to burden her with the truth of everything. She deserved to be a kid.
Man, he fucked up today. He would have killed Tim and Duke if they hadn’t brought up Teresa. They hadn’t even asked that many questions! He groaned and tried to wrap his head around it.
“Tough day kid?” A voice rang out.
Peter shot up and looked around. Not even three feet from him was Red Hood. He needed to get his act together. This was the second time tonight a vigilante appeared and he hadn’t even noticed. What if they had gotten inside to Teresa?
“Sorry didn’t mean to startle you,” Red Hood said, swinging his legs from where he sat.
Peter forced his racing heart to calm and sat down beside the man. “You didn’t scare me, I just didn’t hear you.”
“Uh-huh. Sure.”
The pair sat in silence for a while watching the city. The large man beside him finally sighed and asked, “Everything okay?”
Peter snorted. “That seems to be the question of the day. No. I don’t think everything is okay. First off, Nightwing keeps trying to meddle in my business-“
The vigilante snorted before offering, “Yeah, he’s always like that.”
“- and second, I can’t keep a lid on my anger. I snapped at my friends today and I think I really scared them.”
“I can see how that could be scary for you as well.”
Peter felt a few tears well up. He had been really scared. “Have you ever wanted to hurt the people you care about?”
A bitter chuckle rang out, startling Peter. “All the time, kid. I used to blow up at my family a couple times a week. I think I almost killed my father once. I’m not sure, though. I don’t really remember that time.”
“I don’t know how to control it. I don’t know how to fix myself or my friendship.”
“I know. Did you know that I died once? Yeah, it sucked. Some fucker brought me back to life and everything. The whole thing really fucked up my brain. I haven’t been the same since.”
There were a few moments of silence after Red Hood's admission. “Did… Is it common to be brought back to life here?”
The man just shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean I know a lot of the Bats died at some point but they were brought back to life the normal way not in some freaky magical way.”
Peter feels a little less alone. He may have been revived through freaky science but magic was science that wasn’t understood yet.
On the topic of magic… “Is universe travel common too? Hypothetically of course.”
Red Hood looked at him with those eery white eyes before giving a single sharp nod.
Peter could feel tears running down his face. He wasn’t alone. He wasn’t a freak. He wiped his face on his sleeve, smearing it with tears and snot.
“Oh Kid. I’m sorry you haven’t had anyone to talk to about all of this. I didn’t for a long time and I still sometimes feel like I don’t. But my team is my family and they try to understand even if they haven’t been through it.” The man sounded sad.
“As for you and your friends, I can only offer the advice one of the best people in my life gave me: ‘Your situation may be the reason for your actions but it is not an excuse. Take credit for your actions and do better.’ I know it’s tough but be truthful to your friends. Even just a piece of the story can help them start to understand. They may even be able to help you if it happens again in the future.
“I wish I was able to offer a cure or even advice that helps more than that but I’m still struggling myself. I think it will always be something we struggle with. I’ve learned to manage myself better with time, practice, and support but it’s a battle every day. It’s a battle I know you can fight. I barely know you but I can already tell you are strong. I’ll always be here to listen if you need it and I’ll help the best I can.”
Peter had a steady stream of tears running down his face at this point. Each drop that hit his hands fueled more from his eyes.
The pair sat there for a long time, both crying although only one’s was visible. It wasn’t until Peter began shivering that Red Hood gave him a squeeze on the shoulder.
“Night kid, you got this. Don’t be afraid to lean on others,” the man stated as he faded into the darkness. Peter could hear him jumping from roof to roof but his eyes had long since lost the man.
Teresa was asleep when he came in. He stuck a bookmark in her book and clicked off the flashlight before crawling into the makeshift bed with her, asleep the second his head hit the pillow.
Despite his late night, his internal clock was on time. He had woken up just before the sun rose and started to get ready.
Teresa was not so eager. Unlike her normal self, she was frowning and pushing back on everything Peter asked her to do. It was startling in contrast to her normal happy mood. Peter even checked to see if she had a fever but she felt normal and her lungs sounded fine.
The straw that broke Teresa’s back was asking her if she wanted peaches or a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast. At the question, the girl let out a scream of rage and began throwing the books that had made up her chair.
Peter blinked in shock as he casually dodged the books being thrown at him. This was very unlike her. She had been fine before bed and wasn’t sick so she must have just woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
“T? Every- everything okay?” Peter tried to ask while getting books thrown at him. He only got a scream in response.
It took a few minutes of books being thrown and Teresa screaming in rage before she finally snapped out of it. She blinked a few times before asking, “What just happened?”
Peter shrugged. “I have no idea, kid.” An idea occurred to Peter after he spoke. “Did it feel like when you got mad at Calvin?”
Teresa tilted her head in thought before nodding.
“I think it was that anger that I’ve been feeling too.” That was concerning. Teresa hadn’t had many effects from the machine or her death yet other than the physical ones. If she had an anger attack at school, who would be able to stop her? Without his reflexes, he would have been hit by almost all of the books this morning. That anger could mean some really hurt kids and even more traumatized Teresa.
Peter didn’t know what to do. He barely had control over his own anger so how could he help Teresa with hers. He shook his head. He couldn’t do anything right now so it was best to save it for another time. Maybe he could ask Red Hood for tips if he saw the vigilante again.
Thankfully, both kids were dressed so Peter handed Teresa a can of peaches and a fork to eat as they walked. It was strange to do the walk to school without Teresa’s constant, grounding chatter.
He could hear the bell ring at Teresa’s school when they were still a block out. He groaned and urged Teresa to walk a little faster. He was going to be late to class for the second day in a row.
The office people gave the pair a look as Teresa threw her can away in an office trashcan and Peter signed her tardy slip saying they ran into trouble on the way. No one seemed to question that excuse in Gotham.
He used the same excuse on his own slip before sprinting to his English class. The teacher looked even less impressed than the day before when he barged in late. He gave her the slip and an apologetic smile.
After pulling out all of his work, he began scribbling out a note on the back of a spare piece of paper.
‘Duke- sorry I snapped yesterday. I don’t know what’s been going on. I haven’t been able to control my anger like I used to.
I’m really sorry for scaring you and Tim. I know this doesn’t excuse my actions and I don’t want it to. I’m going to do better.
Do you think you can forgive me with some time?’
‘Dude, I was worried about you! Tim and I aren’t upset at all. You had us scared for a minute but we just cared about you being okay.
Can you forgive us for pressing?’
Peter wanted to reply but the teacher was staring at the pair. Tim and Duke were better than he deserved. He would have seriously hurt them and they didn’t even care. They probably just didn’t understand what happened. He wanted to trust them enough to tell them everything but something was bothering him about them. His spidey-sense still warned him about their potential danger. It had slowly been fading but it was still there.
His note to Tim was the exact same and Tim gave an almost identical response as Duke. Did they plan this?
His guilt had been made worse by the boy's acceptance of his apology. He had tried to hurt genuinely good people and they didn’t even care.
He was still guilty when he picked up Teresa but she was back to normal and began grounding him with her continuous chatter.
They stopped at the store that night and bought some cheap solar panels, a clock, and string lights as well as some more food and hair care supplies. He splurged and grabbed some batteries to use on cloudy days as well.
Peter and Teresa spent the night curled in bed, Teresa reading out loud as Peter braided her hair. His guilt receded with each word Teresa read and each giggle she let free.
–Later That Night–
Nightwing walked into the CPS agency's main office, keeping his body language neutral. He leaned against the desk and casually asked, “Hey Stella, I have a favor to ask.”
The woman frowned. “You’ve been asking a lot of favors lately.”
He put his hands in the air in mock surrender before stating, “I just need you to look up a kid for me.”
The woman sighed before staring at him expectantly.
“Peter Parker.”
“The kid you asked us to place with his sister a bit ago?” She asked with furrowed brows. Her fingers flew over the keys as she typed. Her face grew tighter with each click of her mouse. “This is… odd. It’s like they disappeared from our system. Let me search up the foster we placed them with. Maybe they changed their names or something.”
Another minute went by only broken by the click of her mouse. “I can’t find him. I personally made sure they went to a foster parent with a good reputation so I know Calvin was in our system. I’m not sure what happened. We've never had a glitch like this.”
“Can you write down his information so I can look into it?”
The woman nodded and scribbled his name and address onto a Post-it. Nightwing took it and immediately went to track down the man.
His next stop was Barbara. She would be able to find everything about anyone. The woman was sitting in front of her computer, watching for any crime to pop up when Dick walked in through her balcony.
“You should really lock that,” he quipped, a bit concerned for her
The woman didn't even look away from the screen. “I saw your tracker coming this way so I unlocked it. What do you need?”
He handed the sticky note to her without a word and watched as she typed away. There was a hospital record for the man. It looked like he was admitted recently. Red Hood had dropped him off in front of the hospital beaten half to death.
The medical report stated most of the bones in his body were broken and he had a number of cuts on his body with a few on his face and neck that seemed to be from fingernails. He was in a coma caused by a traumatic brain injury and they weren’t optimistic about his recovery.
Dick groaned as he realized the next step was to confront Red Hood. Jason either knew who did this or he had done it himself. If he had done it, then the reason couldn’t be anything good, especially for Peter and Teresa.
Notes:
Peter's excuse for everything now: "I took ballet."
"Why do you have a cat in your arms?"
"I took ballet."I love writing Jason as upset with his family but he still cares for them. Bruce played a big part in his death and practically replaced him with Tim. I feel like he normally wouldn't open about it with strangers but he is pretty sure Peter went through a Lazarus experience as well and wants to help where he can.
As for the Lazarus thing, I'm not entirely sure what the green-eyed thing was about because I haven't really seen it in the comics or shows. But I love chaos and figured Peter would be irked by the changes so I added it.
And for the pit rage, I'd like to think Peter doesn't face the full effect of the rage because of his mutations. Teresa is just really good at hiding her emotions so we didn't see the pit rage unless she snapped or 100% trusted everyone around.Ch10 will be posted on Wednesday at the latest.
Chapter 10
Summary:
Peter and Teresa treat Mori to a day out.
"Dick startled and turned to Peter. “Wait, Jason knows about you?” he blurted loudly.
Peter’s face scrunched as he stuffed the clothes into the washer. “Yes? Jason helped me out a while back. Why? Do you know him?” '
Warning: Minor Character death (sorry)
Notes:
I'm sorry, did I say Wednesday? I meant Sunday apparently.
I wrote this chapter while sick so there are definitely typos in here somewhere
Dedicated to all of the readers who loved Mori and Teresa’s relationship with him.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The rest of the week went by with minimal frustration. Peter had worked the remaining evenings of the week earning himself some money to put into savings. Both kids were excited for the weekend. They had discussed it and they wanted to treat Mori to a day out in return for the kindness he showed them almost a week ago.
They found the found man early Saturday morning exactly where they had met him the first time.
“Santa!” Teresa shouted, immediately charging the man to press the gift they had gotten him into his hands.
“Teresa? Peter? What are you doing here? What’s this?” The man looked around with a confused expression.
“We wanted to come say thank you for your help and wanted to treat you to a day out,” Peter shared.
The man gave them another confused look before looking down at the box in his hands. Teresa had put a lot of work coloring the box that once held 30 copies of some popular book. Inside, Teresa had put one of her newest favorite books as well as a set of matching socks, gloves, and a winter hat. All of the garments were Santa themed.
The man took a minute to open the box but gave the pair a wide smile at the gifts. As he placed them carefully into his bag, he thanked, “You two are too kind! These are the best gifts I’ve ever gotten. Can I treat you two to breakfast in return?”
Peter shook his head with a smile. “No, Mr. Mori. We are going to treat you to breakfast.”
“I can’t ask you to do that!” He opposed, flailing his arms.
“You aren’t asking. We are insisting. Plus, I came into a large sum of money-“ cough stole it from Wayne cough- “ so we want to show you the kindness you showed us!”
The old man had tears in his eyes by the time Peter finished talking. He mumbled something about lucky kids and let Peter help him to his feet.
They went to Neal’s Cafe again where the waitress greeted him with familiarity. Peter spied a blue-gray, very large man sitting at a booth with a lithe red-headed woman. His spidey-sense warned of possible danger but nothing urgent so he just sat the group where he could keep an eye on them.
Mori tried to order one of the cheapest things on the menu but Peter forced encouraged him to get something bigger. Once the food arrived, the group had an easy atmosphere. Teresa happily chattered with Mori answering every question and replying to every remark. Peter just listened with a smile.
After they finished and he paid with his new card, the siblings started to drag Mori around Gotham for a day out. Peter spied an advertisement for a movie that he had seen over 100 times so the group went there next. It was an bit of debate between Ghost Shark and Star Wars but the group decided to go with the more kid friendly of the two.
Peter had loved going to movies in his previous life which made it all that much more shocking when the movie was made by a producer he had never heard of. The movie was almost an identical copy of Star Wars but with different actors and some minor changes. A lot of it was little things like characters and location names being a little off. The quality of the CGI was actually an improvement from his universes, likely due to the movie being released quite a few years after his had been.
“I really liked R2-D2. He is just so cute!” Peter exclaimed.
“Who was R2-D2?” Asked Mori, with a puzzled look.
“The little robot guy!”
“I don’t remember one with that name,” Teresa stated.
Peter’s eyebrows furrowed until he caught his mistake. R2-D2 had a different name in the movie. He had been so caught up in his excitement that he had forgotten.
“Ah, my bad! I mixed up the name.” The group laughed with Peter, not paying much attention to the mistake.
They chatted about the movie as they walked around a nearby park. After getting some hot dogs and ice cream from street vendors, the group found themselves sitting on a bench. They drew attention from other park visitors with their hearty laughter and loud chatter.
The sun was beginning to touch the horizon, the ragtag group headed to a convenience store to get some food for the new few days. Mori had shown them immeasurable kindness and had expected nothing in return. It was only right that they helped him out for the week.
It would put them on a tighter budget for a while but with his job, Peter wasn’t worried. Teresa had had more fun this day than for a while. Even Peter had found himself relaxing and enjoying the day.
The convenience store wasn’t very busy so Peter didn’t try to stop Teresa from talking and laughing loudly with Mori. It warmed Peter’s heart to see her beginning to trust other men, even if she thought this one was Santa.
Peter was too busy laughing to notice his hair beginning to rise until a voice rang out.
“On the ground, all of ya! You, open the register!” A man dressed in a purple and green suit yelled, waving a gun around.
Peter pulled Teresa to the ground and laid himself the best he could over her. What was one of Joker's goons robbing a convenience store for? They normally brought chaos to the city in a more organized fashion.
Peter’s full attention was on figuring out a way to get Teresa to safety. He knew he could grab one of the cans beside and throw it to knock out the man. He had a perfect shot and everything. But he didn’t want to reveal his mutations nor risk that attention on Teresa.
As he was thinking, Mori made his way to his feet, hands raised in surrender. “Hey, man. Please just let the kids go. They won’t call the police They don’t even have phones. I’ll help you get the money and everything. There’s a place down the street that launders money so they normally have quite a bit in the register. I’ll show you if you let the kids go.”
Oh, Mori. Peter could almost see the gunfire in slow motion. He could see the bullet on a steady course to the man. He could feel it pushing the air as it moved closer and closer. Flashes of his own death ran through his mind.
He tried to get up, to get to the man to do something.
He couldn’t make it. The bullet hit Mori in the same spot it hit Ben. Peter shot out a web at the goon before scrambling over to the man.
“Ben? Ben! Don’t do this again!” He screamed, tears falling onto the man below.
Ben gave him a smile and reached his hand up to cup Peter’s cheek. His voice was faint as he spoke. “Oh, Peter. It’s going to be alright, my boy. I was never meant to be here forever. I need you to promise me something.”
Peter gave a sloppy nod. He knew that great power meant great responsibility. He would promise to take care of May a hundred times over. He would do anything for Ben.
“Promise me you will take care of yourself. Life is full of pain and loss and failure but it’s also full of joy and happiness and family. Don’t just survive. Live. Give Teresa and yourself the best life possible. You are destined for great things but you will not survive if you don’t allow others to help you.”
Peter could hear the blood slowly fill the man’s chest. He could hear as his lungs worked harder and harder. He could feel the man’s life force drain away.
He let out a wail. Why? Why did Ben have to die again? What did he do to deserve this?
Sirens and lights flashed outside the store. Uniformed people rush in and push Peter off the man. Gauze. Chest compressions. AED. Body bag.
He could feel Teresa push her way into his lap, wrapping her arms around him. Her tears soaked through his shirt. He felt cold. His body was numb.
He blinked lethargically as an EMT crouched down in front of them with a blanket. The woman gave them a gentle smile and kept her hands visible as she wrapped it around his shoulders. The lady then held out a bottle of Gatorade and a chocolate bar.
“Hey there. My name is Renee. I’m an EMT. I bet tonight was pretty scary. Can you tell me your names?”
Peter blinked again before looking down at his hands where he held the offered items. When had he grabbed those? The bottle was cold.
“Hey. I need you to tell me your names,” she stated, a little more firmly.
Peter startled. He muttered, “What?”
“What’s your name?”
“Peter,” he mumbled.
She turned her gaze to the small body in Peter's lap. “And what about you, little lady? What’s your name?”
Teresa shifted in his lap before whispering, “Teresa.”
The EMT gave them a bright smile before opening another Gatorade and offering it to Teresa. “I appreciate you telling me your names! Can you tell me where you are?”
Peter nodded. “Some convenience store in Gotham.”
“Good. Do you remember why you came here?”
Peter thought for a moment. They had been treating Mori with a day out. They had gotten breakfast, seen a movie, walked a park, and then stopped here. He hesitantly replied, “We were taking Mori to a bunch of places today. This was our last stop before we went home.”
“That’s good. It sounds like you had a fun day. Can you tell me what happened after you got here?”
Peter scrunched his face. Why couldn’t he remember? “We were grabbing food for us and Mori for the week. Teresa was being loud and Mori was joining in. I thought it was funny. Someone else came into the shop. He had a gun. He wanted money from the cashier. Mori tried to get him to let us leave. He- he shot him. He shot Mori.”
Peter could feel the tears begin again at the realization. When had he stopped crying in the first place?
“Oh dear. I bet that was very scary. Do you have someone I can call to come get you?”
Peter shook his head. The only person he’d even consider calling would be Jason and he didn’t have the man’s number. Barbara was an option but he didn’t know her number either.
The woman gently took the unopened Gatorade out of his hand and opened it for him, snapping the safety ring. He flinched a little at the noise but accepted the drink back. He took a sip and could feel the cloudiness in his brain fade away a little. Ah. He had been in shock. The EMT had been treating it.
He slowly opened the chocolate bar and gave a piece to Teresa who eagerly accepted it. Renee gave a content nod as he took a bite as well. The sweetness of the Gatorade and chocolate would give their bodies something to focus on other than what just happened.
“Can I get you guys anything else?”
Peter shook his head and shivered a little. The time under them was cold. He hadn’t realized it but the lady had sat in a way that blocked their view of the blood.
“What is your favorite candy? Mine is strawberries!”
Teresa giggled a little at that before exclaiming, “Strawberries aren’t candy!”
The lady drew back in fake surprise. “They aren’t?!? Well, you’ll just have to tell me your favorite candy so I can try it.”
Teresa giggled again before stating, “Gummy worms! Not gummy bears, though. They are too cute to eat.”
Peter gave a small laugh at the girl. Leave it to Teresa to avoid a candy because it was too cute.
“What about you, Peter?”
“I don’t know. I like sour candy I guess.”
She gave them a nod before waving over another uniformed lady. “A pack of gummy worms and some sour candy if you don’t mind. Thanks, A!”
It didn’t take long before they both had a pack of candy in their hands. Teresa was giggling as she dangled the worms into her mouth, getting goofy reactions from Renee. The lady had accepted one from the girl before insisting that she was full.
When all that remained were two empty bags, Peter and Teresa felt much better. He felt warmer and his mind was a bit clearer. Teresa was back to her giggly and loud self.
The EMT helped them up before carefully guiding them out of the store. Peter caught a slight glimpse of the blood that stained the tile before someone noticed and blocked his view.
“Can I give you two a ride anywhere? We can take the fire truck if you want.”
Peter hesitated. Did he really want her to know where they lived? He could feel Teresa yawn beside him. He wasn’t sure either of them had the energy to walk back home. He gave a small nod and the woman lit up.
She opened up the large door, causing a staircase to fall down with a bang. Peter flinched at this but Teresa ran forward and scrambled up the massive steps. Peter followed hesitantly behind her with Renee behind him. She helped them get buckled up in the seats before slipping headsets over their ears.
After putting on her own, her staticky voice appeared in their ears. “We need to wear these to protect our ears and to be able to hear each other talk. Can you two wait right here while I grab the rest of the crew?”
The pair nodded and looked around until a few other firefighters climbed in and buckled up. Peter hesitated but asked, “Are you sure you want to give us a ride? I don’t want to take seats away from anyone.”
One of the firemen laughed before answering, “You aren’t. Two of ours went with the ambulance so we will drop you off before picking them up from the hospital.”
Peter nodded and jumped as the engine roared to life. It was loud even with the headset on, especially with his hearing. He could see a grin light up on Teresa’s face as the truck started moving.
“So where to, kids?”
“You know the clinic on 5th?”
“Yeah, everyone knows that one. Do you want us to drop you off there or closer to home?”
“There is fine.”
Teresa spent the whole ride asking questions. It was a little surprising considering there were men on the truck but she likely saw them the way she saw vigilantes.
The truck parked in front of the clinic, the EMT Renee hopped out as well.
“Can you kids get home safely from here?”
The pair gave a quick nod, both matched with a smile.
“I’m hoping they won’t need to but the police might have to talk to you about what happened. We don’t have a number in our system for you, only your first names, so I doubt they will even find you. Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask for more. The bad guy is with the cops so what more do they really need.”
Teresa gave the woman a tight hug before grabbing Peter's hand and pulling him towards home. They were exhausted.
Teresa immediately crawled into bed and whimpered out, “Can you sing to me?”
Peter climbed in next to her and began to run his hand through her hair. He sang the same Italian lullaby as he had the other night.
His mind was racing while he sang. Shit had really hit the fan tonight. He’d thought that he would be able to protect Teresa from more trauma but he couldn’t. He didn’t. Now the first death- besides her own- she witnessed was a murder.
His brain had thought it was Ben lying there, bleeding out. It thought that he was losing his uncle all over again. It had been convinced.
But it hadn’t been. Mori was the one who died. Instead of promises of responsibility and May, he had been asked to look after himself. Every time he let someone in, they died. How was he supposed to open his heard with his Parker Luck? When was it going to be Teresa’s turn?
A strangled sob escaped his lips. Teresa shifted a little in her sleep at it. He held his breath, willing the tears to wait, as he tucked her in and scrambled up to the roof.
The second the door clicked shut behind him was the second the dam broke. He collapsed onto the gravel and let himself feel.
It was a long time before he was able to move to a more comfortable spot. His eyes hurt, his face was sticky, and his chest was sore. He wrapped his arms around his legs and sat at the edge of the roof.
There were no more tears, no more grief. He felt hollow and empty. Mori was dead. The man who had shown them so much kindness was dead. He was shot and killed by one of Joker's goons.
And Peter had webbed up the man. He glanced at his wrists. He hadn’t made web shooters because he was going to leave Spider-Man behind. But he had still webbed the man up. Were there more changes from the machine than he realized? One of the Spider-Man’s had been able to shoot webs from his body so it wasn’t that farfetched. Peter had been so weirded out by it at the time but he didn’t have any energy left to feel anything.
He had webbed up one of Joker's goons. What if the man saw him? He could come after Teresa. No. The man had his back to Peter the whole time. The cashier may have seen it but it happened in seconds so it was unlikely he’d know it had been Peter.
Peter scratched at his wrists a bit. They weren’t itchy but he knew something was different about them now. As he inspected them, he noticed a tiny hole on each wrist. He aimed one of his wrists beside him and shot off a clump of webs. At least the pose required to shoot was the same.
He peeled the web off and inspected it. It was lighter and thinner than his man-made ones but it seemed to be stronger. He tried to rip it apart but the threads held up.
His spidey-sense warned him of someone approaching and he could hear gravel crunching from a rooftop over. He slipped the tangle of webs into his jacket pocket before watching the vigilante approach.
It was Red Hood again. Peter wasn’t sure what to feel. On one hand, he was glad the kind vigilante was the one to approach him but on the other, he had no more energy for emotions.
“Hey Pete!” The vigilante said merrily, reminding of Deadpool. Actually Red Hood seemed to be the Deadpool of this universe in more ways than one. He had the personality and the mouth for it as well as the anti-hero moral code. Despite all of the killing, Peter trusted both men.
“Hey Mr. Red Hood.”
“Whoa you sound like shit. And please, Mr. Hood was my father. I hate my father.”
Peter hugged a laugh. “Is that the same father you admitted to almost killing a few times!”
The man swung his legs as he sat beside Peter. “Yep!”
Peter gave another quick laugh before sighing. “How do you deal with being a vigilante? How do you cope with everyone around you dying?”
The man looked a little startled. “Those are some deep questions, kiddo. The answers pretty much all fall on having a team to support me in and out of costume. I hope you aren’t thinking about vigilantism. I’d rather you not die.”
Peter shook his head. “No. Another person died today. He was shot the same way my uncle was. I just don’t know how much more room I have for grief,” he spoke like he was sharing his grocery list for the week. Oh. He’d forgotten groceries. They’d need to get some tomorrow.
“I’m sorry kid. I know how much losing everyone sucks. My parents were killed on the streets of Gotham when I was little so I really do know how hard it all is.”
A deep weariness settled into Peter. He let out a heavy sigh and wrapped his arms tighter around him.
“You know, someone once gave me some advice for grief. It's corny as hell but do you want to hear it?”
Peter shrugged so the man spoke, “Grief is a testament to your love. Even if you close yourself from the world, you will still grieve something. So let yourself feel it. Let yourself cry and scream and rage. Just don’t let it consume you. Reach out to your friends and your family for support. They want to help you, you just need to tell them how.”
Peter gave a dry chuckle. “That was corny.”
“I know! It almost brightens up the mood just because of the corniness!”
When Ben had died, he had become Spider-Man to prevent anyone else from having to live with that grief. It was an impossible task but still, he helped so many people. His refusal to be Spider-Man here has only created loss and pain.
Was it time to take up the mantle again? He didn’t have a suit or anything to make one with. He didn’t know anything about his new webs. He didn’t even know his way around the city. Could he really do anything even if he wanted to?
He glanced over at the vigilante beside him. Would the vigilantes in the city be welcoming? Where could he get supplies for a suit? What would he do with Teresa?
The vigilante met his eyes before quipping, “I know I’m mighty handsome but is there a reason you’ve been staring at me for so long?”
Peter blushed. He hadn’t realized how long he had stared. “Sorry. I got lost in my thoughts.”
Red Hood shrugged before humming a song as he swung his legs. They say there for a few hours, Peter thinking and Red Hood humming.
It wasn’t until the rapid fire sound of a machine gun rang out that Red Hood gave him a squeeze on his shoulder and flung himself off the roof.
Peter stayed up there for a little while longer, listening to the city. Finally, he crawled back inside and curled up next to Teresa.
The beeping of their clock woke Peter with a start. Teresa was already up, smiling as she attempted to make breakfast. It seemed she had tried to smear peanut butter onto a slice of bread but the peanut butter was all over her face and hands instead.
Peter scrambled out of bed and to the container of wet wipes so he could clean the girl before it got even messier. It looked most of the container to get it off the ticklish girl who giggled whenever Peter ran the wipe over her.
Eventually, they both had eaten and put on warm clothes before making their way onto the streets. They had some shopping to do.
Peter avoided the areas they had gone to with Mori, not wanting to push either of their emotions today. Instead, he went to one of the nicer parts of Gotham where the graffiti was kept in the alleyways instead of the front of the buildings and the gangs slunk around instead of paraded.
Their first stop was a second hand store for some clothes. Peter let Teresa look around within his line of sight as he looked for some specific colored items. A red Flash hoodie caught his eye. It only had a small stain on the front which he could easily cover up. Next, a pair of blue Wonder Woman pants ended up in his basket. They were a little worn but would fit him nicely. Last was a pair of worn black tennis shoes. They would fit pretty well and the sole was thin enough that he could still stick through it.
Teresa ran up, brandishing a winter hat with a unicorn horn and rainbow yarn coming off it for the mane. It wasn’t too expensive so Peter let her throw it in the basket before running off to find more. Hats weren’t a bad idea. It was only going to get colder.
The hat section was pretty sad in terms of warm winter hats. He grabbed out a red beanie and a black beanie. Both were cheap, relatively clean, and felt like they would be warm. He set them in his basket before making his way over to Teresa.
This time, she was debating between two jackets. One was a shiny silver puffy jacket that had a unicorn embroidered on the breast. The other was a thick jacket lined with Sherpa that had a bear head on the front and the bear's butt on the back. They were both cute and functional.
Teresa frowned as she tried to decide so Peter reached over and grabbed both. A quick glance at the price tags had him throwing them both in his basket. They would need layers this winter if the current weather was anything to go by.
Teresa gave him a bright smile before they both checked out and moved to another store. The next store they stopped at was a craft store. It didn’t take long for Peter to find black puffy paint so they were back on the streets again to head to their final stop.
There was a nice grocery store on the street. It was more expensive than the convenience store but it was good quality and kept them far away from where they were yesterday.
Teresa immediately ran over to the fresh produce, begging Peter to get some. They would have to eat it that night because it would spoil quickly without a fridge. He shrugged and grabbed a pack of strawberries, some baby carrots, and, on Teresa’s insistence, some grapes.
Then Peter moved on to the dry goods that didn’t need a refrigerator to keep. Teresa trailed behind him, occasionally asking to get something. Peter gave in more than he normally would, hoping to treat the girl a little after the previous night. She was already handling it better than he had.
Peter could also feel his pockets empty as they checked out despite using a card. He would need to work quite a bit this week to get some savings back. But they weren’t going to have to worry about food for a bit.
Peter handed the bag of clothing to Teresa as he carried the groceries, making sure to keep an eye out for trouble. He finally relaxed as they finished climbing up the fire escape. He stored the groceries in their makeshift pantry and handed the bag of grapes to Teresa. The girl immediately pulled out a book and began eating.
Peter rolled his eyes and grabbed their new clothes. He needed to wash them before they could wear them. He grabbed up their other clothes and placed them in a bag before turning to Teresa.
“Hey, T. I'm going to run to the laundromat. Do you want to stay or go?”
Teresa thought for a moment before replying, “Stay.”
“Okay. Can you lock the door behind me? I’ll knock on the window when I get back. Stay inside, alright?”
Teresa nodded before remembering, “Oh! Didn’t Mr. Jason give us something for the laundromat?”
Peter snapped his fingers with a smile and went over to one of the books he had hidden the vouchers in. Inside were a few vouchers for free laundromat visits. He snagged one of them and made his way out the door, listening for the click of the lock behind him.
The laundromat was fairly empty when he got there. A teen about Peter's age sat in one of the chairs by a running machine while a dark haired man sat chatting with an older woman at the front desk.
Peter cleared his throat, cringing as he interrupted their conversation, and held out the voucher. “Excuse me. Who do I need to talk to to use this?”
The older woman gave a kind smile and took it from him, moving slowly to grab some change to start a machine. The dark haired man gave Peter a funny look, staring just long enough that Peter got uncomfortable.
“Do I know you?” Peter asked, a little defensive.
The man blinked as though surprised Peter talked to him. “Yeah actually. I think you are friends with my younger siblings?”
“Tim and the others? Yeah. I remember now. You’re Dick. You picked them up from the BatBurger.”
The man nodded, an easy smile on his face. Peter’s spidey-sense warned Peter of potential danger but it wasn’t strong enough to be concerned yet.
Eventually, the older woman dug out enough change and started shuffling over to the machine. Peter tensed a little as Dick followed the pair.
“Here you go, dear. I’m so glad that sweet man gives these vouchers to you kids,” she said as she pressed the coins into Peter’s hands. Her hands were warm and soft and it reminded Peter of May. He gave the woman a sad smile and moved to put the clothes in.
“Who gives those out? I didn’t know you still did those Ms. Bea,” Dick asked.
“Oh that dear Jason pays for them now. I always loved doing them especially when I got to see your cute face in here with your family. I just couldn’t afford to do it for free for long,” Ms. Bea stated as she pinched Dick’s cheek.
Dick startled and turned to Peter. “Wait, Jason knows about you?” he blurted loudly.
Peter’s face scrunched as he stuffed the clothes into the washer. “Yes? Jason helped me out a while back. Why? Do you know him?”
Dick gave a hesitant smile before admitting, “He’s my brother. Bruce adopted him a few years after me.”
Bruce had too many kids to keep track of. What was with that man? “Why did you seem surprised Jason knew about me?” Peter inquired as he started the washer.
Dick looked like a fly caught in a spider's web. “Uhh. I- Tim hadn’t told him about you?”
Peter raised an eyebrow and found a seat nearby. That didn’t make much sense. Why would Jason need to know he was Tim’s friend? The only possible explanation could be Tim liking him but he didn’t pick up those vibes.
“Uh-huh. That makes total sense and clears away all of my suspicions.”
Dick had relaxed fractionally but tensed again by the time Peter finished. “Sorry. I wish I could share more. Why are you here alone? Where are your parents?”
Peter shrugged. “It’s kinda hard to do laundry in a cemetery.”
Dick blanched before stuttering, “Shit, sorry. My orphan-dar must be broken. I feel even more stupid because Tim and Duke already told me about you.”
Peter snorted and glanced at the machine. There was still half an hour left. He hadn’t even brought a book.
Dick slid into the seat beside him causing Peter to move down a chair. Dick rolled his eyes but didn’t move any closer.
“Sooo. Life. How’s it treating ya?” Dick offered awkwardly.
“Well someone else joined the already full graveyard of my loved ones. That sucks and everything. Got a job. That’s nice. I’m stuck talking to you. That sucks.”
Dick scratched his head with a look that reminded Peter of a kicked puppy. “Harsh, man. Harsh. You okay?”
Peter rolled his eyes again and stared at the washing machine. Why was it taking so long?
Dick scrolled his phone as he sat beside Peter. “Why are you even sitting here?” Peter asked, annoyed.
Dick just shrugged and scrolled his phone. Peter groaned. This was the longest outing ever.
Eventually the washer dinged, startling Peter out of his thoughts. He moved the soggy clothing over to the dryer and started it. He blanched a little at the machine telling him it had an hour left.
He could take the clothes home to dry but it was too cold and humid. He groaned as he sat back down by Dick. He rubbed at his wrists in boredom until he could hear Dick shuffle around and a magazine was placed on the chair between them.
The magazine was on popular female celebrities but it was something. Huh. He hadn’t known that Lois Lane was Superman’s girlfriend. Well, he’d never heard of her before reading this.
He had read the magazine about four times before the dryer beeped. He thanked whatever higher powers there were and stuffed the clothes into a bag before waving at Ms. Bea and Dick.
He cursed the higher powers as Dick followed him out. “Can I help you?”
The man looked a little sheepish at Peter's tone but replied, “No. I’m just making sure you get home safe.“
Peter groaned. He didn’t trust this man to know where he and Teresa stayed but it was unlikely the man would stop.
He turned to the man with a glare before demanding, “Stop following me.”
Dick just smiled and shook his head.
Another groan escaped Peter. “Don’t follow me past the clinic. I don’t trust you enough for you to know where I live.”
Dick gave a bright smile and nodded, keeping up with Peter's brisk walk. Peter’s hairs stood on end at the potentially dangerous man being behind him.
Once the clinic was in sight, Peter planted his feet and glared at the man again. “Ok, bye.”
Dick gave a sad look before finally turning away, glancing at Peter over his shoulder a few times. Was he waiting for Peter to invite him back or something?
Peter walked another block before taking alleyways back to the bookshop. He didn’t feel anyone watching him but better safe than sorry.
Teresa was still reading when Peter knocked on the window. She let him in with a bright smile before hurrying back to her book. Over half the bag of grapes were gone. Maybe he needed to buy more fruit for her.
Peter folded their clothes and put them away, only leaving out the red beanie, Flash hoodie, and blue sweatpants. He pulled out the black puffy paint he got early and laid everything out on the desk on the first floor.
He used the puffy paint to make a spider covering the Flash symbol on the sweatshirt before making a criss-crossing pattern of spider webs across the garment. He hung it up carefully to dry before moving on.
Next were the blue Wonder Woman sweatpants. He followed the same order as last time, covering the logos in spiders before doing the spiderwebs. He left the joints of the pants free from webs to make sure he could still bend easily.
Then he grabbed the red beanie. He tried it on and it was able to be pulled down below his chin. He cut out two eye holes in roughly the shape his old ones had been before digging around for a piece of white fabric. It was a tough decision between a white tablecloth and a stained white t-shirt but the t-shirt was more see through so he cut it up.
Some careful sewing led to a makeshift mask. The outfit wasn’t perfect but it would conceal his identity. The puffy paint would scrape off if he took a tumble and the hoodie would slide up if he went upside down but he could make it work. It would work until he could make something better.
The last step of the process was talking to Teresa. What would she think of him? If she was scared for him, he wouldn’t be able to force himself to do it.
He quietly made his way up the stairs before standing awkwardly in front of Teresa. “Hey, T. Can I ask you something?”
Teresa looked up at him, sticking a bookmark in her book.
“Do you know what happened last night?” He asked tentatively.
She gave a nod, fiddling with the blanket covering her legs.
“Did you see what happened to the bad guy?”
She frowned for a moment before asking, “What do you mean?”
Peter took a breath, steeling himself. “After he… shot Mori, I shot webs at him. I haven’t told anyone this but I have powers.” He paused for a moment to gauge her reaction.
Teresa had a thoughtful look before she questioned, “Powers like a hero? Like Superman or Flash?”
Peter gave a quick nod. He didn’t want to scare her with this but he wanted her to know as much as she could handle.
“Are you a hero?”
Peter paused. “I used to be. Before I met you, I was a hero called Spider-Man. I helped save people.”
Her eyes were big as she stared at him. “Are you going to be a hero again?”
Peter sighed and hung his head a little. “I’m thinking I might. I want to keep people safe and stop more people from getting hurt like Mori. But I’m scared that the bad guys might get angry and try to hurt you.”
The girl frowned again, biting her nail. “I want you to help people. I know it’d be scary and a lot of work for both of us but I think we can keep each other safe. I know you won’t let them hurt me.”
Peter nodded. “I am going to do my best to keep you safe but I don’t know if I will be able to prevent everything.”
Teresa shook her head before stating, “I know I’ll be okay. You can teach me how to defend myself if something happens. Maybe you could teach me ways to contact you for help?”
Peter smiled at the girl. He hadn’t expected her to be so accepting of it all. “T, you are amazing.”
The girl threw her blanker off and shuffled over to give Peter a hug. “So. Tell me about your powers.”
Teresa had tucked herself in bed, a the bag of almost gone grapes beside her. Peter sat on the rooftop with a container of strawberries in his lap. His heart was still bleeding in grief but there were no more tears left to cry. Teresa had been strong with all of this. Peter had been so weak. He needed to get stronger, for Teresa and for himself.
Gunshots and maniacal laughter speared through the quiet of the evening. The smell of urine and feces burned his nose. The city needed help. It needed Spider-Man
Notes:
Mori: friendly or appearing to be friendly in a very intimate or hearty way ; a reminder of mortality
I feel a little bad killing him off 😅
I hope this felt well written because I was too sick to edit well.Tim was supposed to be in here somewhere but he got written out and replaced with Jason and Dick. Oops
This should come without saying but please do not take medical advice from my writing. My knowledge of medical shit comes from a paramedic mom.
Ch11 should come around Wednesday!
Chapter 11
Summary:
Spider-Man returns and the Bats aren’t sure what to think about it. Cue shenanigans and petty revenge.
'“Ah sorry, do you have a headache? I think my singing will make it better!” He exclaimed before belting out, “99 spiders chained to the wall, 99 spiders chained up. Take one down, pass it around. 99 spiders chained up on the wall. 98-“
He didn’t stop when Nightwing asked nicely. He didn’t spot when he asked meanly. He didn’t even stop when he yelled. He considered stopping when the bad guys wheeled a tv in and started it but they put on the news. The news! So he kept singing.
He had managed to get through spiders and bats and some of the way into birds before a goon walked in. “I can’t do this anymore. I can hear your annoying ass voice through the earplugs. I’m letting you go. I will actually kill myself if I hear that song again.”
Peter grinned as he was unchained. “Aww, you should see a therapist about that! I know a good one that works nearby, do you want their number?” Both men in the room groaned and the good begged him to stop talking.
“Well? How was my performance?” Peter bowed.
“Like a fucking banshee,” the man growled before storming off.
Mission accomplished.'
Notes:
I have always struggled writing fighting scenes so this was certainly a challenge. I am intentionally putting all of the Spider-Man shit here so I don't have to write it again
Oh wow, I think this is the longest chapter I have written so far! I had joked that I thought it was going to be 10000 words and well, it's just over 9000.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Peter did a bit more to prepare for his first night as Spider-Man. Between school and work, he spent some time dumpster diving for electronics and testing his webs.
His webs were stronger than he had predicted, easily surpassing the strength of his previous ones. In fact, the only downside to the webs besides them being weird was that he couldn’t tell when they were going to run out. His old wristlets warned him when he was low on webs but now there was nothing.
He’d run out of webs midair when he was practicing swinging in an abandoned factory. As he had gone to shoot, nothing came out. He hadn’t felt a change in the webs or his wrist. He would have to be cautious with his webs in the future because falling on his face in front of bag guys was embarrassing.
As for the tech he managed to find, he made a comm device for Teresa to get in contact with him. On her end was a small walkie-talkie that hadn’t worked before found it. He’d never seen one as small as a flip phone but it was perfect. Next, he found a wireless earbud. He connected the two so that the earbud could only hear the walkie-talkie and the walkie-talkie could only transmit to the earbud. Teresa would be able to call him in an emergency but he wouldn’t be able to reply.
The pair agreed that Teresa should always have the walkie-talkie on her and Peter should have the earbud on or nearby him so that way Teresa could alert Peter to any trouble on her end. It eased Peters's worries about leaving Teresa behind when he patrolled as well as when she went to school.
Peter had been surprised that she was so encouraging about Spider-Man. He hadn’t wanted to pick up the mantle again but with what happened to Mori and Teresa’s support, he was willing to give it another try. Teresa had struggled with Mori’s death in a different way than Peter. Peter cried his grief out while Teresa kept it inside and asked for hugs and support to heal. He would jump off a building if it helped her.
It had been a week since Mori’s death and Peter was starting to feel ready. He had a suit, he had a way for Teresa to contact him, and he had researched his webs. Everything that he could prepare for was ready.
He kissed Teresa on the head before turning to the door. Her nervous voice broke the silence. “Promise you will come back?”
Peter stuck his pinky and interlocked it with hers before promising, “Pinky promise. I will be back.”
The girl gave him a firm nod before letting out a shaky breath and waving goodbye.
Peter climbed up to the roof and jumped a few rooftops over before pulling his new suit over his clothes. After carefully arranging his mask so it wouldn’t slip off, he started to move. It was nice getting to run around the city even if he wasn’t swinging. He gazed around and laughed at the Wayne Enterprises building. The guy must like Batman or something because the building had spires that looked very similar to Batman's ear things.
l
He continued wandering until he found an old lady, hands overflowing with grocery bags, and dropped down nearby.
The old woman startled as Peter approached, begging, “I don’t have any money. Please don’t take my groceries. I need to feed my family.”
Peter shook his head and put his hands up where the woman could see them. “I’m not here to take anything. Actually, I was wondering if you needed any help.”
She gave him a long look with tight lips before sighing, “You can take a bag or two. Don’t you try to steal from me, though! This cane isn’t just useful for walking!”
Peter let out a gentle chuckle and carefully took the heaviest bags, making sure to support their bottoms. He slowed his pace to walk beside the woman and asked, “How has your week been, ma’am?”
The woman blinked before giving a crooked smile. “Oh, nothing special. My granddaughter had a baby recently so she moved in with me. Little Thomas is my favorite great-grandchild already.”
Peter laughed before commenting, “I bet the company is lovely! Plus, babies are so very cute. No matter how much they scream and poop, they make up for it with their adorable faces.”
The woman laughed before nudging Peter with her shoulder. “So they say! I raised two from babies already and they were only cute for a bit. Do you have any kids?”
Peter shook his head. “No. I take care of my little sister, though.”
“Ah, how old is she?”
“6! I think her birthday is coming up actually,” Peter stated thoughtfully. He’d have to figure out a gift soon.
“Oh, she must be so proud to have such a kind brother.”
Peter’s blush at the compliment was hidden by his mask but he ducked his anyway. “I hope so. For how little time she’s been in my care, she has really grown. I’m so proud of her.”
The older woman cooed before questioning, “Now you don’t have to answer this but how did she come to be in your care? I can tell you aren’t very old.”
Peter let out a nervous chuckle. He forgot a voice modulator. Oops. “Ah, well, her birth father nearly killed her so I got her out and we ended up in the foster system together. Eventually, we ran from our foster father as well before I ended up taking care of her on my own.”
He probably shouldn't share so much but the older woman was kind and didn’t trigger his spidey-sense in the slightest. Sue him if he got a little soft with old ladies.
“Tsk. Gotham and their shitty parents. My daughter was killed by her nasty fart of a husband. That’s how I ended up raising my granddaughter as well.”
Peter felt awe rise in him at this strong woman. “I’m so sorry for your loss. Did the husband get arrested?”
The woman gave him a knowing smile before winking. “Oh, he disappeared before the police could find him. The man hated the ocean but for some reason hooked a ticket to an island in the middle of nowhere where the US doesn’t have any jurisdiction to look for him. Shame, really. I will say, a murders blood is much easier to clean out of the carpet than a loved one's.”
Peter gaped a little at the woman. Did she just admit to killing her son-in-law? Good for her. Peter still wished he could have done that to Calvin.
“It looks like we are here. Thank you for your help, my dear. You can call me Granny Dee. Why don’t you bring that sister of yours over for dinner sometime?” Granny Dee said while reaching a hand out to pinch his cheek. How she did that with groceries in hand and through his mask was a mystery.
Peter handed the groceries back over with a nod before climbing up a nearby building. His first act as Spider-Man was complete. It had been a success.
His next one came shortly in the form of an explosion in the distance. He used some of his webs and swung there as fast as he could. It looked like a laboratory was on fire after an explosion.
Memories of his death ran through his mind, forcing him to pause for a moment. The explosion was similar. The chaos was similar. But there was no Gillian, no gun, no suicidal thoughts. He had Teresa a call away.
He took a deep breath and jumped into the fray. Some bystanders informed there may be some people still inside so he made his way to the top floor and began yelling for anyone.
A quiet voice cried out after Peter yelled. He ran through the flames to find the source. It took a few more calls before he found a woman in a wheelchair frantically pressing the elevator button. The stairs were blocked by a fallen piece of debris and the elevator had turned off for ‘safety.’
“Ma’am, can you hear me?” After the woman nodded he asked, “Can I pick you up? I can carry you out of here if you are alright with it.”
She nodded again, reaching her arms up to grab onto Peter's neck. He could see her glance at the wheelchair but he couldn’t carry it in addition to her and while it was expensive, lives were worth more. Hopefully, her insurance would cover a replacement.
He sat her on a curb across the street and dove right back into the fire. He moved to the floor below the top next. He had to call out a few times before a voice hoarsely called for him. A man with a box of equipment and technology greeted him as he made his way to the voice.
The man shot him a wary look and hoarsely asked, “Are you the one who set off the explosion?”
Peter shook his head. “No. I’m a vigilante. I’m here to help.”
The man scoffed a little as he mentioned he was a vigilante but gestured for Peter to lead the way. They walked to a nearby window before Peter asked the man to leave the box behind.
“No! This is years of research and expensive equipment. I can’t just let it get burned,” he exclaimed, clutching the box tighter.
Peter rolled his eyes before webbing the box to the man and carrying them both down. It took longer but he didn’t have the time to fight with the man over it. He felt a flash of guilt at allowing the box to be rescued but not the wheelchair.
His next stop was the third floor. He called out a few times and a deep voice answered. Peter called out again and turned the corner to run right into a very wide chest. He stumbled back a step and looked up. It was Red Hood.
The vigilante tilted his head before shaking it. “I cleared this floor and the ones below. Did you get the upper floors evacuated?”
Peter nodded before following the man out of the building. He could feel his lungs burning with every breath and his vision was clouding a bit.
He sat down heavily on the curb when they got outside. The air was cold, soothing his lungs. He hadn’t even realized how hot he had been either. He coughed a little, trying to get the smoke out.
“So… who are you?” Red Hood asked as he stood in front of the boy, arms crossed.
“I’m Spider-Man,” Peter got out between a few coughs.
“Uh-huh. Spider-Man. Okay. You new to town?”
Peter nodded before rubbing his eyes through his mask. His vision should clear up soon.
“Okay, Spider-Man. Can I talk to you for a bit?”
Peter shrugged. He didn’t really want to talk to Red Hood when he felt like this but the man didn’t seem happy. Red Hood ventured for Spider-Man to follow and made his way up to the roof of a nearby building.
“Alright, Spider-Man. Why are you in Gotham?” He asked a little gruffly. It wasn’t a side of him Peter had really seen.
“I moved here a few months ago.”
Peter could somehow tell the man was rolling his eyes under the mask. “Yeah, okay, but why are you a vigilante in Gotham?”
Peter cringed a little. How much could he share without Red Hood realizing it was Peter. “With great power comes great responsibility. I can’t sit by and watch people get hurt when I have the power to help them.”
The man titled his head before asking, “By power do you mean you are meta or just skilled?”
Peter coughed again, giving himself a moment to think. Meta-human was what this universe called mutants or enhanced individuals. Was it safe to admit that he was meta? The political climate for them was quite positive, unlike his original universes, but that didn’t always reflect the citizens' view.
“Yeah, I’m meta,” he admitted, trying to keep the wariness out of his voice.
“Huh, I didn’t realize you were meta,” the man muttered, too quiet for a normal human to hear. “Ok, kid. How much training do you have?”
Another question that had a complicated answer. He had started vigilantism almost three years ago and had trained with the avengers multiple times. Nat’s ‘ballet’ classes were, well, ballet with combat mixed in. Turns out, it’s quite a challenge mentally and physically to remember the steps of a ballet, perform them, and fight off a super-spy at the same time.
“Some? I took ballet? I’ve been at this for three years although I only just moved to Gotham. My old mentors trained me before I left but they died before I could ever beat them,” Peter admitted a little sadly. He missed the Avengers. Their training sessions were always a challenge but he was praised even if he failed. They had been his family and he missed them.
Red Hood sighed. “Kid, are you sure you want to be a vigilante? It’s not easy work. People die. You might die. This is Gotham so let’s be real, you will die.”
Peter rubbed his head before checking that his mask was on. “Yeah, Mr. Red Hood, sir. I’m sure. Even death can’t keep me down,” he had said the last part as a joke but Mr. Red Hood snapped his gaze to Peter with an intensity that made him shiver.
Just as quickly as the gaze had turned to him, it turned off. “Mr. Hood is my father. I hate my father,” he echoed from the previous weekend. “Seriously though, kid, no need to use all of that. Red Hood, Hood, or Red is fine. If you are sure you want to do this, then let me train you.”
Peter reeled back in surprise. He was expecting to be chased out of the city or told to stop because he was too young. He had not been prepared for someone else to step in as a mentor.
“Really, sir? I wouldn’t want to waste your time.”
The man ran a hand down his masked face before groaning. “Stupid kids. You aren’t a waste of my time. In fact, only I get to decide what to do with my time and I choose you.”
Peter blinked in surprise before tilting his head in question. “I don’t have a phone. How will we know when to meet up for training?”
The masked man let another curse directed towards children. “Follow me kid.”
Peter didn’t hesitate and chased the man across buildings until they reached what looked like a mostly empty warehouse.
“You really shouldn’t follow strangers. Don’t do that.”
Peter squawked before defending himself. “My powers tell me if someone is dangerous and you're not!”
“I’m going to not take offense from that and instead ask what you meant.”
“Oh, I have a spidey-sense that warns me about danger. My hair stands on end and does a danger dance if the threat is high enough. It doesn’t alert to you but it does to my friend's dad,” Peter said with a shrug. Maybe he was being naive in trusting the man but Red Hood had been good to him so far.
Peter could hear Red Hood choke a little. “What do you mean it alerts to your friends dad?” The man said, very confused.
“I don’t know? It just tells me he is dangerous. I’ve tried to avoid him and everything.”
He could hear Red Hood make a noise that sounded suspiciously like he was trying not to laugh. “Oh this gold, kid. I mean your powers are gold. Trust them to keep you safe but be cautious in case someone find a way around them. Wait here for a second.”
Red Hood made his way into the building and returned quickly with a small device in hand. “It’s a little old school but it’s a pager. No trackers or anything in it but, vigilante tip, always check. I’ll page you and let you the wheres and whens for training. You can page me back if something happens and you need help. Do not let anyone get their hands on this. Got it?”
Peter nodded and reached out to take the device. He wasn’t stupid. He was going to check it for trackers or bugs anyway. Then he was going to figure out how to use it.
“Alright, kid. I better meet up with my team before they get into trouble. You stay out of trouble and tell me if trouble finds you.”
Peter wished him good luck and swung his way back home. He wanted to give the pager to Teresa to keep safe while he was out. Although, it might be good to call it a night. His suit was stained with smoke and tiredness was dragging him down.
Teresa opened the door in seconds after he knocked on the window. She immediately hugged him and then pushed him off. “Eww you stink!”
Peter chuckled before reaching his arms out for a better hug. The girl screeched and ran off, giggling the whole time. She was laughing so hard when Peter finally caught her that he briefly worried she was going to have an asthma attack. They had her inhaler but there were some pretty strong emotions with using it after everything.
She was fine and once Peter released her, suggested, “How about we go to the gym and shower? I don’t want to sleep near you when you stink that bad.”
Peter ruffled her hair before grabbing a pair of comfortable clothes and his toiletries. Teresa grabbed her own supplies and they made their way to the gym.
A hot shower was the perfect ending to his first night as Spider-Man.
Peter went out again as Spider-Man the next day at Teresa’s encouragement. He helped old-ladies cross the streets and retrieved cats out of trees. He even chased down a bike thief. The city was pretty calm this Sunday afternoon.
When the sun started to set, the criminals rose. Peter had gone to investigate a building he’d seen a few members of Joker's goons leave. He had stepped in some paint earlier so he walked on the ceiling to avoid contaminating the area. He cringed a little at the bright green footsteps he left behind but continued his snooping. He flunched a little as a voice whispered, “What the fuck?” behind him.
He slunk into a dark corner as he saw who it was. Batman. He creeped up behind the man, trying not to disturb his thinking. The man bent down to pick up a strange green vial so Peter asked, “What do you think that is?”
The large man let out a high-pitched shriek for sending his fist flying at Peter’s face. Peter had managed to turn his head out of the way but the fist still caught his cheek. He was fast.
“Ow that hurt,” Peter complained as Batman shifted his weight in preparation for another punch. “Hey, whoa, I’m here to help. Please don’t hit me again.”
The man didn’t even hesitate before he punched at Peter’s torso. Peter let out a little shriek before scuttling away.
“What. The. Fuck,” The large man stated as he pulled something out his belt. Peter’s hairs did the danger dance so he moved as fast as he could. Shit. Those batarangs are fast. It had grazed Peter’s arm and it hurt. A lot.
“Hey man, not cool. Since you seem to be in a bad mood, I’m going to assume your buddy hadn’t told you about me.”
Batman paused for a moment. “Buddy?” a rough voice rang out. This guy must eat gravel for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Peter shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, Red Hood. Love the guy. Took me under his wing- or would it be hood since hes not bat or bird themed and thus doesn’t have wings?”
The man growled before leaving the building. “Hey, Batman! Are you finished here or…?”
The man didnt reply and kept stomping onwards so Peter just shrugged and shut the door behind him before following the man. He could hear him talking to someone over him comm but his voice was surprisingly hard to understand when he spoke lowly.
“Soooo, what are you doing now, Big B?” Peter said as he walked in a handstand following the man.
Peter could the hear the tiny comm voice ask, “Did he just call you ‘Big B?’ Doesn’t that mean bitch?”
Peter gasped dramatically before flipping back onto his feet. “It does not! I meant Big B as in Batman with a capital B! He’s not a bitch even if he screams like a girl. Bitch is a mean word anyways.”
Peter could hear laughter through the comm, some even sounded different than the comm ladies. Was he on comms with the other bats?
“How did you know she said that?” the gravely voice asked.
“I took ballet,” he stated as he spun in a pirouette.
“The fuck-,” a voice exclaimed over the comm. Batman pinched the bridge of his nose through his mask before muttering something about child vigilantes.
“Shoo. I need to figure out what Joker is doing and I can’t with you being obnoxious,” Bat said while gesturing Peter away.
“Rude! I’m never obnoxious,” Peter exclaimed in mock offense. Tony loved to call him annoying.
“Where did you even come from? Actually, first, who are you?” The man was not amused by Peter.
Peter chirped, “I'm Spider-Man! I’m from out of town.”
“Okay, Bug-Boy, I’m going to ask nicely once. Go back to wherever you came from.” Peter’s spidey-sense tickled at that. He meant it.
“No can do, big guy. I’m afraid in stuck here. Unless you have top of the line tech that I can borrow as well as a sorcerer,” Peter said, edging closer to the edge of the roof. He knew he’d need to run soon.
“You aren’t welcome here.” Peter jumped as another Batarang was thrown at him. The one grazed his other cheek.
“I can tell. Come on, man! Not the face!” Peter yelled as he started to swing home. It was earlier than he was planning but he didn’t want to play with the bats tonight.
Batman hadn’t followed him so he stopped at the gym for a quick shower, hiding the spider suit in a grocery bag before he went in. He was shivering on the walk home with damp hair and no jacket but at least the cut on his arm had stopped bleeding by the time he made it back.
Teresa opened up the door, her face arranging itself into a glare as she caught sight of his injuries. She grabbed his uninjured arm and pulled him inside before forcing him down on a chair. She disappeared out of sight with a huff.
When she reappeared, the medical supplies Jason had given them were in her hand. She pulled out some butterfly bandaids for his face and carefully layed them on. Then she pulled out a needle and medical thread before cleaning the area around his arm wound. Peter knew he had told Teresa it was almost impossible for him to get an infection but she didn’t seem to care. Peter winced as she stuck the needle in and out of skin, stitching it closed. Her fussing had caused it start oozing blood again so she pulled out a piece of gauze and taped it on.
Peter hung his head a little at the thought of his little sister stitching him up. It wasn’t right. “Teresa, I’m sorry you had to do this.”
The girl furrowed her brows. “I don’t understand. Are you sorry you got hurt or that I am the one stitching you up? If you didn’t want me to, why didn’t you stop by the clinic on the way home?”
“No! That’s not what I meant! I want you to have a normal childhood, not one spent stitching me up. I just felt bad that I asked this of you,” Peter corrected her.
“You didn’t as it of me. I chose to.”
“Where did you even learn how to do that? I’ve been stitching myself up for years and those stitches were nearly perfect.”
Teresa blushed before grabbing the book she had been reading. It was a first aid book and her bookmark was nearly at the end. Peter knew she hadn’t been reading this last night because she had woken him up that morning to gush about something that had happened in her book.
“T, I love that you are doing this but are you sure? I don’t want you to do anything you are uncomfortable with, especially this. I know this can really mess people up in the head, even adults.”
Teresa shook her head.”No, Pete. I like doing this. I like making sure you are okay and keeping you safe the best I can. But maybe we need a way for you to contact me if you get hurt.”
Peter cooed and pulled her close, messing up her hair. The younger girl squawked before wiggling away. “Don’t pull your stitches!” she exclaimed, her concerned look making Peter feel bad.
“I’m fine, T. How about we snuggle up and you read a book to me? I think it’s going to be an early night for us both since we have school tomorrow.”
Peter groaned when he looked in the mirror the next morning. He had a purple bruise coloring one side of his face and a cut on the other. Bruce’s bunch weren’t going to let this one go.
Once ready, the pair began the walk to school. “Hey, T. What should I tell Tim and Duke about my face? I don’t want them to know I’m Spider-Man yet,” Peter admitted.
The girl hummed in thought before stating, “You were doing some rearranging and some boxes fell on your face.”
It was better than anything he could come up with. “Thanks, sis. You are so much better at this than I am.”
The girl smiled up at him. She was amazing. He gave her a kiss on top of her head before shooing her off into the building.
Just as he predicated, Duke gaped when he saw Peter. “Dude, what happened? You haven’t looked like this in weeks!”
Peter rubbed the back of neck in faux embarrassment. “I was rearranging some stuff and a stack of boxes fell on my face. Teresa wasn’t very happy,” he said, putting as much abashment into his tone as possible.
“Ow! That looks like it hurts. Are you sure you didn’t get a concussion?” asked Duke in a concerned tone.
Peter nodded. “Yeah, I’m good. Teresa’s current interest is first aid and medicine so she checked me out for a concussion.”
Duke looked a little surprised. “I hadn’t realized Teresa liked that now! I thought she was still reading that one series.”
Peter chuckled a bit. “Yeah, she finished that pretty quickly. That kid reads faster than a spider can bite.”
“That’s an odd saying… but on that topic, have you heard about the new vigilante? Bugboy or something?” Duke asked, an odd look on his face.
Peter pretended to think before nodding. “Yeah, I heard about a Spider-Man. He seems nice so far!”
“I heard Batman didn’t like him,” Duke hesitantly mentioned.
“Really? Why?” If Duke knew more than Peter did then maybe he could get some inside information.
“Batman’s always been weird about meta’s in Gotham. He doesn’t want the Justice League to come in and make things worse so he enforces that rule with all meta’s now. I think Signal is the only meta in Gotham and he’s in Batman’s crew.”
“Are all the vigilantes in Gotham in Batman’s crew?”
“I think so. Well, not Spiderman but I think that’s part of the reason why Batman doesn’t like him. Or maybe he’s dangerous or annoying or something. Batman doesn’t typically like a lot of people,” Duke stated with a shrug.
Huh. Every vigilante in Gotham was with the big Bat. He must stick out like a sore thumb.
“What do you think the other vigilantes think about him?” Peter ventured.
“I’m not sure. There’s a rumor going around that Red Hood is friendly with him which is shocking because he doesn’t even like the bats anymore. Robin and Nightwing pretty much just go along with whatever Batman thinks. Red Robin probably will too. Signal, Spoiler, and Orphan likely won’t run into him. Although, Orphan would likely attack on sight even without Batman’s orders.”
Peter blinked at the flood of information. “I didn’t know you knew so much about heroes.”
Duke rubbed his neck before admitting, “It’s actually Tim who likes it all. I’m just the closest to his age and thus have to sit through his tangents.” Huh. Duke’s heart rate picked up when Peter asked that. He was nervous about something. Maybe he was the one who liked heroes but he was embarrassed out it.
Peter changed the subject to their assignments as he thought about what Duke said. Spider-Man wasn’t going to be accepted easily. He already made progress with the Gothamites but he wouldn’t be truly accepted in the city until Batman accepted him.
So how could get Batman to like him? Batman was quiet, broody, and angry. He seemed to like investigating things. He likely wouldn’t appreciate Peter helping on cases or even solving them before him. Staying out of the man's way might be the best way to earn his favor.
He was still lost in thought as he gathered up his supplies and went to his next class. Tim was late as always. He slid in next to Peter, coffee in hand. It was a little weird that none of the teachers said anything about his obsession with the drinks.
As soon as the math teacher freed them to work on the packets, Tim turned to Peter and hissed, “Who did that to your face?”
Peter snorted before deadpanning, “A box. Actually, a few boxes.”
Tim just started Peter in the eyes, searching for something. Peter started back, quite uncomfortable, until the boy seemed to have found what he wanted and looked away. Strange. All of Bruce’s kids were weird. Is that why he adopted them or did being around him create it?
They chatted easily once their work was done. Peter didn’t bring up his face nor Spider-Man.
When the bell for lunch rang, Peter stopped at the bathroom first. He had to make sure his injuries weren't healing too fast. That would lead to some questions with uncomfortable answers. They weren’t. Good. He’d have to keep eating at his normal level. If he ate any more, he’d heal too quickly.
When he walked into the lunchroom, his spidey-sense tingled. Over the noise he could hear his friends whispering to each other.
“Did you see his face? Do you think he’s being abused again?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“I just wish he would tell us what he was hiding. I want him to trust us. Bruce wants him to trust us.”
Bruce wanted him to trust them? That’s concerning. He stepped behind a support column in the cafeteria to continue listening.
“You and your obsession with Bruce’s approval. Get over it, Tim.”
“Yeah, man. I like Peter! I don’t care what Bruce wants. Peter will trust us in his own time.”
“Agreed.”
“Ok, ok. I hear you. But if he’s being abused again then wouldn’t Teresa be as well?”
“That’s a good point. Maybe we should pull Dick into this.”
Peter decided that he didn’t like where this conversation was going. “Please don’t. I don’t really like him.”
Everyone but Cass flinched and stared at him. Tim gaped before asking, “How did you even hear that?”
Peter shrugged. “I took ballet. Don’t try to change the topic. Promise me you won’t bring Dick into this.”
Peter didn’t want Dick more involved in his business than he already was. A thought shot through his mind. If Dick thought he was being abused, what was stopping him from going to Jason? He liked Jason. He didn’t want to have to lie to the man about where he got hurt.
Cass nodded, crossing her heart but stating, “I won’t tell. I owe Dick nothing.”
Steph just shrugged. “I’ll follow Cass on this one.”
Tim and Duke sighed before agreeing. Tim decided to break the silence by asking, “How much of that did you hear?”
“Enough. I’m not being abused. The box thing was the truth.” Liar. “Besides, it’s none of your business even if I was.”
Tim flinched again before mumbling an apology.
Peter felt a bit bad for being harsh. He sighed and admitted, “I’m not trying to be rude. I’m sorry it came out that way. I just don’t like people sticking their noses in my business.”
Cass and Steph exchanged a look before Steph grinned. “I don’t like it either. Dude, have I ever told you how I got Tim back when he snooped into my private life? I was so mad about it.”
Peter shook his head before smiling as Steph launched into a story involving glitter, decaf, and hacking. It was quite an entertaining story. Peter found himself forgetting their previous conversation as he laughed.
Peter skipped on Spider-Maning that week. Teresa had brought up a good point. He needed a way to call her for help, even if that help was contacting Red Hood. So he spent the evenings working and dumpster diving until he figured out a solution.
He took too many hits as Spider-Man to have a large device on his person so a phone or pager was out. His earpiece was pushing it and he couldn’t get the right parts for it to be able to reply. So he found a tiny button that he hid on the sleeves on his jacket. He could press the button and it would send the beeps to a small device back home.
Teresa had been eager to learn Morse code so Peter would be able to talk to her while on patrol. With it he could let her know if he got hurt, where he got hurt, where to send Red Hood in an emergency, and when he was coming back. They had spent the quiet hours in Ivy’s shop practicing their Morse code.
Tonight, he was going back out as Spider-Man. Teresa had him promise to return again and gave him a hug before he left. He was under careful instructions to report every wound, even a paper cut.
Shortly into his patrol, he spied a group of bats talking on a rooftop. It looked like Red Robin, Signal, Spoiler, and Nightwing. Peter landed quietly beside the group and listened as they discussed whatever group they just busted and where to go next.
“This sounds fun. Can I get in?” Peter chirped, waving at the group.
Red Robin let out a screech not unlike Batman’s while the rest just gasped or flinched.
Red Robin pointed an accusing finger at him before demanding, “How did you do that?”
Peter shrugged and stood there awkwardly. “I took ballet? So can I get in on your patrol?”
“No! Who even are you?” Nightwing asked, crossing his arms.
“Spider-Man. Didn’t Batman tell you about me? We are best friends now.”
Peter could hear Signal and Spoiler cough to suppress their laughter before Red Robin gasped as an idea came to him.
“Wait! Batman did mention you! He said you were annoying and that he wanted you gone. Sorry, man. Orders are orders.” Peter could feel the group's eye roll at Red Robin.
Before Peter could think, a batarang was thrown at him. He leaned out of the way before groaning. Why did they have to attack him?
A few of them charged the boy while Signal stood back and asked, “So, why Spider-Man? Can you summon spiders or something?”
Peter pretended to think as he dodged blows. “Is Batman able to summon bats? Of course I can summon spiders! Wanna see?”
The group paused at that so Peter started shuffling his feet, snapping his fingers, and going ‘pspspsps, here spiders.’ He bit his cheek to kee himself from laughing at the rapt attention the group was giving his obviously fake dance.
He had been dancing for quite some time before Spoiler and Signal exchanged a look. “Is this supposed to do something?” Spoiler asked.
“Huh, I guess I can’t summon-“ his admittance was cut off with a screech as he spotted a spider on his glove. “Ah! A spider! Fudge cakes. Get it off! Get it off!”
He flailed his arm around before jumping onto Red Robin’s shoulders. The boy immediately lost his balance and started tipping back so Peter flung himself into Signal, screeching the whole time.
He propelled himself off of Signal and into the air, limbs flailing, where he yelled, “Someone kill it! Where is it?”
Nightwing exchanged a look with Spoiler before running his hand down his face. “Why did you choose Spider-Man if you are scared of spiders?”
Peter landed near the edge of the roof, frantically inspecting the area around him. If he was a cat, his fur would be puffed up. Red Robin and Signal were finally making their way back onto their feet.
“I got bit by a spider and got powers. It hurt. I like them even less now.”
Nightwing sighed before spotting Red Robin grabbing something. The younger bird grinned as he held out his hand. “Aww, I think they are rather cute. Why don’t you say hi to the little guy?”
Both Nightwing and Spider-Man backed up from the boy, which caused him to laugh maniacally. He sent another cruel grin to Peter before advancing.
“Oh, shi-sugar. Get it away!” Peter screeched again as he ran away. The boy continued chasing him with laughter. Nightwing stuck his leg to trip Peter which he jumped but Red Robin didn’t, sending the boy sprawling.
“Ow! What was that for?”
Nightwing groaned before helping his teammate up. “Quit being a child and get him. Seriously, act your age, man.”
RR flipped Nightwing the bird before exclaiming, “And you made kill our little spider friend! Monster! I’m telling Agent A not to give you any cookies!”
Nightwing muttered, “Fricken children.”
At once, the group's attention was back on Peter. He cursed himself mentally before chipping in, “Thanks for killing that spider. I’m going to go now.”
He flung himself off the roof and cringed as he heard the group grappling behind him. He couldn’t press his button to ask for help while swinging but he wasn’t sure he wanted Red Hood here anyway.
So he swung in a complicated maze of patterns until he was lost himself. He groaned before slipping into an alley to turn his hoodie inside-out, hiding the webs on it. He slipped off his sweat pants and stuffed them under shirt. Thank goodness he wore clothes under his spidey-suit now. He didn’t have anyone buy him cheap tourist clothes to wear if he had to take the suit off (or for it to be taken from him.)
It was a long walk home and while he wasn’t injured, he was tired. It was starting to get colder and his hoodie wasn’t keeping as warm as he'd like. He wasn’t sure what to think about the bats. Nightwing was untrustworthy. He was certain of that. Red Robin was like a puppy, eager to prove himself to Batman. Spoiler seemed chill although he didn’t doubt that she could and would kill him. Signal seemed nice but he followed along with what the other bats did.
He flinched as his thinking was interrupted by a body dropping down beside him. He let out a short curse, jumping away. “Hey there, Pete!”
It was Nightwing. Of course it was Nightwing. He just wouldn’t leave Peter alone. “Nightwing.”
“I heard there’s a spider around here. Mind if I walk you home?”
Ugh. “I think I’d rather take the spider and I hate spiders.”
“Ouch. You wound me. Unfortunately I have orders from Red Hood to protect you.” Oh what a liar! Peter would know it was a lie even without the heartbeat because Hood is just as protective of Spider-Man and they just attacked him!
Peter let his annoyance show in the form of a scoff. “That’s bull. You are a terrible liar and this isn’t even the first lie you’ve told. Does Batman know he’s got a liar on his team?” Nice. That didn’t sound like a whiney kid at all.
Nightwing gave him a funny look before saying, “I never lied to you kid. I told you I’d get you in a good home and I even checked. I did. I’m not lying now either. Red Hood wants us to look out for you.”
Peter scowled before quickening his face. He pulled his sleeve down and started sending a message to Teresa. ‘NW following. Not emgy.’ Teresa wouldn’t be able to help but if something happened, she could alert Red Hood. She’d also be prepared if Nightwing tried to get into their building.
A tiny voice spoke through his earbud. “Received. Update if anything changes.”
Peter didn’t like how his spidey-sense alerted to the vigilante and was even more on edge since they had just fought. How could he get the man off of his tail?
“When you said spider, did you mean Spider-Man?” He hoped he sounded innocent as he asked.
Nightwing gave him a suspicious look before replying, “Yes?”
“Oh I saw him swing off that way,” Peter stated, pointing in a different direction than they were going.
He could see Nightwing debate chasing after him but winced when he just informed the other Bats through his comm. “There. The other Bats will follow him and I’ll walk you home.”
Peter groaned, his attempt foiled. “Can you trade places with one of them? I’d rather deal with anyone else.”
“How about me?” Red Hood said, dropping in beside them. Peter relaxed instantly. Red was safe. Nightwing was not.
“Oh, yay! I’ll be double extra safe on my way home,” Peter exclaimed sarcastically, faux happiness in tone.
Red Hood laughed while his teammate rolled his eyes. Red Hood turned his eery white gaze to Nightwing before asking, “So what’s going on? I thought everyone was chasing bugboy. What are you doing walking my friend here?”
Did Hood glance at him when mentioned Spider-Man? No, he must have imagined it.
Nightwing coughed a little before muttering, “I saw Peter and thought I’d walk him home.”
Red Hood sighed dramatically before laying his arm over his buddy’s shoulder. “Come on, big bro. I thought we talked about this.”
Peter grinned inncocently before chipping in, “Yeah, Nightwing. I thought you said Red Hood asked you to watch me. That can’t be right. You’d never lie to a poor orphan boy. Maybe silly ol-orphan me must have misunderstood.” He batted his eyes as he tried to stir up trouble.
“Hmm I definitely don’t remember asking you to watch Peter. I think I told you and the rest of the circus to stay away actually.”
Nightwing ducked his head before apologizing, “Sorry, Peter. I saw you walking alone and it’s dark out so I figured I’d walk with you.”
Red Hood gently punched Peter's shoulder as he commented, “Pete here can take care of himself. Can’t ya?”
Peter kept his innocent grin on as he exclaimed, “Yeah! I took ballet!”
“See! The kid took ballet. Now shoo. I’ll take it from here,” he said, waving off the other vigilante.
Nightwing gave Peter a suspicious look as he grappled off but Peter was too busy thanking Red Hood. “I thought he’d never leave. Ugh. That man just keeps showing up.”
Hood snorted before giving Peter’s shoulder a squeeze. “You really need to use a different excuse, kid. Vigilante-101: Don’t say the same phrases in and out of the mask.”
Peter nodded, agreeing before his brain caught up. “Wait a second. Back it up. Why are you giving me vigilante advice?”
The older man chuckled. “Nice try. I knew the second you opened your mouth as Spider-Man.”
“Oh good. Great. Awesome. Awesomesauce. Are you going to tell Batman?”
He could feel the man’s face scrunch under the mask. “Eww. I don’t tell ol’ Batsy anything. Your secret is safe with me, kid.”
“Okaaay. I have so much I want to ask. Nightwing is your brother? Does that make Batman your dad? Who makes your suits? Do you have an AI in your comms? Is there actually a bat cave? If there is, are there real bats in it? Do the bats have rabies? Why did Batman choose bats as his theme? Did he get bit by a radioactive bat or maybe he got a radioactive treatment after being bitten by a bat carrying rabies? I bet it hurt a lot more than the spider that bit me-“ Peter rambled off in one breath, stopping at the end to gasp in air.
“Jeez, kid. Slow your roll. I’ll answer some of your questions if I can hear them but I could not understand a word of that,” the anti-hero stated, still reeling.
“Sorry,” Peter said bashfully. “Is Nightwing really your brother?”
“That’s the first question you choose? Really? Not if you can have cool toys or questions about me being a murderer?”
Peter shrugged. “I can make my own cool toys. As for the murderer thing, I don’t really care. I had a friend before I moved here that was a mercenary. He was a lot like you actually. We had fun together.”
He missed Deadpool. The man had made it a game to see how quickly he could cheer up Peter. He had lost that game when he tried giving Peter a dead body.
“That’s concerning in every way.”
“Absolutely. Now, is he your brother?”
“Ugh, yes. Nightwing is my brother.”
“Okay, love that. I get the annoyance but can’t say I can relate much considering I didn’t grow up with siblings. Although if aunts and uncles count, I do relate. Back to the topic, does that make Batman your dad?”
Hood groaned again. “Yes. He’s technically my dad.”
“That’s so cool! I mean except for the fact that he seemed like a dick. Does he, by chance, eat gravel?”
The man beside him stumbled before laughing. “He is a dick. Surprisingly, he doesn’t eat gravel by choice. All of the baby bats have made that joke at some point and put gravel in his food.”
“Aw. That’s disappointing. Why did he choose Batman?”
“I have no idea why you are choosing these questions instead of the cooler ones. He chose Batman because he thought it was cool and he built his house above a batcave. I think he was too lazy to get rid of them so he just stuck with the theme.”
“Batman has a house? Of course he does! He’s probably some random billionaire with daddy issues. I know the type.”
Red Hood choked at Peter's comment. “Nooo. Never. He’s definitely not that,” he lied very obviously. “If I may ask, how do you know the type?”
“Hmm? I got adopted by a billionaire superhero with daddy issues. He’s mostly dead now which sucks. It’s actually the reason I’m in Gotham.”
“Care to elaborate?”
“Not really.”
“Ok. What other questions do you have?”
Peter stumbled a little. Hood had just accepted that he didn’t want to share. No one ever did that. He could feel the attachment forming and resented it.
“Umm, okay. I’m having trouble thinking of more since you just- did- whatever be that was,” Peter stuttered while flapping his hands.
“What did I do?” Hood sounded concerned.
“You just accepted that I didn’t want to talk about how I got in Gotham.”
“Oh. Yeah. I get it. I don’t like people pressing me about my death and un-death and everything.”
“Oh.” That’s right. Red Hood had died and he knew Peter had died.
The man cleared his throat awkwardly before attempting to change the subject. “So. How’s school?”
Peter shrugged before answering, “Good, I guess. I have some friends and everything. Good grades and all that.” Nice going, Parker. That wasn’t awkward at all.
“Are those the friends with the creepy dad?” The humor in his voice made Peter suspicious.
“Yes? Why is that what you remember?”
“Oh I know their dad. I think it’s funny.”
“Wait. You know my friends? And you know Bruce?”
“Yep! Bruce and I get along like a cat and a cucumber. I have my opinions on your friends but I still think they are good for you.”
“Can I ask a really weird question?”
“Sure? Go ahead, little man. Nope, not saying that again. Ew.”
Peter snorted before sobering up. “Why would Bruce ask his kids to earn my trust? It’s weird enough that he’d ask them to be my friends.”
The masked man hummed before replying, “Bruce is weird but he means well. He probably saw a sad little orphan Annie and got sad himself. He likely told his kids to make you feel welcome and all that junk. Nothing malicious. Just a man who doesn’t know how to handle his emotions or what boundaries are.”
Peter relaxed a little at this before he squawaked, “I’m not orphan Annie! And even if I was, so are you!”
The vigilante chuckled. “Oh, hush. We both know you sing ‘It’s a hard knock life’ to your sister.”
Peter squawaked again before dramatically stating, “The betrayal! Dishonor! Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your cow!”
“You watch Mulan?”
“Of course I watch Mulan! Do you not? I relate too much to not love it. I mean I went against my family's wishes and became a vigilante. Granted, my uncle being murdered played a part. Is that not at all similar to what she did?”
“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t seen it.”
Peter stopped in his tracks. “You haven’t seen Mulan? Nope. This- this treachery- this disgrace ends now. I don’t care if we have to watch it on a computer in the library. You are seeing that movie.”
“I’m going to regret this… Do you want to watch the movie at my friend's house some time? I think you know Jason. He’s mentioned you.” Jason and Red Hood knew each other? They probably worked out together since they were both massive.
“Perfect. You are not getting out of this,” Peter stated, serious as could be. He would drag the man there if he had to.
The man raised his hands in surrender. Peter was surprised when a moment later he stopped in his tracks. He looked back as the man started to talk, “We are here. I’ll send you a message about when we can see that movie. And remember, stop with the ballet excuse!”
He hadn’t even realized they were at the bookshop already. He rolled his eyes and waved at the man before climbing up the fire escape. He beeped Teresa to let him know he was there. She let him in and immediately looked him over for injuries. He’d managed to escape unscathed today, only emotionally scarred from a spider.
The next few weeks went the same. Red Hood contacted him for training a few times but never about the movie. Peter was working on a plan to trap the man so they could watch it.
He got injured by the bats a few times and by villains. Teresa happily stitched up so long as he told her about injuries. He had gotten quite a scolding when he forgot to mention a broken finger.
He got closer to Ivy and Harley. He even got to meet Frank!
Life continued on as normal until he got kidnapped as Spider-Man. He hadn’t been able to dodge the very fast and very small dart flying at him. They must have prepared for him to be enhanced since it actually knocked him out.
When he woke up, he was chained to the wall across from Nightwing. He groaned as he groggily looked around. Of all the bats, he got stuck with Nightwing. He could feel his mask shifting so they hadn’t taken it off. That was good.
A grin twisted onto his masked face as he came up with a plan. “Ah man, I’m bored. Do you think they have a TV? Or some books?”
Nightwing growled. “Be quiet.”
“Ah sorry, do you have a headache? I think my singing will make it better!” He exclaimed before belting out, “99 spiders chained to the wall, 99 spiders chained up. Take one down, pass it around. 99 spiders chained up on the wall. 98-“
He didn’t stop when Nightwing asked nicely. He didn’t spot when he asked meanly. He didn’t even stop when he yelled. He considered stopping when the bad guys wheeled a tv in and started it but they put on the news. The news! So he kept singing.
He had managed to get through spiders and bats and some of the way into birds before a goon walked in. “I can’t do this anymore. I can hear your annoying ass voice through the ear plugs. I’m letting you go. I don’t care if I get killed for this because I will actually kill myself if I hear that song again.”
Peter grinned as he was unchained. “Aww, you should see a therapist about that! I know a good one that works nearby, do you want their number?” Both men in the room groaned and the goon begged him to stop talking. They hadn’t even been there that long!
That wasn’t why he had been singing but hey, he didn’t have to reveal his crazy strength to the men. The chains were thin and clearly not enforced and the goons hadn’t done anything bad to them. He could have broken them drugged up but he hadn’t because he saw an opportunity for payback.
The man let Nightwing go too before he ran out of the room, likely worried the vigilantes would hurt him.
“Well? How was my performance?” Peter asked with a bow.
“Like a fucking banshee,” the man growled before storming out of the room.
Mission accomplished.
Notes:
Hope everyone enjoyed got their giggles out in this chapter because this was the comic relief before Ch12 :D
A little bit about what I have planned for the rest of this work: Plot-wise, it will be done at ch15. After that, I'll be focusing on having fun with Peter and the Waynes, no plans for a true plot.
I know I started this work on a darker note but I really struggled writing that. I quite dislike "All hope is lost" hence why I haven't put in any true bad guys or situations like that. Ch1 and Ch12 are going to be the closest to that trope (No more character death, I promise) but things will always look upCh12 will be posted by Friday night. Sooner if I don't pick up any work this week.
Chapter 12
Summary:
Bullies, ice cream, vigilantes, tragedy. Nothing else to say.
'A hopeful grin popped on his face as he saw something. Red Hood was walking in the park headed towards a hot-dog stand. Peter grabbed Teresa's hand and pulled her along.
The man had a hotdog in hand by the time the siblings made their way over. “Mr. Red Hood!”
Peter exclaimed, more than a tad excited to see the man.“Hey, kid! Hey, smaller kid. What are you doing here with that big frown,” he greeted, pointing at Teresa’s still upset face.
“Rough day at school. Everyone got a bit upset that Teresa punched her bully in the face but I’ve been trying to tell her how proud I am.”
“Ey, good for you, squirt! I punch bullies in the face all the time! It’s very heroic to stand up to them like that.”
Peter could see the moment Teresa shifted from upset to awe. She’s always loved heroes and one of them just told her that she acted heroically. Nothing could have improved her mood more than that. '
Chapter Text
It's been a few good months. He hadn’t gotten seriously hurt. No one had died. They had enough money for food. It was making Peter's skin crawl. Something was going to happen. It had to. Things were never this good for long.
He was wary when the walk to school on Friday was quiet. Teresa wasn’t giving Peter her normal flow of chatter and it was making his skin crawl.
He didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure what to say even if he wanted to. She was allowed to have a bad day and if that meant quiet then so be it.
He gave her a tight hug before he waved her off. She’d be okay. She had her walkie-talkie on her, Peter had his earbud and nothing bad had happened at school yet. He took a deep breath and stuffed his worry down.
The day went by in a haze. He didn’t spare his friends much attention. Despite the noise, he kept his hearing dialed up as much as possible and listened for anything out of the ordinary. His spidey-sense wasn’t acting more than it normally did around them but something else in him was ringing the alarm bells.
It wasn’t until his history class that he felt it spike slightly. He waited for a few minutes, but nothing abnormal happened. It wasn’t until he heard the beep of his comm clicking to life that he asked the teacher to go to the bathroom. He practically ran out of the room, barely getting permission, before Teresa’s tiny voice said, “Please come get me, Peter. I got in trouble.”
He flew out of his school and over to hers like a hellhound was chasing him. When he barged into the office, an admin lady put the phone she had up to ear down and stated, “Good, you’re here. I’m not going to ask how you knew to come but please, right this way.”
She guided him to the principal's office, his panic refusing to die down until Teresa came into sight. He saw her sitting in a chair, tears on her face and some blood on her hands. He rushed over and kneeled in front of her. “What happened, T? Are you alright?”
The girl gave a teary nod before admitting, “I got mad. Max said some mean stuff and I got really angry- Like that time with Calvin. So I hit him. I’m sorry.”
Peter just kissed her on the forehead before standing behind her chair, hands on her shoulders. Max and his parents were in the chair beside them. He channeled his inner Tony before speaking. “So how long has Max been saying mean things, T?”
She grimaced before quietly answering, “Since the start of the school year.”
Peter raised an eyebrow at the principal. “So is it common practice to allow a child to bully another until she finally snaps?”
The principal gaped. Peter felt a little bad since she had been so nice previously but Teresa was his priority.
The mother beside him gasped dramatically in a way only entitled mothers can. “My Max would never bully another child. She is lying to save herself after she broke my little darling's nose!”
Peter held back an eye roll. “Are there cameras where the incident happened?”
The principal nodded, a little pale at the glare of a teen and the scowl of a very rich woman.
She pulled up the tape and turned her computer to face them, pressing play. It was easy to find Teresa and the boy. Teresa had been reading in the hall when the boy had sauntered up to her. Was she not making friends?
There wasn’t any audio but you could see the boy's mouth move and the smug look on his face. Teresa got up and started to walk away, her body language conveying her upset. The boy grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. Teresa’s mouth moved and she once again tried to walk away.
Peter could see the moment the boy went too far because the Teresa on-screen tensed and sent her fist into his face. She only got one more hit in before a teacher scooped her up, obviously yelling.
The principal moved to stop the video there but Peter scowled until she retracted her hand. The teacher in the video set Teresa down and started yelling right into her face. Peter could feel his own rage bubbling at the sight. No wonder the girl had called him.
“Who is that teacher?” He asked faux calmness in his voice. He put on the strongest mask he could and hoped it would hold until this was sorted.
“That’s Ms. Andrea. She was on hallway duty during lunch today,” the principal spoke hesitantly. She knew her mistake.
“I want her fired yesterday.” He wanted her beaten to a pulp but firing would do.
“Mr. Parker? I can’t do that. We don’t have anyone to replace her!”
“So let me get this straight. You are willing to keep a teacher who screamed in a 6-year-old girl's face because you can’t ‘replace’ her. Oh and don’t forget that said girl was only in trouble because you failed to address the bullying sooner. Should I make the press aware that Gotham Elementary allows their teachers to verbally abuse and intimidate children?” He patted his pockets as though he was looking for his phone to add to the effect. It seems Tony was a good example of dealing with schools despite Peter's embarrassment at his actions in the past.
The principal paled again. “No, of course we don’t. I’ll write up the paperwork to fire her right away.” Peter grinned inside but kept his indifferent mask on the outside.
He turned to the family next to him. “Do you still think ‘Lil Max’ couldn’t have caused Teresa to snap?”
The mother's eyes were darting between the principal, Peter, and Teresa. The father just glared at Peter. Peter snapped his fingers before biting, “Up here. I’m the one talking to you. Answer my question.”
The woman gaped before glaring. “A child should never resort to violence. She is a danger to the rest of the school and should be expelled.”
Peter fought to keep a predatory grin from twisting into his face. “Ah, is that so? Teresa, I know it’s a lot but do you think you could tell us what Max said to upset you?”
The girl flinched before meekly saying, “He told me that no one loved me and I was all alone. He said that you would leave me too. Then he said that I would never make any friends because I’m weird and a freak.”
He balled up his anger and stuffed it down. Just a little longer. “Thank you, T. We will talk tonight about how wrong his words were. For now, I believe Max should be expelled. As his mother dutifully put it: ‘he is a danger to the other children and thus should be expelled.’ Unless you seem to think bullying is less serious than a child defending herself?”
The whole family stared, mouths parted in unsaid words. Peter turned to The principal and raised an eyebrow again. “Am I going to have to go to the school board and the press about this as well? I think they’d love ‘Poor orphan girl expelled for fighting back against her bully.’ A little long but certainly draws attention.”
The principal shook her head again. “This is not the course of action I’d like to take but we do have a no-tolerance policy for bullying so Mr. Vindice will be expelled.”
Peter felt cruel satisfaction curling in his chest. What kind of name was Max Vindice? Not one he’d ever hear again.
Ms. Vindice began sobbing dramatically, falling into her silent husband's arms. Peter allowed himself a subtle eye roll before turning his harsh gaze back to the principal. “Is everything sorted here?”
The principal looked rather pale still. Perhaps she should eat something. “We typically suspend students for violence.”
Peter met her eyes with an icy look. He could see a bead of sweat roll down her face. “I will deal out an appropriate consequence for Teresa. Suspension is not necessary.”
The woman nodded quickly and stood on shaky legs. She scrambled to the door and opened it, gesturing for the group to leave. The Vindices were the first out, the mother still wailing. Her poor son. She was going to be a nightmare when he wanted some independence.
Peter grabbed Teresa’s bag and gently set his hand on her shoulder before walking her out. He may have gone a little too far but no one died and Teresa was safe.
Teresa was tense as they started walking home, not saying anything. It wasn’t until they got to the fire escape that she whispered, “Am I in trouble?”
Peter almost laughed at the question but was too startled by how scared the girl sounded. He spoke in a calm and easy tone, “Not at all. In fact, I was rather thinking we’d go out for some ice cream.”
Teresa gave him a teary and confused look. “I thought you were going to punish me?”
“Ah, the consequence thing? Yeah, consequence doesn’t mean punishment. I’m going to give you what you deserve for today and that, my friend, is ice cream.”
Peter felt terrible as Teresa broke into sobs. She didn’t deserve to feel like this. He dropped the bags on the steps behind him and wrapped his arms around her.
It took a few minutes of them hugging tightly before Teresa relaxed her grip. A large snot and tear stain was left on Peter's shirt. Hopefully, it will come in the wash.
“Should we grab some money and go get ice cream?” He asked gently, brushing her hair out of her face.
She nodded and they dropped their school bags off before putting on warmer clothes and getting some money.
Teresa ended up getting cotton candy flavored ice cream while Peter stuck with vanilla. They sat in a quiet silence as they ate, neither sure how to start a conversation.
“I’m proud of you, T. You handled that situation perfectly today.”
The girl looked up, surprised. Peter smiled even wider at the ice cream that covered her face. “Really?”
“Yep. You walked away when he wouldn't leave you alone. You told him to stop and he didn’t. Then you enforced your words with a little violence. Don’t get me wrong, hitting people isn’t something we should do! But sometimes we need to and that was a perfect example as to when.”
Teresa sighed and leaned into as she admitted, “I was really scared.”
Peters’s breath hitched a little. “I’m sorry. I know how scary it can be to have a teacher not believe you and be mad at you. I know how scary it is to have someone bully you.”
“It was scary not knowing if you were mad.”
Peter’s heart broke. “Oh, T. I didn’t know. I’ll never be mad at you. Never! I was mad at your teachers and the other kid but not you.”
“Oh,” she said in a tiny voice, still shrunk into herself.
Peter could feel the sharp fingers of guilt squeeze his heart. He fucked up. He didn’t comfort Teresa when he should have. He should have known, especially with the amount of times he felt this way with Tony. Whenever Tony swooped in and saved him, he had been scared the man was mad. He rarely was but that didn’t help the fears.
A hopeful grin popped on his face as he saw something. Red Hood was walking in the park headed towards a hot-dog stand. Peter grabbed Teresa's hand and pulled her along.
The man had a hotdog in hand by the time the siblings made their way over. “Mr. Red Hood!”
Peter exclaimed, more than a tad excited to see the man.
“Hey, kid! Hey, smaller kid. What are you doing here with that big frown,” he greeted, pointing at Teresa’s still upset face.
“Rough day at school. Everyone got a bit upset that Teresa punched her bully in the face but I’ve been trying to tell her how proud I am.”
“Ey, good for you, squirt! I punch bullies in the face all the time! It’s very heroic to stand up to them like that.”
Peter could see the moment Teresa shifted from upset to awe. She’s always loved heroes and one of them just told her that she acted heroically. Nothing could have improved her mood more than that.
Peter gave the man a grin, happy that Teresa was no longer upset. Peter was getting good at reading emotions through masks because he could see the man’s happiness as well.
“As much as I’d love to sit and chat, I just came here for lunch before I go on a mission. I’ll be out of town for a bit so stay out of trouble, kid.”
Oh. Peter had hoped to talk more with the man and he wanted to train some this weekend. He’d have to be careful as Spider-Man this weekend. If he got into trouble, there wouldn’t be anyone to back him up.
Teresa launched forward and hugged the man’s legs. Wow. He was tall. She didn’t even come up to his hips.
The man looked quite startled at the sudden hug and gave the girl a few awkward pats on the head. Peter bit his lip to keep from laughing. Big bad Red Hood conquered by a hug.
The man gently pried the girl off of him and quickly backed up. “Ok, bye. See you another time,” he said quickly, waving as he started to run off.
Ah. It warmed his heart to big scary men suffering because of a little girl. He let out a chuckle before scooping up Teresa’s sticky hand and walking around the park. It was still early so the sun was high in the sky, almost no clouds blocking it. They walked around for a while and enjoyed the weather. It wasn’t warm, per se, but it felt warmer than it had been in weeks.
Eventually, they headed home to clean off their sticky faces and read. Peter fussed over Teresa the second they made it inside, making sure her face was clean, checking that she wasn’t hungry, piling blankets on her.
Teresa was not a fan. “Ok. Enough. Go out as Spider-Man or something. I don’t care what, just leave.”
“Aww. So rude!” He exclaimed, dramatically throwing himself on their bed. She had a point. He had gone a bit overboard with the mothering.
“Nope. Leave,” she said while nudging him with her foot. “I need space from whatever this is.”
He grinned as he slipped his suit over his clothes, trying to put on the warmest stuff.
“Bye, T. Larb you!” He yelled while kicking on his sneakers and running towards the door.
“Promise you’ll come back and that you’ll beep if you get hurt?”
“Promise! Be back soon!”
Patrol was quiet. He got lucky and stopped a car crash before it happened. He ended up taking one of the drivers to the clinic to sober up. The other driver was pretty shaken up but made it home alright (he definitely didn’t ride on her car roof just to make sure.)
He walked an old lady home and got a cookie in return. The cookie very much smelled like weed so it was thrown in the dumpster, a sad look following it. It wasn’t right to waste a perfectly good cookie. In theory, it would affect him with his metabolism. In reality, he didn’t have Red Hood there to drag his high butt home so it wasn’t worth the potential embarrassment if it affected him.
Things continued peacefully. He didn’t even run into a Bat. It got a little interesting when a fire truck went by screaming. Peter webbed himself onto it and hitched a ride to wherever the fire was.
His spidey-sense was the first clue something was different. He couldn’t see or hear anything abnormal so he took a second to think. Oh. It was headed towards where Peter lived. Maybe it was the clinic or Jason’s house on fire or maybe his spidey-sense was letting him know there were going to be chemicals in the fire.
There were lots of answers but his hair rose as he thought about a potential one: the bookshop. The bookshop could be on fire.
He beeped Teresa and asked for a check in. It normally took her a minute to get to the table, translate his message, and reply so he wasn’t worried yet.
He was worried as the minutes passed and they got closer to the bookshop. He beeped again, using the emergency code to get her attention. Nothing. She wouldn’t ignore that.
He stood on top of the truck and watched as they turned a corner and the bookshop came into sight. It was covered in flames, lighting up the street in orange and yellow. The smell of smoke breezes towards Peter carrying the smell of pages and memories. His breath hitched. Teresa.
He flung himself off of the truck and climbed the building. He didn’t care about the heat burning his suit. He didn’t care that his pant leg had already caught fire, singing his skin and slowly spreading up. He only cared about getting in.
The bars protecting a second story window went flying as Peter ripped it off. He smashed the window and flinched as the flames roared out. He didn’t stay still. Throwing his body through the window and into the flames, he started yelling out for Teresa.
He didn’t hear anything other than the crack and roar of books and wood burning. A shelf cracked and crashed into the ground. Peter ran to their bed. Teresa wasn’t there.
The only places that made sense for her to be was the desk downstairs, the bathroom, and by the roof access door. The door was the closest so he ran there. Nothing. He opened the bathroom door. Nothing although it wasn’t very burnt yet.
He tripped going down the stairs, lack of oxygen making his legs weak. He needed to hurry. He scrambled up and stumbled towards the desk. Nothing. Where was she?
A cough broke through his panic. There. Under the desk was a small curled up body. Peter would have sighed in relief if he could breathe. He moved to grab the girl and noticed a blood spot on her head. A piece of a shelf above them sat nearby. Possible concussion. Smoke inhalation. Medical treatment needed immediately.
He pulled the girl into his chest and moved to find an exit. The stairs had burned at this point. Any remaining steps would be too weak for their weight. Windows had bars. The door was boarded but it was their best bet.
He clutched Teresa a little tighter and rammed his shoulder into the boarded up door. Ow. That hurt. He had heard a crack so he stepped back a few steps and rammed it again. He could feel the board become looser so he repeated the process again.
This time, a single board worked its way loose enough that Peter could slide his body through. He started by wedging Teresa through and letting her gently drop to the ground. He tossed his body through next, feeling the flames getting hotter behind him.
He groaned as he laid on the ground. Loud, clunky footsteps drew him out of his haze. A firefighter looked them over before picking him up. Peter opened his mouth to protest that Teresa should be first but a coughing fit tore through his sore body. He whimpered. That wasn’t good. His skin felt tight on his chest and legs.
He blinked lethargically as he spotted a second firefighter carrying Teresa behind them. Good. He gasped in some air and croaked, “She has a possible concussion and smoke inhalation.”
The firefighter gave him an odd look before reassuring, “We will get her all checked out. I’m surprised you are conscious. You got some pretty bad burns there, kid.”
Peter coughed again as he tried to talk. “I can tell.”
Man, this was going to take forever to heal. Some inhalation took a week to get normal when he was healing the rate he had been. The burns made it longer. Ha hadn’t been eating much so he wouldn’t heal fast and give away his abilities to his friends. Now he was wishing he had eaten because they had no food, no vouchers, and almost no money. Peter wouldn’t be able to work until he healed up.
Panic tried to rise in Peter. No. Not right now. He needed to be strong until he could get Teresa somewhere safe. “Water?”
His voice sounded terrible. It was a wonder the man even understood him but not even a few moments later, a cold bottle was pressed into his hands. He coughed as he practically inhaled the water. It felt wonderful on his throat.
“Don’t go choking on me, kid.” Peter looked at the first responder. He needed some oxygen for a few minutes and maybe a change of clothes. He could find somewhere to go after that. Jason lived close. He could make it there (hopefully.)
“Do you have a change of clothes I can borrow?” He croaked, wincing as everything hurt.
“Stuborn ass vigilantes,” they said with an eye roll. “I’ll make a deal with you. You sit here for 10 minutes on oxygen and then I’ll give you some clothes and a lift to the hospital.”
Bingo. It would all go a bit smoother if they thought it was their idea and he didn’t have the energy to fight. In fact, he probably would have passed out by now if not for sheer determination.
“Agreed but no ride. We have family near here who can drive to hospital.” Peter was getting frustrated. He hated smoke inhalation. It always made talking a challenge.
The firefighter nodded and went to retrieve an oxygen mask. His hands reached up and felt his mask over his mouth still. He pulled it up over his nose, not sure about trusting a random firefighter with his identity. The cold air felt amazing when he put on the plastic mask and helped Peter gather the strength to not pass out.
The firefighter set some clothes next to Peter before speaking, “It sounded like you know the girl. Can we take her to the hospital to get treatment or will she be going with you?”
Peter cleared his throat the best he could. “She’s with me. We are family.”
They nodded before heading over to inform the others. Peter let himself close his eyes for a moment as he cooled off. His head was fuzzy but he was still able to take stock of his body. His lungs and throat would be pretty raspy for a minute. The skin on his legs and torso was pretty burnt. His arms remained unscathed but he had a bruise forming on his shoulder. No other injuries.
The burned skin was the most serious for him. While he wouldn’t scar, it would take to heal and there were a lot of risks of it healing wrong. His torso being burnt was concerning. The skin would pull tight as it healed. That mixed with the smoke inhalation would increase his risk of pneumonia. His body would be too overworked healing everything to deal with the pneumonia. That had been a long few weeks when he found that out. Tony had actually tied him to the bed and personally assured he was doing his breathing exercises.
“Peter!” Teresa croaked. Peter’s eyes snapped open and not a moment later, a body rammed into his extremely painful legs. A high pitched whine escaped him and he cursed his body for its betrayal. Teresa immediately jumped back and paled when she saw the extent of his injuries.
“I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” She asked frantically.
“I’m fine, T. I’ll heal up in no time. Just a little tender until then,” he reassured, attempting to smile through the mask. It was quite the challenge to even talk with the thing on.
Teresa crawled up beside him and curled around his arm the best she could. It was hard to snuggle if you took out the torso and legs. Peter could feel as small sobs wracked her body. “I was so scared. I thought I was going to die.”
“I know. It was scary for me too. It’s okay that we were both scared. We will both be okay.” He ran his hand through her hair as he talked, trying to soothe her. Crying after smoke inhalation was a rough combination. He, unfortunately, knew this from experience.
“Where are we going to stay now?” She whimpered, pulling up tears in Peter's own eyes. He stuck some duct tape on the dams and hoped it would hold.
“I think we will go find Jason. He will help us.” The confidence in his voice didn’t match what he felt. Jason had been willing to help before but they had even less and needed more now.
They sat together for a long time until the firefighter informed them that they needed to get back. They had smothered the fire but there wasn’t anything left.
Peter used the cover of the ambulance to change into the sweatpants and t-shirt they provided, dumping his suit in a dumpster nearby. He kept his mask on both because for identity purposes and because it hid how afraid he was.
Peter hissed as walked back to Teresa, clothes rubbing on fresh burns. He grabbed the girl's hand and thanked the firefighters before starting the walk to Jason’s. He ripped off his mask as soon as they were out of sight, tossing it into an alley.
The man’s apartment wasn’t far but it felt like miles. Each step rubbed his burns. Every breath made his lungs scream. His brain wanted to shut down. But he pushed on, ignoring his body. Safety first. Sleep next. Food after. Healing last.
Peter was ready to collapse by the time they got there. Not a single thought ran through his mind, only static and pain. He knocked on the door and waited, shifted as his feet and legs ached. Nothing.
He knocked again, louder and frantically. Nothing. He listened but couldn’t hear a single heartbeat or breath in the apartment.
He bit back a curse. The firefighters were gone by now. Jason wasn’t home. Where was left? Jason may not be home right now but maybe he was in town. He had told Peter to go to the library or the clinic if he couldn’t get to him.
Peter steeled himself and repeated the next steps. Library. Sleep. Food. Heal. He could do this. He’d do it for Teresa. He grabbed her hand again, feeling bad as the girl blinked sluggishly and dragged her feet.
Peter was moments away from passing out as they approached the library. His mantra was the only thing keeping him going. He tried the doors. Locked. He banged his fist on the door. Nothing. He listened. Silence.
Fuck. The clinic wasn’t far but he could feel the darkness pulling his consciousness down. Teresa wasn’t going much better as she swayed on her feet beside him. The clinic would be open. They could crash there if Jason wasn’t in town.
So Peter pulled Teresa along, fighting to stay conscious every step. He didn’t even remember the walk but suddenly he was outside the clinic.
He stumbled in, immediately realizing how cold he had been. He didn’t have a jacket on anymore. Huh.
“Hey. Can I help you?” A woman at the front desk asked, snapping her fingers like she had already asked him. She probably had.
“Can you call Jason?” He croaked, forcing his eyelids to stay open.
“Oh! You are some of his kids! Sure, I’ll call. Why don’t you take a seat over there? I can grab you some snacks and water in a minute.”
He collapsed in a chair. Teresa curled into the one beside him, already asleep. The static in his mind got louder and he could feel his eyes drift closed. As much as he hated sleeping around people he didn’t know, he didn’t have a choice. It would take a miracle for his body to stay awake any longer.
He dozed for a bit, still trying to fight himself awake. He heard a snippet of the call. “Out of town? They aren’t in good shape- You’ll call someone? Thanks.”
Peter didn’t have the energy to process any of that. It was taking every fiber of his being to wake up even this much. He blinked and suddenly a large man was picking him up, putting painful pressure on his burns. He cried out, trying to writhe away.
The pressure stayed. He got blasted with cold air. It felt nice. He could hear a car door open and felt himself be placed gently down.
He blinked again and he was being picked up. Couldn’t they just let him sleep? He groaned before pushing away from the body. They kept touching his burns and it hurt. They didn’t let go and felt him himself be carried up a flight of stairs, each step making him flinch.
He couldn’t keep himself awake any longer so he didn’t. Why was he even staying awake in the first place? Mr. Stark would keep him safe.
Notes:
"It took a few minutes of them hugging tightly before Teresa relaxed her grip. A large snot and tear stain was left on Peter's shirt. Hopefully, it will come in the wash. "
Hmm, I think it came in the fire just fine!*Let it burn, let it burn, let it shrivel up and burn*
*It: Peters life ; Peters happiness ; Peters homeCh13 will either be posted Friday or Monday (basically whenever I finish it)
Chapter 13
Summary:
Peter wakes up and explores Wayne Manor.
Warning: Panic attack and some suicidal thoughts
'“Oh. Do you have to leave?” He wasn’t sure if he wanted them there or not. On one hand, they were familiar. Comforting. On the other, they set off his spidey-sense.
“Yeah, man. Sorry. Everyone listens to Alfred. He pretty much runs the household.”
“Hogwash, Master Duke. Master Bruce runs the household,” Mr. Pennyworth said as he returned. He had a bag in his hands. Suddenly, he felt extremely curious about the bag.
“Aww, time to go already? Can’t we stay longer, Alfie?” Tim begged, dramatically collapsing onto the desk.
Alfred seemed to have infinite patience as he said, “I’m afraid so. You will see your friend later. Why don’t you boys see if Master Damian needs some distracting? I think he’d do well keeping away from Master Peter.”
The boys gave each other a grin before hurriedly throwing goodbyes at Peter and leaving. '
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Peter woke up to his spidey-sense ringing. Before his eyes were even open, he was shoving the danger away, giving himself time to react. He looked over to where his other arm was trapped and saw Teresa wrapped around it. Danger. Protect Teresa.
He turned his gaze to the danger as he flung himself out of the bed. A hiss of pain escaped as the movements pulled open the skin on his legs and back. Danger.
A kid was standing there, knife in hand. Hostile body language. Crouched in a professional stance. Well-trained. Teresa was in the room. Threat level high.
The boy ran at Peter, preparing to stab him. He redirects the knife arm away and pushes the kid away with a little bit more strength than necessary. Peter winced as the kid slammed into a wall. Even assassin children threatening him and possibly Teresa shouldn’t be hurt more than necessary.
Adrenaline was finally pushing the grogginess out of his mind. Where was he? Why did he hurt so bad? Why was Damian attacking him? Was this a mind-control thing or a Beck situation? He didn’t have time to get answers or panic as a man walked through the door.
Damian flailed and snarled as he was scruffed and got set gently outside the room. The door gently clicked shut and Peter could hear a single loud bang on it before footsteps stomped away.
Peter didn’t leave his fighting stance as he analyzed the new man. Well-dressed, not concerned about what he just saw. His spidey-sense did warn about potential danger but also informed him he was safe for now.
“My apologies, Master Peter. Master Damian is not fond of new people,” the man said in a British accent. It reminded him of the clips he saw of Jarvis and when, on occasion, Vision experimented with new accents. He often tried to see if accents changed the way people portrayed him and if certain accents led to people being more comfortable around him.
“Please, sit, Master Peter. You are bleeding.” Peter winced as he realized how much his legs hurt. He had forgotten about the injuries. For them to hurt this bad, his nerves must already have started growing back.
Peter sat, groaning at the pain of bending his knees. A coughing fit pulled on his burns as he tried to talk. The man pressed a cup into Peter’s hand which he drank greedily. He cleared his throat before croaking, “Where am I? Who are you?”
The man bummed for a moment before replying, “I am Alfred Pennyworth. You are at your friends, Master Tim and Master Dukes, house.”
Peter frowned. He didn’t remember coming here. In fact, he remembered trying to get ahold of Jason. This was bad. He was too injured to defend himself or Teresa and he knew this family wasn’t safe.
“How did I get here?”
“Master Bruce and Master Richard retrieved from the clinic. You had some severe burns.”
Bruce was concerned but who was Richard? The burns were even more concerning. That was going to be an interesting conversation to lie his way out of.
“I am sure you have questions but if I may, I think food may be first in line. I would also like to take a look at those injuries again.”
Peter tensed before wincing as his burns protested. Maybe he should get some help with them. He’d just have to figure out how to explain his healing.
Mr. Pennyworth set up a tray in front of Peter and placed a plate filled with oatmeal, breakfast meats, eggs, and fruit on it.
“Might I suggest waking Miss Teresa? Food will do her good as well.”
Peter turned to look at the girl sleeping behind so fast that he gasped in pain. He had forgotten about the burns on his torso. He gently reached a hand out, ignoring the pain it caused, and shook Teresa. “T. Hey, T. It’s time to wake up.”
The girl groaned but sat up, hair flying in every direction. Peter frowned as he saw how singed it was. He would need to give her a haircut and buy some quality conditioner to start healing it.
He frowned even harder when he saw the bump on her forehead. Her face and what other skin he could see was red. It looked like she got mild burns from the fire.
The girl rubbed away her tiredness before looking around. She tensed at the sight of Mr. Pennyworth and scooted closer to Peter. He winced as she pressed against his torso but reached an arm to pull her closer. He wasn’t letting her put his sight, especially not around those people.
He hesitantly reached a hand out for the food, keeping an eye on the man the whole time. When Mr. Pennyworth didn’t move, Peter put a bite of eggs in his mouth. He blushed as a moan escaped him. The eggs tasted like heaven.
He slid the bowl of oatmeal to Teresa and encouraged her to eat some. She was even more wary of the man than Peter. He wanted to scream at the way she held the bowl like Mr. Pennyworth was going to take it. No child should have that look.
The man nodded in approval as both children began to eat and slowly moved to the door. Peter tensed as he opened it, listening for danger. There were a few heartbeats outside of the door.
“You may enter, Master Tim, Master Duke. Master Peter and Miss Teresa are eating so you may ask if you can sit with them until they are done. You are to leave and inform me as soon as they finish,” Mr. Pennyworth said seriously.
Tim poked his head in with a sheepish smile. “Hey, Peter. Hey, Teresa. I’d ask how Alfred knew I was outside but there isn’t much he doesn’t know.”
The well-dressed man just smiled and exited the room, reminding them, “Be gentle.”
Peter's instincts were screaming to get up high, hide, and heal. He forced them down and offered a tense smile to the boys.
“You look rough, man!” Duke exclaimed, sitting in a desk chair across the room.
Tim hopped up the desk behind Duke and threw in his own comment. “You look like you're burned out!”
Peter rolled his eyes before croaking, “Really? I hadn’t noticed.”
“And you sound even worse. Damn, man. Rough night?” Duke asked, leaning forward.
Peter groaned as he thought about it but stuck a piece of fruit in his mouth. The sweetness helped distract from any rising panic. “You have no idea. I’m not even sure what happened.”
Sure, he may be fishing to see what they know but he still didn’t know what happened after he went to Jason’s house.
Tim snorted. “Wish we could tell you. Alfred, Bruce, and Dick won’t even tell us!”
Bruce was going to be a problem, wasn't he? Dick must be the Richard Mr. Pennyworth mentioned.
Peter popped another piece of food in his mouth before speaking over it, “I’m confused. Why am I here? Who is ‘Alfred’? What is the meaning of life?”
Both boys chuckled. Peter was okay if he was asking his normal questions. “Alfred is the butler. As for why you are here, I have no idea. Alfred will probably tell you when he kicks us out.”
“Oh. Do you have to leave?” He wasn’t sure if he wanted them there or not. On one hand, they were familiar. Comforting. On the other, they set off his spidey-sense.
“Yeah, man. Sorry. Everyone listens to Alfred. He pretty much runs the household.”
“Hogwash, Master Duke. Master Bruce runs the household,” Mr. Pennyworth said as he returned. He had a bag in his hands. Suddenly, he felt extremely curious about the bag.
“Aww, time to go already? Can’t we stay longer, Alfie?” Tim begged, dramatically collapsing onto the desk.
Alfred seemed to have infinite patience as he said, “I’m afraid so. You will see your friend later. Why don’t you boys see if Master Damian needs some distracting? I think he’d do well keeping away from Master Peter.”
The boys gave each other a grin before hurriedly throwing goodbyes at Peter and leaving.
“Tsk. They take any invitation to bother their younger brother with glee.” Alfred sounded fond as he spoke. He gently set the bag down and opened it so the siblings could see. It was full of first aid supplies. He was no longer curious but rather wary of the bag.
“Now, Master Peter, I do need to take a look at those burns. My conditions are that I must be able to see and treat all of the burns however you may choose where you lay and which I see to first. I do not wish to scare or push you too far so please speak up if I do.”
This was bad. How was he going to explain the burns? He can’t just go and say he heals fast. He could try the ‘it’s not as bad as it seemed’ mixed with that he heals quickly from burns. It wasn’t a good excuse but it was something.
Teresa leaned a little further into Peter, the pain helping clear his head a bit. He didn’t want Teresa to see this but she wouldn’t let him leave.
He sighed a little and stood. “What are my options?”
“I have a foldable table I can bring in or we can use the bed or floor. If you aren’t comfortable lying down, we can try to do it while sitting.”
Ugh. “I guess the table.” He wasn’t looking forward to this. Alfred moved to the door to grab the table and began setting it up. He started with his shirt. He definitely wasn’t wearing this last night but the buttons made it easier to remove than lifting it over his head.
He looked down and saw his torso covered in bandages. Yellowish plasma and blood had seeped through where he pulled open the burns. Man. This was going to suck to explain.
He could hear Teresa cough a little before her tiny voice asked, “I thought you weren’t supposed to bandage burns.”
Alfred smiled at the girl. “That is correct however you typically want to bandage them for a few days at the beginning as even air would be painful.”
The girl hummed, hands twitching like she ached to be helping or reading. Probably both.
Peter huffed but sat on the table and started undoing his bandages, hissing as the air hit the wounds.
“Slowly, Master Peter. Be watchful that the bandage hasn’t dried to the wound. I have saline to help loosen it if it has.”
He was tempted to roll his eyes. He had dealt with burns more times than he could count.
He winced as the extent of the burns on his torso came into sight. No wonder it hurts to breathe. He wasn’t as healed as he would like. It was going to be hard to explain how he was going to heal from this severe of a burn to a sunburn in less than a week, probably sooner if he gets to eat as much as he ate this morning.
“Hmm. Curious,” Alfred muttered under his breath. “This is healing nicely. It already looks worlds better than last night.”
Oh, man. He was fucked. Alfred was going to tell Bruce and they’d send him off to a lab to be experimented on or something.
Alfred, seeming to notice Peter’s rising panic, offered a gentle smile. “It’s alright, Mr. Parker. I will not share anything from our checkups with Master Bruce or his children unless it negatively affects your health such as signs of abuse.”
Was he a mind reader? He had answered his worries as if he had heard them. Peter gave the man a suspicious look.
Alfred just let out a chuckle. “This is not the first time a meta has ended up being treated by me and most certainly not the first time that they didn’t want anyone to know.”
Peter stared a minute longer before checking with his spidey-sense. It had gotten quiet around the man, almost alarmingly so. There hadn’t been many adults in Peter's new life that failed to trigger his sense. But right now, it was telling him that Alfred was safe and trustworthy.
Peter sighed. “I heal fast. This will probably be gone in a few days or so.” His spidey-sense didn’t ring at his admittance so nothing terribly bad should happen.
“Hmm. Thank you for trusting me with that information. I will think of a suitable excuse as to keep the rest of the household from becoming suspicious.”
Peter blinked in shock. The butler was willing to lie for him? “Why?”
“Why what, Master Parker?” Alfred asked, a curious look on his face.
“Why help me keep my secret?”
“Ah. I may be the butler but I do not tell them everything. This secret will not harm them or you and I do believe that keeping it will allow you to be comfortable with my medical care.” And more comfortable in the house but Alfred left that unsaid. No need to scare the boy with thoughts of adoption quite yet.
Peter wasn’t used to this kind of treatment. Stark had been invasive, unable to tolerate not knowing things. Most of the Avengers were that way if he really thought about it. Even Happy would have told May or Tony about his powers if they didn’t already know.
Peter let out a bitter snort as he thought about what Calvin would have done if he knew Peter had powers. Probably sell him to a lab.
“Are there labs that experiment on meta’s in Gotham?” Peter blurted, curiosity overpowering his will temporarily.
Alfred blinked at this. “I do not believe Batman allows any to operate in Gotham. If there are any, he doesn’t know about them.”
“Oh good. That was rough the last time it happened. Does Batman really hate metas?” Really, Peter? Stop with the questions. You don’t want to annoy the person giving you medical attention.
Alfred's soft hands paused from applying ointment for a moment. “No, I don’t believe he does. That notion was likely created when he refused to allow the Justice League into Gotham and helped some meta-humans escape the city.”
Ah. Duke had told him something similar but it was different when it was an adult who knew he was enhanced.
“Thanks, Mr. Pennyworth. Duke told me the same. Do you need to see my legs now?” Peter asked after Alfred finished bandaging his torso back up.
Alfred gave him his affirmative and helped Peter put his shirt back on. Teresa was hovering nearby, keeping an eye on Alfred in case he did something weird. Or maybe she was just learning how to take care of Peter the next time he got burnt.
Peter carefully shuffled his pants off, grateful that whoever dressed him put underwear on him. He allowed Alfred to peel the bandages of one leg while he did the other.
His lower legs and feet were pretty burnt. They were probably charred last night. His upper legs had some splotchy burns. At least the burns skipped anything important.
Alfred started applying the ointment and rebandaging again. His fingers were skillful and gentle as he worked. It was a little surprising. How was a butler so good at caring for injuries?
“Mr. Pennyworth? Can I ask a question?”
“You may if you call me Alfred, Master Peter.”
Peter’s face scrunched for a moment before he asked, “Mr. Alfred, how do you know how to care for burns so well?”
“Hmm. Well, there are quite a few children in the house and many are fond of martial arts. I suppose I’ve gotten used to dealing with a variety of injuries.”
Peter raised an eyebrow at Mr. Alfred. That explanation didn’t answer how he knew to treat burns but he hadn’t realized martial arts was big in the family.
“Do Tim and Duke know martial arts? Oh. That explains a lot about this morning. Damian was too good of a fighter for his age. Does he compete?”
Alfred offered an amused smile before answering, “No. Most of the children do not compete. They like to fight in a variety of styles with a variety of rules so they tend to spar amongst themselves.”
The Avengers were a lot like that. They didn’t tend to fight anyone outside of the group other than the baddies. Peter always liked sparring with new people like Jessica, Deadpool, and Daredevil. It gave him a unique style and prepared him for more.
Alfred seems to be able to say something when Teresa starts coughing. Peter abandons his seat on the table and crouches in front of her. “You okay, T? Do you need your inhaler?”
Shit. He didn’t have her inhaler. This could be bad.
Teresa shook her head before grabbing her glass of water. She took a few drinks and rubbed at her chest. She croaked, “I’m okay. Throat hurts.”
Alfred hummed while reaching into that magical bag and pulling out cough drops. “These should help, Miss Teresa. Do you normally require the use of an inhaler?”
Teresa was busy stuffing a cherry cough drop in her mouth so Peter answered for her. “Yes. I’ll need to get her a new one since I think the last one…”
“No need to worry about that, Master Peter. I will have one delivered. Are there any other medical issues or devices I should be aware of?”
Peter hummed in thought. He used to have some sensory-blocking tools for his sensory overloads but he hadn’t had one since arriving in Gotham. Maybe the machines helped with it. “I don’t think so. I left any medical devices back at my old home, the one before Gotham. I have a few allergies but I think Tim and Duke told you about them.”
“They did inform me of them. I’d like an extensive list when you feel up to writing them down. Until then, I believe Miss Teresa should get some rest.”
Turning his attention to Teresa, Peter noticed her blinks were slow. He had forgotten that she didn’t heal at the rate he did. If she had a concussion, smoke inhalation, and minor burns, she’d be struggling for a few days.
He gave her a soft smile and pulled the blankets back over her. Almost as soon as she laid her head down, she was asleep. It was a little surprising. He had expected her to be worried about him leaving but she might have been too sick to worry.
Alfred quietly cleared his throat before softly asking, “Would you like a tour or would you like to rest as well?”
The food had given him energy so while he didn’t want to leave Teresa, finding exits and safe spots might be the next move.
He wasn’t sure he could speak softly yet so he started towards the door, looking back as he heard Alfred grab his bag and the foldable table.
The butler set the supplies in a storage closet in the hallway before gesturing Peter along. The manor was large with two floors, a lot of bedrooms and bathrooms, sitting rooms, a library, a movie room, two different dining rooms, a kitchen, and quite a lot of land outside. It seemed like something Tony would inherit but hate visiting.
Peter grimaced at the sight of the stairs, knowing that burns did not agree with them. Alfred, not commenting on Peter's wince, walked them to the elevator. It felt quite out of place being so modern in such an old building.
Obnoxiously cheerful elevator music started when the doors closed. Peter’s face twitched with a smile as he noticed the bullet holes around the speakers. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who hated it.
His looking around led him to notice a well-hidden button on a separate wall from the panel. The edges of it blended in almost seamlessly and the metal matched the surrounding plates. There wasn’t even a fingerprint on it.
His fingers twitched as he stared at it. He wanted to press it and see where it went. Even more, he wanted to look closer and see how the edges blended together so seamlessly. Even Tony struggled to hide something as well as this. Sure, it wasn’t perfect hence why he could see it but it was close.
The elevator’s happy beep drew Peter’s attention back to the doors. His spidey-sense tingled a moment before the door opened so he stepped behind the button panel, blocking himself from view.
He didn’t have a weapon. He couldn’t fight easily with the burns, especially if he didn’t want to ruin Mr. Alfred’s hard work.
“Alfred? Why are you in the elevator alone?” A confused voice rang out.
Alfred raised an eyebrow at Peter who promptly flushed and stepped out of the corner. Alfred knew the danger so hopefully, it wouldn’t attack him.
“Sorry. Habit. I was attacked in an elevator before.” I mean he had been but it wasn’t as bad as he was making it sound. Sure, he’d taken the stairs for a few weeks but elevators didn’t bother him very much anymore.
He blushed even harder when Alfred's lips twitched into a smirk momentarily and Bruce’s face looked like someone kicked his puppy. This was embarrassing.
Alfred set a gentle hand on Peter's shoulder and led him out of the elevator. Tim and Duke were standing with Damian at the front door, all three suspiciously covered in blood, feathers, and mud. Did he want to know?
“Hey, Peter!” Duke called out, a feather standing straight up from his hair.
“Hi?”
Bruce stepped forward causing Peter to take a small step back. The large man extended his hand with an easy smile before saying, “Bruce Wayne. We met at Gotham Academy a few months ago. How are you feeling?”
Peter blanched at the hand. “Wait! You are Wayne’s? Why didn’t you say anything, Tim? Duke?”
Tim scrunched up his face. “I thought you knew.”
“No! I thought you were all Thomas’s or something! I never would have let myself end up here if I knew you were Wayne’s!”
The group looked at him confused, Bruce’s hand dropping pitifully to his side.
“Do you have something against my family, Mister Parker?” Bruce asked an icy tone in his voice.
Shit. He really messed things up now. He’d be able to get to the front door and get away with some significant pain but he couldn’t leave Teresa. His spidey-sense warned him more firmly every second he remained quiet.
“Uhh. I-“
“Oh! I know! This is about how you stole from Bruce, right?” Tim chipped in, tone way too happy for the topic.
“I- No! How would you even know?!” Peter stuttered, panic rising.
Tim grinned, a feather floating off of his head. “I handle the cyber-security stuff for Bruce. We noticed but didn’t say anything since it was one time and wasn’t that much.”
Peter blanched further, stuffing his shaking hands in the pajama bottoms. “Fine. I stole from you. Can you at least give me time to get Teresa somewhere safe before you get mad?”
The whole group looked taken aback at Peter's suggestion and he felt his frustration rise. Were Tim and Duke that messed up that they wanted Teresa to be around when Bruce got upset?
He swallowed his fear and straightened his back, staring Bruce in the eyes. “Look, whatever you are going to do, just keep Teresa out of it. She’s had enough shitty people in her life. Do whatever you want but, please, let me get Teresa somewhere safe.”
There was that kicked-puppy look again. Bruce seemed to change emotions faster than Peter could read them. He scoffed inside as he realized it was probably a rich person thing. Tony always did something similar.
Bruce practically whined, “I’m not going to do anything, Peter.”
He could feel the frustration bubble further at that. So Bruce hired people to discipline his kids. No wonder they seemed fine around him but had bruises and other injuries all the time.
Bruce took a step closer to Peter and the boy almost fell backwards into the closed elevator doors. “Peter, look at me. No one will hurt you in this house. Ever.”
Peter’s brow scrunched in confusion. Were the punishments dealt with outside the house then? “Do you need me to go outside then, sir?”
“What?” Bruce seemed even more confused than Peter.
Alfred cleared his throat, drawing the attention to him. “What Master Bruce is trying and failing to say is that he is not upset about the theft and you will not be facing any consequences. Does that clear up the confusion, Master Parker?”
Oh. But he seemed so upset when Tim mentioned the theft. Why did rich people have to be so confusing?
“Yes? I’m sorry. As soon as I can find somewhere to stay, me and Teresa will leave. I can even pay you for the help you’ve given. I’m sure my boss will give me an advance.”
Bruce looked too shocked to reply while Alfred muttered something akin to ‘abused children and their thinking.’ It felt like every time he opened his mouth, he made the situation worse.
Tim and Duke looked especially pale from across the room although it was hard to see with how dirty they were. It was so confusing. Why was everyone looking at him like that?
“What?” He snapped, getting frustrated at the staring.
Bruce reached a slow hand out to Peter, going even slower when he flinched slightly. He rested the warm hand on the boy's shoulder and knelt down. “Peter, it’s alright. You and Teresa can stay here as long as you’d like, free of charge. I have more than enough money.”
Tony saying the exact thing to him rang his mind and his heart squeezed. He stuffed the tears down, not willing to cry in front of this dangerous man.
Seeming to know Peter was too overwhelmed to say anything, Alfred suggested lunch in the dining room.
Peter was led to a seat while Duke set the plates out and Tim brought the silverware. Damian glared at him while he placed napkins on the plates, not breaking eye contact. Bruce brought in a stack of cups and a pitcher of water, almost dropping it as he stumbled over the threshold. Alfred brought in a tray of sandwiches large enough to feed the Avengers.
“Master Duke, would you please text your siblings and let them know lunch is served if they wish to join us? Don’t forget to add that Master Peter is here,” Alfred calmly directed.
“Hey! Why not me?” Tim squawked in faux outrage.
“You aren’t allowed to have your phone at the table, Tim. Do we need to tell Peter that story or do you remember it fine?” Bruce threatened, not much heat behind his words.
“I dropped my phone in the turkey one time! One! And now it’s not allowed at the table,” Tim complained.
Damian snorted and stated, “Oh? Is that right, Drake? What about the many drinks your phone was found in? And we can’t forget the time you didn’t speak all dinner, too distracted doing whatever it is you do.”
Tim squawked again and threw his napkin at Damian who smirked before wiping his mouth with it and throwing it back. Tim glared and wiped his own mouth with it, attempting to phase the younger boy. Damian just smirked the whole time.
Dick sauntering in broke the boys staring contest. Tim just groaned and reached out for a sandwich. His hand was quickly retracted as Alfred swatted it with a napkin and declared, “Master Peter gets to fill his plate first. I expect you to know how to treat guests by now, Master Tim.”
Tim just squawked once more and glanced, open-mouthed between Peter, Alfred, and the sandwiches. “Look, Peter. Look at what I have to suffer through.” Tim dramatically threw himself out of the chair before crawling over to Peter. After he grabbed the arm of Peter's chair and put on his best puppy eyes, Tim begged, “Please fill your plate now! If you wait until everyone gets here, then they won’t let me have the ham and cheese ones.”
Peter rolled his eyes, feeling a little less stressed than before. “Fine,” Peter muttered, hesitantly reaching for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Tim scrambled back to his chair across the table and started grabbing the sandwiches he wanted. Dick and Duke rolled their eyes before doing the same. Damian kept his glare on Peter as the small boy reached for his own sandwich.
Peter didn’t have a chance to take a bite of his sandwich before Steph and Cass barged into the room, Steph yelling, “Hey, bitches! Lunchtime!”
She smiled at Peter before gleefully stating, “I didn’t know you were here, Peter!”
“Tt. Thomas sent it in the group chat to which you replied ‘O-M-W, save me a slice of Peter and the sandwiches,’” Damian deadpanned, not taking his glare off of Peter.
Steph rolled her eyes and threw a small piece of bread from the sandwich she grabbed at Damian. Cass was still standing at the entrance, looking Peter over. At his gaze, she waved and walked over, offering her hand for a fist bump.
Peter was a little startled but returned it with a smile. His spidey-sense liked the girl today, more than it normally did.
It did spike though, as Cass turned to Bruce with a glare and signed, “What did you do?”
Bruce paled and stuttered, “What? I didn’t do anything?”
Cass sharpened her gaze and moved it along each person before landing back on Bruce. “Why is Peter upset?”
Peter cleared his throat to get attention before signing and speaking at the same time, “I’m fine! Something happened last night and I ended up here somehow. I misunderstood something Bruce said and got a bit panicked.”
Cass glanced between Peter and Bruce for a bit before relaxing her stance a little. “Bruce, did you do the interrogation thing again? I thought we talked about that.”
Bruce sputtered before hanging his head, “Maybe by accident.”
Cass rolled her eyes and pulled out the chair beside Peter, plopping down. She grabbed a sandwich and leaned back in her chair. “I didn’t know you could sign Peter.”
He didn’t know how she signed so well with a sandwich in her hands but he still blushed and replied, “I had a friend who was deaf. He took off his hearing aids a lot and we didn’t want to give him another excuse to ignore us. It’s been a few years since I’ve used it, though, so I might be rusty.”
He laughed a little at the memory, curling his arm around his chest as his burns pulled. Cass huffed a laugh, keeping a sharp eye on Peter. She signed, “You okay?”
Peter made the so-so motion and said, “Got a little charred up last night. Alfred says it looks worse than it is and I’ll be better in a few days.”
Alfred perked up at the mention of his and chipped in, “Quite right. You are reacting amazingly well to the ointment. I’ll have to try it the next one of the young masters gets a burn.”
Peter could have collapsed in relief that Alfred covered for him. His healing ability would be kept safe for a bit longer.
Cass gave him an odd look before gently patting his shoulder. “How long are you staying?”
Peter shrugged, wincing again as he pulled his burns. He should have learned the many times he’s been burned. “I’m not even sure how or why I’m here, much less when I’m leaving.”
Cass raised an eyebrow before glancing around the table. She snapped her fingers, drawing everyone’s attention away from their small conversations and over to her. “Someone tell Peter how or why he is here.”
Dick blinked before asking, “No one told you? Jason called me last night so Bruce and I went and picked you up.”
Peter frowned. “Why did Jason call you?”
“He isn’t really talking to Bruce or, really, most of the family. He’s out of town so you must mean a lot to him for him to have called us.”
“I’m not even going to ask. I have no idea what the drama is in the family and I’m not sure I want to. When does Jason get back?”
Bruce hummed for a moment. “He was supposed to return in a week but due to the circumstances, I believe he will be back in a day or two.”
“Awesome. I’ll get out of your hair then. I trust Jason to help us a lot more than you.” Or rather, his spidey-sense did.
Cass gave Bruce another look that conveyed, ‘What did you do?’
Bruce cleared his throat, uncomfortable with his child’s scrutiny. “I have been meaning to talk about that. If you would like, you are welcome to stay here indefinitely.”
His eyes widened in surprise. “Nope. No. Not planning on it. Something is seriously off with you guys so unless Jason tells me you are 100% safe, no and I doubt he will since he doesn’t seem to like you.”
Bruce looked like a kicked puppy at words, only sinking lower when Cass glared at him. Damian seemed pleased with Peter’s refusal to stay, only encouraging Peter.
Steph whined, “Aww, Pete. We want you to stay! I hope you reconsider even if Jason doesn’t like us.”
Cass rolled her eyes and waved Steph off. She tapped her finger on Peter's hand so he’d look at her and signed, “You go where you feel safe. Most of us came from bad situations and it’s easy to forget that forcing you to stay won’t help. We will try to earn your trust because we care for you and want you to stay. We will not stop you from leaving if you choose.”
He gave Cass a soft smile and patted her hand in thanks. She reminded him of Red Hood and Jason and how easily they accepted what he said.
Cass seemed to sense he was done talking and pointed at Tim, Duke, and Damian to ask, “What happened to you?”
This began a whole story narrated by Tim and Duke and corrected by Damian about how they pranked the boy and ended up getting thrown into the manure pile.
Alfred looked peeved at the pair and Peter suspected they’d be getting quite the talking to about tracking manure into the house.
Peter excused himself once he finished his single sandwich, smiling as Alfred pressed a plate of them into his hands with instructions that they were for him and Teresa.
He grinned harder as he heard Alfred threaten Bruce as he left, “Don’t you dare mess up that child. I mean it. I will take away all your toys and lock you out of the cave. Do you understand me, Bruce Alan Wayne?”
He found his room with minimal difficulties and set the plate on the table before climbing into bed with Teresa and falling asleep.
He woke to Teresa shifting around and groggily led her to the bathroom. A glance out the window showed it was dark already so they had been sleeping for some time.
Teresa slowly ate a few sandwiches and drank some water before Peter guided her back to bed, spying slow blinks and yawns. She must really be feeling bad to sleep this much.
Peter, despite his own injuries, lay in bed staring at the ceiling until he got achingly bored. He slid out of bed, avoiding waking Teresa, and moved to the door. His hand hesitated inches from the door. Alfred seemed nice but would Bruce be upset with his wandering? Bitter resentment bubbled up at the thought of Bruce so Peter decided to test him. If he was caught, Bruce’s reaction would tell Peter the man’s true feelings.
He scoffed quietly and opened the door to slip out. He could hear a few heartbeats around the manor as he shut the door. A few were awake but all seemed to have calm heartbeats. There was a steady buzz of electricity to calm Peter. He was used to the buzz meshed with the sounds of the city but the manor was so quiet.
He wandered the halls, trailing his hands on the paneling and feeling the textures. It was nice.
It stopped being nice when Peter could hear a faint buzzing following him. He couldn’t see the device but it was all around. His hands clenched and his heart felt ready to explode out of his chest. This was all Beck. Teresa, Gotham, the Wayne’s, everything. Mysterio was just playing with him again.
He couldn’t fight him again, not after all he did. Peter had been sure Ben had been alive and came back for him. Gwen and Haarry were alive in Becks torture, too. And here was Beck again, trying to convince him of a happy life only to rip it away.
Peter could feel his breath shallow as he slid down a wall and curled up. He couldn’t do this again. He couldn’t make another life. He just wanted to be done with it.
Tears escaped Peter as sobs joined his shallow breaths. It was all fake. Teresa was fake. She wasn’t there to support him, to love him. He didn’t have anyone.
His nails dug crescents into his palm. He wanted to be anywhere else. He couldn’t defeat Beck again if he ever did in the first place. He couldn’t go back to a dead May, a memory-less Tony, and a hostile Queens.
Voices surrounded him, trying to get through his panic. He cried out and thrashed. Why could Beck leave him alone? What was the man’s obsession with him?
A sharp prick in Peter’s neck dulled the panic a bit but he still sobbed and thrashed, yelling at Beck. He didn’t want to do this. Not again. Not ever.
A second prick pulled the darkness over Peter like a blanket. He relaxed into its hold, hoping it would keep him forever. He didn’t want to wake up and see what he lost. He just wanted to sleep, to be at peace. Why couldn’t life give that to him?
His final moments of consciousness were filled with warm arms holding him and the smell of Teresa.
Notes:
-I'll elaborate on what Peter saw with Beck later
-Alfred is my favorite, he absolutely runs the house
-Jason will be in the next chapter as well as a whole lot of comic relief. Lots of funnies!
-Ch14 should be posted by Friday. I already like it more than this ch
Also thanks for the 6400+ hits, 380 kudos, and 370+ comments. They mean the world!
Chapter 14
Summary:
Peter pranks the bats, has a heart to heart with Jason, and has dinner with the Wayne’s.
‘ “Holy shit,” He whisperd into his dinner.
Jason eyes him from he sat beside the boy. “Everything okay?”
“Yep, totally. Absolutely fine. Not freaking out in any way. Holy sugar. No wonder you guys are massive.”
“I think that’s a compliment? Thanks?”
“Uh-huh. Why did i not notice? You all literally have the exact same body build.”
“Notice what?” Tim leans in to ask.
“Uhhh… that you all are hot?” Too stupid Parker, too stupid.
Tim blushed before covering his mouth to suppress his laughter. Jason is openly cackling beside them
“Shit. I didn’t mean to say that. I meant- um- you guys are part of a mafia?” Even worse. Did dying kill off all of your brain cells?
Bruce gives them an odd look from across the table. “What’s going on over there? Did something funny happen?” (What Peter doesn’t know is that Bruce sees his distant, formerly dead son laughing with the brother that he doesn’t like)
Jason, the angel he is, shook his head with a grin. Tim, the chaos demon, opened his mouth and began, “Peter thinks-“ but was stopped by Peters hand slapping his mouth.’
Notes:
-Credits to Toad :] and Jimiel for a vast majority of Peters jokes to the bats. Im responsible for the puns ;D
-I remember almost none of Far From Home so if something doesn’t make sense, yes it does.
-Wow, Grammarly only had two suggestions for this chapter! (NVM it just got overwhelmed by the massive google docs... There are actually 89...)
-OI who put crack in the idea box? This wasn’t meant to be a crack fic!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Peter wakes with a groan, body aching, and head throbbing. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was going to explore the manor.
A snore snaps him out of his thoughts. Pain flares in his head when he turns. Someone is sleeping in the chair beside his bed. Their face is shadowed enough that he can’t see it. His spidey-sense only felt this safe with two people: Jason and Red Hood. He couldn’t see any red body armor so it had to be Jason. How long had been asleep? Jason had been out of town and wasn’t supposed to return for a few days.
Peter fought back groans of pain as he sat up. An investigation of the room informed Peter he was in the room they had stayed in. It was a night, probably close to midnight with how dark it was. Teresa was curled in a ball next to where Peter had been lying. Her pajamas were a different color than he last remembered. He really needed to get a phone even just to tell the day and time.
His pajamas had also been changed. Lifting his shirt, Peter noticed clean bandages. How long had he been out? He poked one of the burns and winced. It still hurt but it felt worlds better than before. With how much he had been eating, he could have been asleep a full day or two.
He huffed softly and crossed the room for a water. He was grateful for his ability to walk silently, he would have felt bad if he woke up Jason. Tony was the last person to sit by his bed like this. No, Jason didn’t think of him like that. They weren’t family. They hardly knew each other.
The water helped ease his thoughts so he gingerly sat back on the bed. The manor was quiet. There were a few heartbeats, electricity, and bats. Bats? Did the manor have bats?
He could hear them below him, which didn’t make sense. Bats normally chilled in attics and porches. Was there a cave system under the manor? Curiosity started moving his legs for him.
His instincts have always been able to guide him to cool, dark places so it wasn’t a surprise when it knew how to get there. What was surprising was that it brought him a wall in his bedroom.
He examined the wall carefully, running his hands over the paneling. He paused when he felt a small crack. Bingo.
He was able to trace the crack around, making a door shape. Now, how to get it open. He tried pressing against the door, pushing on the corners, and even messing around with stuff on his desk. He was starting to get frustrated. Running his hand along the wall as he walked back to the door, he felt a tiny circle.
A grin broke out on his face as he pushed it in and the door slowly swung open. Good thing it was oiled because Jason was still snoring away in the chair.
Before entering, Peter stuffed a pillow in his spot on the bed just in case someone checked or Jason woke. The hallway was dark and narrow. It would be creepy to a regular person but to Peter, it was perfection. He’d definitely hide Teresa in here if something happened.
His instincts led him further down the hall. He passed by see-through painting, looking out at different rooms in the manor. He’d have to keep an ear out for spies. Oh, man. Clint would have loved this.
Eventually, he reached a steep staircase and climbed his way down. He cracked open the door at the bottom and listened. No human heartbeats, only the tiny fast ones of bats. Awesome.
He pushed the door open all the way, expecting to see a gloomy cave full of bats. Instead, he was greeted by a gloomy cave full of bats and fun technology. His hands twitched as he labs, computers, and vehicles. He wanted to tinker. He wanted to fix. He wanted to forget life and throw himself into a project.
He shook it off and started wandering. The cars were cool. There were motorcycles of every color, sports cars, a tank, and a Batmobile. Hold up. Back it up. Why was the Batmobile under the Wayne Manor?
Were the Wayne’s Gothams Bats? Hah, no. They couldn’t be. The kids were too young. Bruce Wayne must just sponsor the bats. He is rich and already sponsors the Justice League. Do the younger Wayne’s know this is here?
The older Wayne’s probably do. Red Hood said he knew Jason. Oh! They probably work out together! They are both pretty big. The younger Wayne’s probably sparred with the bats. Alfred did say they didn’t compete but still sparred with each other.
Maybe that’s why his spidey-sense didn’t trust most of the Waynes. If they could spar with the bats, they were tough cookies. It was probably just trying to warn him they were dangerous because of their skills and their connections. That made sense.
He wandered over to the bat-computer and pressed a button to open it. Tsk, password locked. Peter looked around for a sticky note and while there wasn’t in sight, he knew there probably was one somewhere.
He sifted through the drawers, trying to keep everything in the same place it was. Nothing there either. He ran his hand under the desk. A panic button was not what he was looking for. Aha! A small piece of tape.
He peeled the tape off and brought it into the light. “Alfr3d1943” Aww. They used Alfred’s birthday for the password. That is the safest way to not offend anyone. Does that mean Alfred helps out the bats too? Oh, that’s where he treated all those burns!
Peter chuckled as he typed in the password and opened the computer. He stuck the tape back where he found it and made sure it was flat.
His first order of business was changing the screensaver. The picture of the Gotham skyline was pretty but come on, they needed some laughs. A quick Google search for ‘Batman Furry’ got him a picture of Batman at FurCon. With some quiet giggles, he set it as the background and put a short program that repeatedly opened ‘Never Going To Give You Up’ on YouTube.
The next step was accessing the cameras. He didn’t want to draw attention from any bats for being in the cave. Sure enough, there were cameras in the bat cave as well as in the hall. It was easy to loop the cameras to make it seem like he had never left his room.
The last thing was downloading a little program that had a tiny spider walk around on the screen. It made Peter's skin crawl as he watched it move, eerily realistic. Hopefully, no one broke the computer trying to kill it.
A final idea popped in and he coded a small back door into the computer. He’d be able to access the files if he followed the right routes.
With his final pranks done, he let out a final giggle, turned the computer off, and moved everything back the way it had been.
He glanced longingly at the lab but practically skipped to the door. He couldn’t wait to hear the bats' reactions. Maybe he’d stay a bit longer than planned, just until the chaos started.
He made his way back through the tunnels, instincts almost pouting at having to leave the cave. Teresa and Jason hadn’t moved so he slid back into bed and closed his eyes.
When he woke up next, Jason was no longer in the chair. He glanced behind him to see an empty bed there. He jumped out of bed and checked the bathroom, but it was empty too. Where was Teresa? Had someone taken her?
In a panic, he threw open his bedroom door and raced down the hall toward whatever voices he could hear. He burst into the library and skidded to a stop when he saw Teresa and Jason leaning over Alfred’s shoulder to watch him read.
“Peter?” Jason asked, turning around to look at him.
“Peter!” Teresa yelled, throwing herself over the couch and into Peter’s legs.
“What’s- what’s going on?” Peter asked, voice still scratchy.
Teresa’s face lit up as grabbed Peters' hand and pulled him onto the couch. “Mr. Jason and Mr. Alfred have been reading to me! Mr. Alfred showed me the manor yesterday and it was so big and pretty. Have you seen it?”
Peter scratched his head in confusion, head still foggy in sleep. “Umm, yeah. Mr. Alfred showed me when you were sleeping the other day.”
Jason slung his over across the cough and gently rested his fingertips on Peter’s shoulder. “You okay?”
“I don’t know? I'm just confused about what’s happening and what’s real- holy shit. Is this real or is this Beck’s doing?” Peter could panic rising again. He’d forgotten all about his freak-out.
“Who’s Beck?” Jason asked, a confused look on his face.
Well, if it’s not real he might as well just tell the truth. If it was, Jason was likely the safest one to tell. “Mysterio is some asshole who hates me. His real name is Quentin Beck. He had a bunch of high-tech stuff that he used to create a fake world where my family was alive before-“ Peter cleared his throat a couple of times. “Anyway, I thought I heard one of his devices the other night and it freaked me out. I’m still not sure this is real.”
Alfred looked guilty as he admitted, “That was probably me, Master Parker. I’m afraid I was monitoring you in the hallway for both yours and the other's safety. I sincerely apologize for any distress I caused.”
Peter stared at the man for a moment. If Beck was behind this, could Peter really break out again? Could this all be fake? He couldn’t force the Lazarus rage on Peter, right? His spidey-sense wouldn’t tell him one of Beck's people was safe. That would explain why his spidey-sense didn’t like the Waynes. There were too many variables to consider. The best way to find out would be to play along.
“It’s fine, Mr. Alfred. It would have happened at some point anyway. At least it wasn't because of a kid's drone or something. I’d feel terrible if I hurt someone.” Peter curled an arm tighter around Teresa at his admission.
Jason rubbed a gentle circle on Peter's shoulder as he said, “How did you find out about what he did last time?”
Peter squeezed Teresa before answering softly, “A friend and I found one of his drones and we realized he was behind something bad that had been happening. He tricked me into telling him who all knew before leaving me for dead.”
Jason slowly stood up and moved to kneel in front of Peter. Peter blinked in surprise as the man’s arms opened, inviting Peter into a hug. Peter couldn’t have moved into the arms faster.
Jason was warm. He was big. It felt like getting wrapped in a weighted blanket fresh out of the dryer. It felt safe. Peter let himself be held by Jason with Teresa adding her small body to make a Peter sandwich. *1
Jason didn’t move as Peter’s silent tears wet his shirt nor when they dried. It wasn’t until Peter gently pushed him away after a few minutes that the man let go.
Alfred cleared his throat before stating, “I shall go fetch you some water, Master Peter.”
“What’s up, kiddo?” Jason asked, looking Peter in the eye,
Peter almost whispered, “I’m scared.”
Jason gave him a sad smile as he took Peter’s hand and rubbed circles on it. “I was scared when I came here too. Did I ever tell you the story of how Bruce found me?” At Peter’s head shake, he began, “Bruce found me stealing the tires off of his car. I thought he was going to get upset and I waited and waited but it never came. Bruce is safe. He doesn’t hurt his kids. He won’t hurt you.”
Peter sighed at that. He wanted to trust Bruce and the Wayne’s but he couldn’t. “Something just feels off about them. I’m not sure I feel safe staying.”
Jason nodded knowling. “Yeah. I felt that way too. They can all be intimidating and a bit scary but they won’t ever use that on you.”
Teresa piped up from where she had been watching, “I want to stay. They have a huge library and Mr. Alfred is super nice. I think we will be safe.”
Peter help back a groan. Two of the only people he trusted were asking him to stay. How could he stay no? “Fine. We will stay. But if I’m right then we are leaving and you have to help us.”
Jason laughed at that. “Kid, if Bruce lays a negative finger on you, I’ll help you move to Hawaii and buy you everything.”
Alfred returns at that, a knowling smile on his face. “Here is your. Dinner will be served in thirty minutes.”
“Thanks, Mr. Alfred!” Teresa exclaimed, giving the mans legs a hug.
The trio listened to Jason read a book, curled up together. A weight had been lifted off of Peter now that he decided to stay.
Dinner was, well, a lot. All of the kids showed up, on time even, and filled the dining room. Peter found a seat between Jason and Tim while Teresas sat at the end of the table with Jason and Cass next to her. It had surprised Peter when she’d chosen to sit further away but she seemed to be getting comfortable with the Waynes. Dick and Damian sat on either side of Bruce while Steph and Duke sat next to them.
Alfred made him way in with a few platters of heavenly smelling food and set them down center table. Tim and Jason exchanged glares over Peter’s head before both lunging for the breadsticks. While Peter was startled, the action brought attention to Tim’s arm. A red cast covered in doodles and names held the arm in place. How had Tim done that? Had he gotten in trouble?
Peter examined the other members of the family. Duke seemed fine however Dick had a bruise forming on his cheek. Cass had bruises and scraped skin on her knuckles. Actually, most of the Waynes did. Were they sparring? Even Bruce had bruises on his neck. How had Peter not seen these before?
“Holy shit,” He whisperd into his dinner.
Jason eyes him from he sat beside the boy. “Everything okay?”
“Yep, totally. Absolutely fine. Not freaking out in any way. Holy sugar. No wonder you guys are massive.”
“I think that’s a compliment? Thanks?”
“Uh-huh. Why did i not notice? You all literally have the exact same body build.”
“Notice what?” Tim leans in to ask.
“Uhhh… that you all are hot?” Too stupid Parker, too stupid.
Tim blushed before covering his mouth to suppress his laughter. Jason is openly cackling beside them
“Shit. I didn’t mean to say that. I meant- um- you guys are part of a mafia?” Even worse. Did dying kill off all of your brain cells?
Bruce gives them an odd look from across the table. “What’s going on over there? Did something funny happen?” (What Peter doesn’t know is that Bruce sees his distant, formerly dead son laughing with the brother that he doesn’t like)
Jason, the angel he is, shook his head with a grin. Tim, the chaos demon, opened his mouth and began, “Peter thinks-“ but was stopped by Peters hand slapping his mouth.
The boy tried to lick it to get the hand off but Peter just licked his other hand and switched them, not even thinking. The whole table paused at the exchange until Peter realized what he did and blushed. It had become a habit after the amount of times he had to stop Clint from blurting his secrets out.
“Master Tim, Master Peter, behave.”
Peter immediately dropped his hands to wipe them on his jeans before muttering an apology. Tim frantically wiped his mouth on his sleeves before giving Peter an accusing look.
Peter just flushes again and ducked his head. Really, Peter? Really? That could not have gone worse. Might as well just announce you are bi and Spider-Man to a room full of very rich, mostly white men. It’s like an invitation to get booted onto the street again.
Jason pauses to take a deep breath for laughing again, throwing his arm around Peter. “Oh, man. I haven’t laughed that long in a while, kid! Bruce better keep you around because I’m stealing you otherwise.”
Once everyone was back in conversation, Jason leaned down and whispered in Peter's ear, “You know over half of us are gay, right? Bruce swings both ways. Tim is a walking gay disaster. Neither Cass nor Steph are straight. Dick is Dick. Duke and Damians are the only unknows. There’s actually a pretty big betting pool for them, want in?”
“Uh, no thanks. What about you?”
“I’ve attended Pride the last, like, 7 years.”
“Oh.”
A thought suddenly flashed through Peters mind, a feral grin appearing on his face. Maybe he was feeling too comfortable since Jason arrived but everyone always says he should have some fun…
Peter raised his voice enough that the table could hear him but not loud enough it was obvious, “You know I just realized something funny, Jason.” Peter almost breaks at the side-eye Jason gives him. “You guys look so much like the vigilantes in Gotham! I mean the Bugs or whatever they are called have to be ugly to need to wear those masks but if you ignore that, I can see it!”
It took every ounce of Peter’s self control to not laugh at the paleness of the Wayne’s faces. Cass had a hand covering her mouth, shoulder shaking slightly in silent laughter. She caught Peter’s eye and sent him a wink. Jason was openly giggling beside him, clearly having caught on to him.
“Oh shit, did I offend you guys? I didn’t mean to call you ugly! I’ve been told rich people are really self-concious about that. Oooh! I wonder if the Bats are rich! That would explain the masks. They have to hide their rich-person deformities. Sorry, not sorry to all the rich folks in the room.”
“Oh, Duke. Are you okay, man? It looks like you saw a ghost,” Peter stated innocently as he saw how pale all of the Wayne’s were.
At this point, Jason was curled over, tears running down his face in laughter. Steph looked pale but was still giggling, probably following Cass’s lead. Bruce looked- well, he looked like someone just found out his families identities.
“Hmm I wonder who each of you would be… Damian is too little to be Robin but I suppose he’s the only one that sorta fits. We just have to give some swords to go with the knife he tried to stab me with!”
Damian shot Peter a venomous glare. He was probably going to wake up to a knife in his side but this was worth it.
“Tim, you are too cute to be Red Robin but your butt defiently matches his-” Peter had to bite his lip not to laugh as Tim spit his drink all over the table.
“Wait, you’ve checked out his ass?” Jason gasped out betwen laughs.
Peter nodded seriously before trying to put a ‘wise sage’ tone in his voice. “I’ve kept track of all of the bats' asses as well as the Waynes. I wouldn’t be a good bisexual if I didn’t.” *2
“That is actually what led me to notice both Batman and Bruce have no ass. I’m actually a little conerced for both of you because what if you fall? There’s nothing there to cushion you!”
Bruce looked like a kicked-puppy again. Peter would like to think that later that night, Bruce will be twisting in-front of a mirror analysing his own rear. Peter took a few shaky breaths to keep from laughing before he continued.
“Cass, you are obviously Orphan. Both of you are bad-ass. Steph would be Spoiler. If it wasn’t obvious, Orphan and Spoiler are excluded from any grouping with the uglies. Not only am I terrified by them, I don’t think they are ugly under the mask.”
Cass gave him a single nod of approval while Steph cheered. They weren’t very subtle now that he knew what to look for. Jason sputtered and slapped the table “What about Red Hood!? He isn’t ugly!”
Peter scratched his chin and he hummed in thought. “Nah, I bet he is. Have you seen his graying hair? He’s probably wrinkly and old under that mask. I’m honestly surprised anyone fights him with how much he reeks of old-person. He even has one foot in the grave!”
Peter dug his nails into hand to hold back his laughter as Jason’s mouth mimicked a fishes. “Well I bet Spider-Man is a pimply faced geek.”
Peter mouth twitched, control slowly loosing its battle. He nodded sagely and admitted, “I bet he is. I mean, he does wear a mask too.”
Jason just let his head slam into the table, rattling the dishes. “You’re so mean. I can’t even hurt you back.”
Peter put on an innocent face and asked, “Is this about the ugly comments? Sorry if they struck home. I know rich people don't like having their insecurities pointed out, especially when they know its true.”
Jason just let out a wail and slid down in his chair until most of his body was under the table. Alfred tutted and demanded Jason sit with manners or else he will be foregoing dessert.
“What about Signal,” Duke ventured, a little too eager to get burned.
“Honestly, seems pretty cool. I’ll give him some credit for not following the furry theme the other do.”
Bruce cleared his throat with a blush and a slightly suspicious look and asked, “Furry theme?” Had they found Peter’s ‘gift?’
Peter perked up, letting an eager grin cross his face. “Yeah! I mean all of them clearly have fursonas. There’s no way Batman put the ears on his cowl with a furry reason. That man has so much furry energy, I’m surprised he’s only been spotted at two Fur-Cons. Didn’t you know all this? You guys have been in Gotham for much longer than me and I figured it out just by looking at the dude.”
Bruce blushed again and- oh my, was he actually a furry? Peter let himself chuckle for a moment as he thought of his next jab. “I do have admit, he’s one of those kinky furries.”
Every head at the table snapped over to Peter fast enough he worried they got whiplash. “What? Why are you looking at me like that? The guy, and probably the other bats too, clearly get hard dressing up in their fursuits, stalking people, beating people up, and whatever else they do. That doesn’t even cover the amount of ‘toys’ the man has. No one has that many without a toy fetish or something.”
“Whats a toy fetish?” Teresa tiny voice asked. Peter could help but laugh at the faces the bats made.
“Remember how we talked about kids not being able to ready to know some things? This is one of them. Try not to say that at school, either,” Peter gently told the girl.
Teresa gave a nod, face scrunched in thought. Poor thing was going to fry her brain with how hard she was thinking.
“On a more child-friendly note, I haven’t even started on my theories with Nightwing and the non-Gotham heros.”
Jason cackled at the idea, slapping a large hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Please, enlighten us with your thoughts!”
Peter let his feral grin show and let the silence stretch. He innocently ate some food, forcing the bats to wait for the next bout of torture.”Well Nightwing is interesting. I mean he’s gone through a few fur-suits and sonas but all thats told us is how… interesting his sense of style is. Just look at the Discowing suit! No one would wear that unless they are messed up in the head.”
Peter let out a small chuckle at Dicks face but it was covered up by Jasons snort.
“The man is clearly messed up. He’s lied to me a couple times and even stalked me! Poor Red Hood had to fight off his dick of a brother just to keep me safe. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten what might be under the mask. Anyone with that sense of style has to be fugly. My personal theory is that on his hideously-demormed face, he has a dick. And by that I mean a tiny limp dick attached to his forhead like a unicorn. On the topic of dicks, I bet the one in his pants has shrunk considerably with how tight his outfit is. We can all see how small its made his ass. Tsk. The negative effects of spandex on the body.”
Peter could see Dick rub his forehead with that classic kicked-puppy expression that cleary runs in the family. It took every fiber of his being to only let out an innocent chuckle.
Steph leaned her head on her elbows and drawled, “Tell us more. These theories are wonderful.”
“Oh! I have a few theories on the other heroes and how they compare to the heroes where I grew up. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of them, they solve problems so fast it doesn’t even reach national news. It was honestly quite a shock to move here.
“The archer dude, Green whatever, is a lot like my Hawkeye! Although, I’m surprised either of them were kept on their teams. Hawkeye kept getting mind controlled and shit and honestly caused more problems than he fixed. I heard the acher dude is dick. At least he can’t take off his hearing aids to give himself an excuse to ignore you.”
At this point, Peter noticed a few phones ‘subtly’ recording him. This was so being sent to the Justice League.
Bruce tried to ask a question but Peter cut him off. “You guys only have, like, a handful of aliens right?” At their nods, he continued, “Honestly, kinda planetist. We had a whole team of aliens to save our asses from galatic threats as well as hero dedicated to saving other worlds. Wait. Hang on. They aren't slaves right? It seems kinda shitty that you’d force these aliens to only protect Earth. We aren’t the only planet. I should check that that isn’t the case…” he trailed off, rubbing his jaw in faux thought.
“Oh! We had really hot dude that saved a nearby city all the time-” Why does Tim look disappointed? “And by hot, I mean he lights himself on fire all the time. There’s one like that here, right? Does he also always smell like smoked meat and barbeque? His buddy was literally always hard too. The guy was literally made of rocks!”
Peter face-palmed before exclaiming, “I can’t forget about the senior-citizen on the team! He was over 100 years old and everything. Yet somehow, his ass became known as America’s ass. His best buddy was a former assinin that kept getting frozen so he’d live longer. Honestly, the best known example of ‘history called them best-friends, roommates, anything but lovers’ because man, I lived on a completely different floor and could hear them going at it.”
He giggled as Steph mouthed ‘What the fuck’ to Cass who just grinned.
“I got off topic! On the note of fornication, what’s up with Flash? Did the ladies give him the award of ‘fastest man alive?’ Because I knew someone that went by Flash and, well, I don’t think I need to explain how he never slept with someone twice.”
Peter ignored the choked sounds and continues, “And poor Aquaman. The guy is definitely hiding tentacles under that suit. People are so cruel, always sexualizing it. Although, I do know Spider-Man totally beat up on a octopus themed villian before so maybe the guy is afraid of Spider-Man. Nah, Spidey wouldn’t make a hero his bitch.”
Bruce cleared his throat again while looking like he wanted to be anywhere else. “You know Spiderman?”
Peter nodded with a grin. “Its actually Spider-Man with a hyphen but yeah, I know him.”
He bit his lip as he heard Damian whisper, “How could he tell if there was hyphen when the name was spoken?”
The whole table was staring at him, some with awe, others wth hurt (Dick), and most with humor. Peter just hummed and ate, not giving in to the stared.
Tim finally threw his arms up and exclaimed, “You can't just stop there!”
Peter shrugged, hiding his grin by bringing his cup his mouth. Damian cleared his throat before admitting, “I would be pleased if you’d continued you analysis.”
“Aww, well I wouldn’t want to disappoint you, baby bird!” The name may be a bit too obvious but Damians facepalm was quite satisfying. “Bruce rudely interrupted me so I lost my train of thought. Id there anyone in particular you want my opinions ont?”
Steph raised her hand, practically jumping out of her chair, “Oh! Oh! Kiteman!”
“Kite… Man? That is the stupidest villain name. How did he make it into the Rouge Gallery?”
Damian sighed. “He’s not really. He just TP the city every so often. He only got considered when he was engaged to Poison Ivy.”
Peter grinned. Ivy was going to be hearing about this for a long time. “Sounds like he was flying in the mile high club. It’s really quite a kite-astrophe to fly under the influence. But hey, at least he was letting his worries take flight.”
Peter grinned as everyone groaned. Tim hesitantly said, “Condiment-King?”
“The fuck?” Peter excalimed. “Does the guy want to butter everyones biscuits of something? Is he looking to put sauce of everyones dogs? Oh, god. Did he use the condiments as… lube? Oh, no. Even worse. Did he replace all the lube with condiments? That would be hard to ketchup to. You mustard-stand, he must really hate hot saucy-time or maybe he wanted to spice things up. He must relish in suffering.”
The groans were even louder and some heads even repeatedly banged into the table. “Tsk. You guys are really having a head-banging time. My puns are quite pun-derful. No need to pun-ish yourselves. It’s just pun-damental that ‘Kiteman’ and ‘Condiment-King’ would cause this.”
Bruce’ chair let out a terrible screech as he stood suddenly. “And I’m done. Dinner’s over. Off to bed. I can’t take another kid like Dick right now.”
Everyone left the room pretty suddenly, leaving Cass, Jason, Peter, and Teresa. Jason slapped a hand on Peters back exclaiming, “That was great! I’ve never seen everyone leave before Alfred serves dessert.”
“Ah, been there pun that. Not my first time scaring everyone away from the dinner table.”
“But you’ve never had Alfred desserts,” Cass signed, stacking all of the dinner plates up.
“Will we still get dessert? I was expecting a pun-ishment.”
“You are already used that one,” Jason pointed out, helping Cass clear the table. “But yeah, Alfred will give dessert if we help.”
At that, Peter and Teresa scrambled up to help ferry the dishes the kitchen. Alfred seemd thankful for the help and let everyone take a single cookie before shooing them out to hide the container.
The cookies were eaten, kids put to sleep, and puns forcefully evicted from minds.
Notes:
*1 Please do not put weighted blankets in the dryer, it doesn’t end well
*2 Checking out people's asses does not make you a 'good bisexual', it is not a requirement
-Gay-Bats is canon, you can fight me on it.
-ch15 coming like Tuesday or something. I dunno.
-Damn guys! 7500+ hits, almost 500 comments, and 450 kudos? Y'all spoil me
(Edit: I forgot to put a summary
Edit 2: There’s a one-shot now for if Bruce and Damian walked into the Batcave while Peter was there and found him!)
Chapter 15
Summary:
The Wayne’s watch a movie, shenanigans occur, tooth-achingly sweet Jason moments, and the return of Spider-Man.
‘The next jump scare on screen popped up, Jason’s jump jolting Peter. Peter used that as an excuse to kick his legs out, flinging Dick off the couch. Dick tried to catch himself but ended up pulling Tim off the couch with him.
“Hey!” Tim yelled, snagging a pillow off the couch and started bringing it down on Dick repeatedly.
Dick raised his hands to cover his face as pleased, “That wasn’t me! Peter pushed me off the couch!”
At Tim’s gaze, Peter grinned but Jason shrugged and said, “I didn’t see that. All I saw was Dick getting scared and jumping off the couch.” ‘
Notes:
Oh sorry, did I say Tuesday? I meant Friday. (Is everyone starting to realize that I just update when I do it but set a deadline in the event I get distracted)
Credits to Toad :] bc Ghost Shark was their dream *wink wink* (ie. They had a dream and told me about it)
Warnings:
Mentions of character death
Peter thinking he's a 'bad kid' bc of Calvin
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Within a week, Peter had finished healing from the burns. Teresa had a small bump left on her head but had healed otherwise. Alfred had been practically force-feeding the pair, only increasing their healing. Damian had not, in fact, stabbed Peter or harmed in another way. The boy had only ‘subtly’ followed Peter around.
All of the Wayne boys returned to the manor the next weekend for movie night while the girls and Batman patrolled. Apparently, it was quite an ordeal with a specified list of who gets to choose. Surprisingly, most of the kids agreed that it should be Peter’s turn to choose.
He froze when put on the spot. He wasn’t quite ready to talk about being from a whole ‘nother dimension. The only movies he knew for sure existed were Star Wars, Mulan, and Ghost Shark. Star Wars held too many memories of Mori and Mulan was one he wanted to watch with Jason and Teresa alone. Ghost Shark seemed a bit too scary to watch with Tereasa so they waited till the girl went to bed.
The movie starts with a group of teens exploring an abandoned aquarium that had been shut down for animal cruelty.
“That is foolish,” Damian stated, holding his pillow tighter in anticipation. Tim was already hiding under his blanket, only a single eye peeking out.
“Hah, you are just scared,” Jason teased.
“Tt. Projecting much, Todd?”
Most of the group flinched when the music spiked and glowing eyes appeared in one of the empty tanks, only visible to one of the teens on screen.
‘What was that?’ The character asked, backing away from the tank.
‘Ah, is Baby Brad scared? Come on, man. Toughen up,’ One of the other teens jabbed.
The group continued walking through the aquarium as the Wayne’s placed bets on who was going to scream (both character and siblings) as well as analyzed what they could be doing better.
Jason let out a girly shriek as a ghost shark snatched one of the characters, dragging the screaming boy away. Tim expressed his fear with a string of ‘Nopes’ and curled further up under the blanket as Duke tried to pull the blanket onto himself, ignoring the blanket he already claimed.
“Was that you, J? Didn’t know you could scream like that! I guess you take after Bruce,” Dick teased, knowing that the boy didn’t like being compared to Bruce.
“No, it wasn’t! That was Damian!” Jason defended, earning himself a pillow to the face. “Ugh, rude. You are so mean, Demon Brat.”
Damian just scoffed as Peter laughed. He curled up closer to Jason, subtly stretching his legs preparing to kick Dick off the couch. Dick may not be insufferable but it was fun to watch him suffer.
The group of vigilantes watched as the characters on screen ran around like headless chickens in what seemed to be an endless maze in the aquarium.
Duke finally managed to rip Tim’s blanket off of him and pull it over his own head causing Tim to snatch the blanket on Duke's lap and re-cover himself. Damian rolled his eyes at the pair but still hugged his pillow tighter.
Jason ran his hand through Peter's hair as the movie continued. Peter relaxed, leaning into the touch. He flinched at the sounds of a camera and saw Dick hurriedly stuffing his phone away.
The next jump scare on the screen popped up, Jason’s jump jolting Peter. Peter used that as an excuse to kick his legs out, flinging Dick off the couch. Dick tried to catch himself but ended up pulling Tim off the couch with him.
“Hey!” Tim yelled, snagging a pillow off the couch, and started bringing it down on Dick repeatedly.
Dick raised his hands to cover his face as pleaded, “That wasn’t me! Peter pushed me off the couch!”
At Tim’s gaze, Peter grinned but Jason shrugged and said, “I didn’t see that. All I saw was Dick getting scared and jumping off the couch.”
Peter nodded his agreement, a smug smile on his face. Dick cried out in offense before stealing Tims's blanket and pillow and laying down in front of the couch. He got comfortable before shooting back up to snag a popcorn bowl and returning to his spot.
Tim muttered as he grabbed a new blanket out of the basket, “Why does everyone want the blanket I have?”
Everyone curled back up and watched as a ‘Marine Exorcist’ was called to get rid of the ghost shark and the credits rolled.
“Tt. That was a stupid movie,” Damian complained. “The actions of the characters were idiotic and irrational.”
Peter laughed. “Well, Dami, it’s not like they are vigilantes or anything. They don’t know how to handle situations like that and panic.”
Peter just smiled innocently as everyone’s heads whipped to him. He could feel Jason’s chest shake as he hid his laughter.
“Peter's right. It only seems idiotic because we know we could do better,” Jason suggested, somehow hiding the humor he was feeling.
“Tt.”
The group chatted more about the movie as the credits played through and Peter’s spidey-sense tingled as the credits started to end. He grinned and tapped Jason’s leg, subtly gesturing at the TV.
The large man pulled out his phone, acting like he was checking his texts, and began recording the rest of the group.
The screen went black for a moment until the music abruptly spiked and the glowing eyes of the shark rammed into the screen, leaving cracks spelling out ‘Ghost Shark Will Return.’
Dick screeched at the jump scare and scrambled behind the couch, sending his popcorn flying. Damian flinched and frowned, popcorn landing in his hair. Tim, who had believed himself safe and had discarded his blanket, was forced to scream and curl up in the fetal position.
Duke just flinched and started laughing at the group, joining Peter and Jason. Dick eventually peeked his head over with a hurt look and declared, “You knew! You knew something was going to happen! You both jumped at the other scares but not this one!”
Peter just shrugged and grinned at the man while Jason raised an eyebrow. “That’s not what I saw, Dickie. Sounds to me like you are projecting.”
Dick gaped. Damian frowned and pointed out, “That doesn’t make sense, Todd.”
Jason just grinned. “Nope. He screamed like the old man does and tried to blame it on me. Projecting.”
Dick recovered from his shock enough to exclaim, “That’s not what that is!”
“Wow, can you believe them, Pete? They are trying to say I don’t know what projecting is AND blaming me for scaring them. I hadn’t even moved!”
Jason's feral grin made Peter laugh, breaking the tension in the room. With an eye roll, Dick gathered the popcorn bowls and headed towards the kitchen. Tim scrambled out of the room, an amused Duke following. Damian padded out, glaring suspiciously at Peter the whole time.
When it was just Jason and Peter left, Jason asked, “How did you know about that last jump-scare?”
“Powers,” he said with a shrug.
Jason raised his eyebrow again. “You have a power that lets you see the future or one that warns you of danger?”
“It warns me of danger. It’s like a little tingle on the back of my neck or, if it’s serious, my hair stands up and does a little danger dance.”
“Okay, a Peter Tingle. Cool. What other powers do you have?”
Peter groaned, burying his face. “Nooo. It’s not a ‘Peter Tingle!’ It’s a ‘Spidey-Sense.’”
“Sure. Whatever. Peter Tingle.”
Peter wailed dramatically before sighing, “I have enhanced senses, super strength and flexibility, enhanced healing, and I can stick to stuff.”
Jason blinked. “How the fuck did you end up with all that? Are you secretly a Kryptonian?”
Peter mumbled, “I got bit by a radioactive spider.”
Jason blinked again. “Run that by me again.”
“I got bit by a radioactive spider,” Peter said, unburying his face.
“You, Peter Parker, got bit by a radioactive spider.”
“Ding ding ding. Correct,” he deadpanned.
“How the hell did that even happen?”
“Field trip.”
“Dear god, I’m going to bubble-wrap you, aren’t I?” The man muttered, running his hand down his face.
“Hey! Rude! You actually want to bubble-wrap yourself because Parker Luck likes to kill anyone I love.”
“Wha- I’m happy that you love me but let’s expand on that. Please?”
Peter sat up, leaning into Jason’s shoulder. The touch was grounding. Comforting. “Oh, sure. My parents died when I was like 4. Uncle Ben died when I was 14. My friends, Gwen and Harry, died around that time too. Then Aunt May died shortly before I came here. Oh! I can’t forget about Mori. Funnily enough, he died the same way Uncle Ben did.”
Jason blinked twice before wrapping his arm around the kid. “Shit, Peter. That must have been really scary.”
Oh. He’d forgotten how good Jason was at this, in and out of costume. Tears ran unbidden down his face and he curled more into the man.
“I’m really glad you know our ‘furry identities’ because it makes it easier to say this: we aren’t going to leave you. You are not, and never will be, the reason for anything that happens to us. We have our enemies and monsters and you are not responsible for protecting us from them.
“We aren’t letting you go. We want you to stay here. I want you to stay. Hell, I’ll even move back if that'll convince you to stay! I’m pretty sure Alfred had the adoption papers prepared on Bruce’s desk the second Tim mentioned you. You are wanted here. You are safe. And most importantly, you are so loved.”
Peter let his tears run for a few minutes, mulling over the words. “Will Bruce hate me for being Spider-Man? Will he kick me out for being from another universe? He’s going to hate me for everything I’ve done since coming here. I'm a bad kid. He won’t want me.”
He flinched slightly as Jason gently gripped his chin to force him to look up. He kept the grip light enough that Peter could move away but Peter leaned into the touch. “Peter. Look at me. Bruce loved Dick when he was dangling from the chandelier and jumping from the banister. He loved me when I stole his tires and fought every attempt he made to love me. He loved Tim when he stalked us for months before revealing that he knew everything when I died. He loved Duke just the same, meta abilities and all. He loved Damian despite the anger and stabbing. Cass with her quietness and ability to know everything about you in a glance. Steph and her lack of positive experiences with parents. He loved us for our whole beings.”
Jason ran his hand through Peter's hair for a few moments, letting him process what he had said. “He already loves you and he barely knows you. He’s only going to love you more as he gets to know you. I just know you’re going to have him wrapped your finger once he sees the puppy dog eyes and that brain of yours. Hell, you already have me wrapped around your finger!
“Don’t worry about Bruce. He is safe. If it makes you feel better, I promise, again, that if anything happens, you can stay with me. If you are scared about all the secrets he doesn’t know, don’t be. I have a feeling that they will only make him love you more. Tell him at your own pace. I’ll be right here alongside you.”
Peter sniffled a few times before letting out a teary chuckle. “You look and act so scary but you are just a big softy.”
Jason snorted. “I resent that.” The large man tried to push Peter off the couch but the boy just stuck to him.
“The fuck!” Jason exclaimed as he waved his arm up and down, Peter’s curled up from stuck to it.
Peter let out a giggle before skittering his way up the arm and onto the man’s back.
Jason flew off the couch and started trying to reach his arms behind his back. “Holy shit that is creepy and it tickles.”
“Aww, scared of a little spider?” Peter teased.
“No but I know who is. Shall we go visit the spiderweb in my room? I think I saw a daddy long legs in it.”
Peter flung himself off Jason’s back and over the couch, using it as a barrier. “Don’t you dare.”
“That’s what I thought.” Jason’s smug grin was wiped off a piece of popcorn flew at his face. It returned when he caught it in his mouth. “Nice try, squirt.”
Jason retaliated by throwing a piece of popcorn at Peter who caught it as well. Soon it became a game of who could do the best trick shots.
“Oh yeah, that reminds me. I got you a little somethin,” Jason said with a smirk as he caught a piece in his mouth.
Peter looked at him, questions in his eyes. The man’s smirk grew and he gestured to Peter to follow him. The pair walked to Jason’s room passing by a curious Damian who Jason shooed off.
Jason locked his door behind them and gestured for Peter to take a seat. The room lacked character. There were no posters or trinkets. The only things personalized were the red walls and blankets.
Jason pulls out a box from under his bed and hands it to Peter. It seems ordinary and a cautionary shake doesn’t trigger any pranks.
Under the lid was a red and blue suit. The material was reinforced with what felt like Kevlar while still leaving the joints flexible. On the chest was a black spider with a red bat symbol on the back of the spider, reminding Peter of the hourglass on a Black Widow. Black spiderwebs crisscrossed the whole suit.
Peter looks up at Jason who is standing there awkwardly. “You didn’t have to do this! I would have just worked until I got the money to buy the supplies for a new suit!”
Jason scoffed, “Please. What you were wearing hardly counts as a suit. This is all leftover material from my suits so I figured you should have it.”
Peter held up the suit to his body, looking for anywhere he would have to tighten up. “How did you get my measurements?”
Jason rubbed his neck as if embarrassed. “Me and Alfie took them when you were out cold. He wanted to get you clothes. I wanted to make you a suit.”
The man flinched as Peter threw himself into a hug. “Thank you.”
“No problem. I know how antsy vigilantes get when they can’t go out.” He patted Peter's head a few times, still a little awkward with the touchy-feely stuff.
Peter leaned back and bounced on his toes a few times. “Can we go out tonight? Please! Pleaaaaase?”
“Oh no. It’s already late, shouldn’t you sleep?”
“Are you going to sleep?”
“… No.”
“Then suit up! Let’s go!” Peter shouted as he ran into the man’s bathroom to change.
“What have I created…”
Patrolling with Red Hood brought a sense of normalcy to Spider-Man. The new suit fit like it was made for him and it had been. It was little less flexible than the versions Mr. Stark had made but didn’t impede his movement.
Alfred’s feeding had left Peter with a reserve of webs and energy which he put to good use once Jason started jumping between rooftops, grappling when needed. The wind greeted Peter with her icy hugs, nipping at him through the suit. He had missed this.
Jason followed Peter around as he stopped muggings, offering corrections on forms and quips. (“Not quips. You can’t just tell a mugger that it's bad. Let them know what the next steps are, and what’s going to happen, and offer some advice for how to not turn to crime in the future. … No! I’m giving you Batman’s spiel, not mine!”) The pair of vigilantes even scared a group of teens discussing how to rob a store so badly that one peed their pants.
Shortly into their patrol, they came across Batman, Orphan, and Spoiler discussing a weapons deal on a roof. Red Hood gestured for Peter to stay hidden on their roof before grappling over.
“Red Hood. I thought you were home. You don't have your comm on,” Batman gruffed.
“Nah. I just started my patrol. Haven’t even had a chance to turn it on.”
“Hn. Well, we could use the extra hands on this deal.”
Peter could see Jason's body language change and prepared to jump over.
“Oh, sure! Hang on, let me grab another pair. I choose you, Pikachu Spider-Man!” Jason yelled, dramatically throwing his arm like he was tossing a Pokeball.
Peter grinned and swung in, letting himself roll under Jason's extended arm. “Pika!”
Spoiler laughed and clapped at the display while Batman hung his head and rubbed his hand on his face. Orphan just stared.
“I didn’t know you knew Pokemon, Hood!” Peter exclaimed, jumping onto his feet. “Although I align more with Bulbasaur or a spider Pokemon like Joltik. I don’t have electric powers like one of the other Spider-Mans has.”
“I’m not a heathen. Of course, I know Pokemon. Bats even bought me the games when I was younger.”
Batman let out a ‘Ngk’ while Peter gasped, “But you haven’t seen Mulan! That makes you a heathen!”
“Gee, Red, seems like you told Spidey here a lot,” Steph said warily, arms crossed.
Spidey looked up at her. “Nah. That’s like all of the information I know unless you count the training and stuff.”
Batman grunted before gruffing, “You didn’t mention training him.”
Peter could feel Red Hood raise an eyebrow in response. “I wasn’t aware I had to. You didn’t tell me when you started training Drake.”
“You were dead! And it wasn’t like he gave me much of a choice.” Batman sounded upset now.
Peter jumped on Red Hood's shoulders, using his sticky feet to stay planted as he stood there. “Off topic but have you considered joining cheer? I’m dead serious, you’d make a great base.”
“Oh boy, now you’ve done it,” Hood muttered, throwing his hands up while keeping his shoulders steady.
“What? I’m just cheering for everyone to get along. I mean, we are all orphans here,” Peter joked.
Batman and Red Hood groaned in sync causing Jason to growl in frustration.
“Aww. See they can get along. Don’t spoil the mood with your family drama. I know you’re not equipped to handle my quips so it’s so only natural that they web up your relationship.”
“I need to get you a book on puns because that was terrible,” Hood groaned. “Shoo. Get off of my shoulders so we can talk business.”
“Boo. I wanted to start a cheer squad. ‘The Spiders’ has a nice ring. I mean you’d have to start going by Red Spider or oooh, Red Carapace. Maybe Batman could be Spider-Bat or Bat-Spider. Nah, that sounds terrifying. He’d obviously be a Brown Recluse.”
“I will shoot you if you don’t stop talking,” Batman threatened, reaching for a Batarang. Both Jason and Cass stepped forward to block him, scowls on their face.
Peter rolled his eyes dramatically enough you could tell through the mask. “Chill. He wasn’t going to hurt me. Let’s all sit criss-cross applesauce and discuss this arms deal.”
No one sat on the ground with Peter but Batman began monologing about what everyone will be doing. Peter got delegated to sit on a roof and watch which he accepted solely because he wanted Bruce to like him.
He debated jumping in when the gunshots started but they stopped shortly and the bats emerged unharmed. The group seemed surprised when Peter was still up on the roof which led to an approving nod from Batman.
“Okay, the quips tired me out. Can we go home now?” Peter asked, dramatically collapsing into Red Hood.
“Sure, squirt. Maybe learn when to hold your tongue.”
“Nah, Kevlar tastes gross. I don’t really want to touch my tongue anyway.”
Notes:
-I love writing heart-cloggingly sweet Jason. He’s such a softy with Peter. Also, Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss Jason is life.
-Guuuuys, the end is in sight! It keeps getting pushed back but it coming! I have another worked planned after this one that’s kinda like what Peter would have done w/out Teresa but 100x less angsty than this one.
-Ch16 will probably be uploaded Wednesday next week. Ch17 might be delayed until the following Wednesday since I am ✨camping✨ (I'm hoping the camping prep leaves me with enough time to finish ch16)
Comments: 521 ; Kudos: 484 ; Bookmarks: 94 ; Hits: 8,382
Chapter 16
Summary:
Peter gets a phone, is given coffee, has a competition with Dick, calls some friends, and finds out a surprise.
' “Sure!” Jason’s face at Peter’s tone was worth the potential terror he would give the family.
“Peter… What is that face for? What are you doing?”
Bruce handed over a mug of coffee to Peter, who grinned when he took it. “Nothing! Just drinking some coffee.”
“I don’t think we should let you drink coffee,” Jason muttered, staring suspiciously at the boy.
“Don’t be a spoil-sport!”
“Yeah, son. Let Peter have some coffee,” Bruce tried, brown-nosing.
Jason sighed and ran his hand down his face. “Don’t blame me for not warning you.”
Peter grinned and took a big drink of the coffee. Jason would take it away if it affected him so he may as well chug it. He smirked and poured the rest down his throat before gently slamming the mug on the table.
“Oh boy,” Jason mumbled, backing away. '
Notes:
Did I write this in two hours? Yes. Is it longer than ch15? Also yes. Did I go with the 'Coffee makes Peter hyper' trope? Yep.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
A box was pressed into Peter’s hands when he walked into the dining room the next morning. Bruce shifted awkwardly as Peter stared at him.
“What’s this?” He asked suspiciously.
“I’ve been informed-“ Bruce shot Jason an accusing look. “That you don’t have a phone.”
Peter held the box back out to the man. “Oh, no thank you! I can’t accept this. It’s too expensive.”
Bruce tried to lie, “It’s one of our old phones that we repurposed.”
Peter wanted to laugh at the obvious lie. Tony had done the same thing to him over and over with phones, tablets, laptops, streaming services. It was impossible to ignore the whims of determined rich people.
He resigned to just rolling his eyes and opening the box. The phone was definitely new. There wasn’t a single scratch on it and it was still in its original packaging.
“Thanks, I guess. How much do I owe you?” It was too early in the morning to deal with this.
Jason laughed, slapping the table dramatically. “You don’t owe us anything! If you really want to pay us back, join the family group chat. I already preloaded the family's contacts.”
He shrugged in reply and forced the box open. The phone was a shiny red color. It was a bit heavier than a StarkPhone but they didn’t have Arc reactor technology here.
He turned the phone on (it seemed like Jason had charged it before stuffing it back in the packaging) and snorted at the screensaver. Someone had set the picture of Jason and Peter snuggling the night before as the background.
The phone dinged as he revived his first text. Jason had sent the video of Dick and Tim getting scared at the end of the movie. His soft chuckles were interrupted by a yawn.
“Want some coffee? Alfred is out of town so we can bring out the caffeinated stuff,” Bruce offered.
Peter hesitated. He had been banned from coffee after Tony and May saw how it affected him. Tony was especially firm on that rule after he found Peter skittering on the ceiling singing ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ over and over (and crying at the end of the song). The man had to take a broom to get Peter off the ceiling.
But in theory, he was almost an adult and his metabolism should be leveling out (lies) so coffee should be alright. He was tired anyway.
“Sure!” Jason’s face at Peter’s tone was worth the potential terror he would give the family.
“Peter… What is that face for? What are you doing?”
Bruce handed over a mug of coffee to Peter, who grinned when he took it. “Nothing! Just drinking some coffee.”
“I don’t think we should let you drink coffee,” Jason muttered, staring suspiciously at the boy.
“Don’t be a spoil-sport!”
“Yeah, son. Let Peter have some coffee,” Bruce tried, brown-nosing.
Jason sighed and ran his hand down his face. “Don’t blame me for not warning you.”
Peter grinned and took a big drink of the coffee. Jason would take it away if it affected him so he may as well chug it. He smirked and poured the rest down his throat before gently slamming the mug on the table.
“Oh boy,” Jason mumbled, backing away.
His fingers started to twitch and shake while his leg bounced up on down. His energy spiked and he shot out of the chair.
“Hey, hey. Why did the vulture cross the road?” Peter blurted out.
Jason groaned, letting his head hit the table while Bruce looked at Peter curiously. “Why?”
“Because the chicken didn’t make it! Ba-dum tss.” Peter started cackling at the joke and at Jason repeatedly banging his head on the table.
Peter sprung onto the table next and grabbed some fruit. He began tossing them in the air and juggling them.
Bruce bummed thoughtfully. “I didn’t know you could juggle.”
Peter grinned. “I didn’t either but ooh, I can do this,” he said as he let the fruit drop onto the table. He flipped himself onto his hands and started walking around.
“Oh, no. Nope. Please, no,” Jason pleaded as he watched.
Peter flicked his toe under and plate and with a bit of dramatics and stickiness, had it sitting on his foot. He repeated it with the other foot, earning more cries from Jason.
Jason wailed loudly when Dick came into the room and lit up. “I didn’t know you could do that, Peter! Oh! Can you do this?”
Dick and Peter each tried to one-up each other with a variety of tricks, most of which Peter had never done.
Tim gave the pair a wide berth as he made his way to the coffee machine. Duke just grinned and turned a chair so he could watch, grabbing one of the discarded fruit that had scattered on the table.
It took about ten minutes before Tim had the energy to comment, “You know, you and Peter look a lot alike, Dick.”
The ‘thud’ of Dicks fall was quite satisfying and Peter let out a cheer at his victory. Dick cried, “Wait! Do you all think that?”
Bruce shrugged, focusing on his newspaper in guilty avoidance. Duke grinned and nodded. Jason just slammed his head into the table again.
“Wait right here!” Dick yelled while running out of the room. There were a few crashes and bangs before he returned with a DNA swab kit. “Open up!”
Peter just shrugged, squatting on a chair balanced on one leg. Dick swabbed his cheeks before asking, “Where’s Teresa? She’s your sister, yeah? I need to swab her!”
Peter looked curiously at the oddly colored swab. Had his saliva changed colors? Maybe it was from the coffee. His brain screeched to a stop and it caught up to the situation. “Please toss that. I don’t really want people having my DNA.”
Dick looked between the swab and Peter a few times, conflicted. “I’ll only use it for the DNA test.”
Peter groaned. It wasn’t like they couldn't get it other places. Alfred had already had access to his blood. “Fine. But it’s up to Teresa if you swab her. Don’t pressure her.”
Tim blinked blearily before asking, “Wouldn’t you get similar results if Peter and Teresa are related? Why do you need hers?
“Confirmation,” replied Dick at the same time Peter said, “We actually aren’t blood-related.”
Jason looked up at that, taking a break from banging his head. “I didn’t know that. How’d you end up together then?”
Peter shrugged nonchalantly. “I woke up beside her. I found out that her first father tried to kill her.” And succeeded. “So I stuck with her. I was planning on leaving her somewhere safe but I couldn’t find anywhere so here we are.”
Jason nodded in acceptance, guessing what Peter meant by ‘woke up.’ Bruce, on the other hand, prodded, “What do you mean ‘woke up?’”
Did he really want to tell Bruce this? He hadn’t exactly been hiding it but could he be certain that Bruce wasn’t going to throw him in another lab?
He exchanged a look with Jason before pulling out his phone. He typed his question in and handed it to Jason. The man blinked a few times before saying, “It’s up to you if you want to share it.” He shot a look at Bruce. “Bruce won’t push if you aren’t comfortable. His opinions on you won’t change if you share it either. I’m sure he’s already pieced together some of it.”
Peter sighed heavily. “I died. I woke up in Lazarus water. Teresa was there too.”
Jason hummed for a moment. “I wasn't aware Teresa had died. Do you know what it was?”
“Her first father.”
Dick’s eyes were moving between all the faces in the room, trying to get a read. Tim was looking a little more awake and was staring into coffee like he’d find answers and comfort in it. Duke looked sad, eating slower than before. Bruce had a stoic look on but Peter could see the questions racing before his eyes.
Peter shot a glance at Dick before looking at his lap. “I don’t know if her first father ever got in trouble for what he did. At the time, I didn’t tell Nightwing because there were bigger fish to fry, like our safety, but I don’t know if I should tell now.”
Jason’s chair scraped the ground as he stood and made his way over Peter. His hands were grounding when he set them on Peter’s legs. “We can handle it all if you tell us. Three of us in this family have been brought back to life. I think it would be healing to finally deal with one of the killers.”
That was a good point. Gillian couldn’t be dealt with from here and Jason hasn’t told Peter who killed him. Teresa was also the only one who couldn’t defend herself if something happened. “If you give me a map, I can point out where the lab is. The bats didn’t find it last time but they have been in the building hiding it.”
Jason gave Peter’s leg a squeeze while Dick pulled up a map on his phone. The man was oddly quiet. He pointed out where the lab was, Dick drew his phone back and began frantically typing.
Peter almost laughed at the quiet ‘dings’ everyone’s phone made but the coffee was wearing off. “Ugh. I knew I shouldn’t have drank coffee. Normally I’m banned from it.”
Jason raised an eyebrow with a smirk. His eyes seemed greener than usual. “Oh really? I seem to recall trying to stop you from drinking it.”
“Shh. Let me suffer in peace.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know how dead-tired coffee makes a kid after they drink it.” Jason shot Tim an accusing look.
Dick gasped, looking from his phone. “Did you just make a joke? Did you just use a pun? I didn’t think you knew how, little wing!”
Bruce cleared his throat. “Nicknames, Dick.”
Dick waved the man off while Jason squawked, “I joke all the time! You are just too loud to hear it!”
“Aww, Little J, you are taking after me!”
Jason threw himself at Dick and the pair tussled on the ground. Peter rolled his eyes and excused himself.
He made his way into an empty study and studied the phone for a moment. He opened the inside and pulled a bug before closing it up and checking the software. Once the phone was free of spyware, he opened Google. Within a minute his phone was ringing.
“Hello. You’ve reached Verdant Vines. How may I help you?” Ivy's monotone voice rang.
“Hey, Ive! It’s Peter!”
There was a brief moment of silence as she processed his words. “Peter? Hang on. HARLEY! Holy shit, Peter! We were worried! Where are you? Do you need help?”
“I’m fine! The place I was staying burned down and I got a bit hurt. Some friends took us in.”
He could hear Harley clatter into the room, threatening, “Who’s there? What’s going on?”
Ivy beamed, “It’s Peter! He’s alright!”
Harley gasped dramatically before the phone clanked as she snatched it. “Petey! You’re okay! Where have you been?”
“Just got a bit burnt in a fire, all good. I’m somewhere safe.” He chuckled.
“Oooh. I bet you are hot-“
“Harley!”
“What! Fire is hot so if he got hot! I don’t mean physically! Noooo, don’t you dare! It was a joke.”
The conversation paused for a moment as Harley screamed dramatically and Ivy sighed into the phone.
“Sorry, Peter. We both missed you so Harley is a bit excited.Hey! Put that down!. Harley, sit. Tell us what happened, Peter.”
He rubbed his muck awkwardly before beginning. “Well, I was on a walk and Teresa stayed home. I saw smoke in the distance so I headed that way curiously and saw it was our place burning. Of course, I jumped in and grabbed Teresa before getting patched up by the medics.”
“And by walking do you mean going out as a certain spider themed vigilante?” Harley blurted.
Peter blanched. “What? What do you mean?”
Ivy sighed heavily. “Kid, we knew once we realized Spider-Man only appeared on nights you weren’t working. He’s been missing ever since you’ve been missing.”
“Was I really that obvious?” He mumbled, embarrassed.
“Nah! Ive is just super duper smart!” Harley exclaimed. A crash that sounded like a pot followed shortly after.
Ivy sighed heavily again, this time at Harley. “Don’t worry, Pete. We aren’t going to tell anyone. Actually, we wanted to offer our help if you get into a sticky situation.”
Peter blinked in shock. “Really? I thought you guys were out of the business?”
Harley cackled from her end of the phone. “Yeah! But ol’ Bats won’t get mad if we protect a kid.”
Peter chuckled at that. “No, he sure wouldn’t. I think you’d have to fight to see who gets to protect me, though.”
He could feel Ivy's eyes narrow as she thought about his words. “Peter. By friends did you mean the Wayne’s?”
“Why would you guess that?” He asked innocently.
“Because most of the big villains, former or not, know the connection between Bruce Wayne and Batman.”
“Yeah it’s almost like they are identical!” Harley shouted from the background.
“That seems dangerous. Wouldn’t they go after his kids?” Was Teresa safe here?
“Joker tried once. He managed to kill one of them. He’s the only one that tries to kill the baby birds now,” Harley stated somberly, her giddy mood gone. Oh, shit. Was that who killed Jason?
Ivy tutted at Harley before adding, “There is a certain level of danger living with Bruce Wayne but most of the rogues don’t bother killing or seriously hurting his kids. Kidnapping is on the table, of course, but Joker is the only one who would happily kill.”
“He basically wants Batman to kill him!” Harley chipped in, happy again.
“He doesn’t want Batman to kill him. He wants Batman obsessed with him. Other rogues, kids, and anything else are all distractions from Joker so he tries to destroy them. I’d say Joker is dependent on Bats for emotional release.”
Huh. “Why do you say that?”
“Oh, I’ve read Harley’s notes on Joker. Doctor patient confidentiality doesn’t exist when you're a villain and it’s not like i can forget the information now that we are ‘reformed.’” Peter could feel her putting air quotes.
“That makes sense,” he admitted. “I’m hoping I never need to use that information but I’m glad to have it.”
“Shit,” Ivy muttered as more crashing started. “Harley just knocked over a shelf. Bye, Pete. Stop by whenever!”
The phone clicked off and Peter shook his head at the couple. They were good people even if they had done bad things. Well, it wasn’t like he disagreed with Ivy’s beliefs, only her methods. Harley was just trying to make the Joker love her. It doesn’t excuse hurting people but they’ve stopped hurting innocent people now.
He walked silently to his room before flopping on the bed. Teresa wasn’t there. She probably went to get breakfast. Peter's eyes pulled shut and the caffeine crash pushed sleep on him.
He shrieked and jumped out of bed as his door slammed open. It was pure luck he didn’t land on the roof or wall.
“Peter! Look at this!” Dick yelled, throwing a stack of papers at him.
He groaned and picked the paper up. It was paternity test. The results were inconclusive. The information Peter’s genes was abnormal, likely due to his spider bite. It wouldn’t be a terrible surprise if Dick was related to him. His fathers name had been Richard and his grandmothers maiden name was Grayson. But Dick wasn’t truly his father, even if he genetically was.
What was most surprising was the second packet that hit his face. Teresa was definitely Dick’s daughter. “Do you know who her mom is?”
Dick gaped. “I’m more concerned on who yours is because I am certain I wasn’t sleeping with anyone when I was that young!”
Peter shrugged. “You didn’t. I’d really only like to tell that story once so I’d rather wait till the whole family can hear. Can we move back to the topic of Teresa’s parentage? How did she end up where she was?”
Dick gaped for a moment, staring blankly at Peter. Peter snorted as he realized the man had blue screened. “Yoohoo! Wakey-wakey,” he said, waving his hand in front of Dick’s face.
The man flinched and took a step back. “What do you mean?”
“Ugh, you need to learn to compartmentalize. Put that problem in a box and lets talk Teresa.”
“I’m so confused.”
Peter groaned. “I am too but that’s because I can’t figure out how Teresa ended up in an abusive home.” Because of you. Twice.
Dick swallowed roughly before sitting heavily on the bed. “I didn’t know she existed. I mean I had a girlfriend around when Teresa would have been conceived but she left me. She married, got pregnant, and died in childbirth. I guess the baby wasn’t his like she led me to believe.”
Peter groaned and moved closer to awkwardly pat the crying mans shoulder. “There, there. You didn’t know. You know now so you can be the parent Teresa never had.”
Dick looked at Peter with watery eyes. “What about you?”
“Me?” He asked incredulously. “I’m fine. I’ve had more than enough parental figured. Plus, you aren’t much older than me.”
Dick scrunched his face. “I’m ten years older than you! And that doesn’t mean you don’t still need someone. I think Jason would adopt you at this point.”
“I don’t want Jason to adopt me,” he shrugged. “He’s like an awesome older brother, kinda like you. I’d be fine on my own.” Lies.
Dick sighed heavily, wiping off his tears. “I need to hear your story, the full one. I’ll call a family meeting. Would you feel more comfortable in the dining room or in a family room?”
“The family room, I guess. It has comfortable chairs.”
It didn’t take long before every member, minus Alfred, was stuffed onto a couch or on the floor of family room.
“Why’d you call a meeting, Dick?” Tim asked, not looking up from where he was typing on his laptop.
Dick cleared his throat before deflating. “Peter and I have some news to share.”
Peter rolled his eyes at the drmamtics. “Teresa is Dick’s daughter and I’m from another dimension. Also I’m genetically related to Dick.” Jason was here, at least, for this bomb. He’d be able to keep Peter safe if someone reacted badly.
“Oh, cool,” said Tim, finally looking up. “How’d Teresa happen?”
Peter frowned. Did they really not care about him being from another dimension?
“Remeber Mary? Turns out she was pregnant when she left me so the kid she had with her husband was actually mine,” Dick blurted so fast it was hard to understand.
Jason grinned. “Aww did little Dickie not use protection on his-” He was interrupted as pillow flew into his face.
Bruce cleared his throat. “There are children in the room. I am happy that we are getting to know Peter and Teresa now. Peter, would you like to tell us your story?”
“Sure. I grew up in Queens, New York of my dimension. I was murdered and woke up here.”
The bats all looked hurt at Peter’s words. Cass waved Peter’s attention on her and signed, “How?”
He smiled sadly and said, “The villain of the week was burning down my dead aunts homeless shelter. I came in to help and he shot me.”
Jason gave him a suspicious look before dragging Peter into a hug. “I can guess what really happened. Don’t do that again.”
Peter rolled his eyes. “I’m not planning to. Teresa is here. I’m not leaving her.”
DIck raised his hand and waited till Peter raised an eyebrow in question. “So is that why you are related to me?”
“Yep! My dad name was Richard Parker and my moms Mary Parker. My grandma worked in the circus for a while and dated a Grayson so I’m guessing thats where the divergence is. It is good to know that Teresa is my blood sibling, even if a little more complicated than normal!”
“What about the other inconsistencies in your genetics?” Tim asked, taking a sip of his coffee.
“I’’m not sure.” Yeah, let's just say I’m Spider-Man. Hah. “Maybe it’s because I’m from another dimension or because of how I was brought back. I don’t know enough about genetics to come up with anything else.” Like being bitten by a radioactive spider.
Jason snorted. “Only you, kid. Only you.”
Tim hummed in thought and started typing on his laptop again.
Steph exclaimed, “Wait! That means you are genetically in the family! You guys are twinning with Damian!”
“Ah, Teresa is your niece, Dami!” Peter teased.
Damian didn’t get upset that Peter was expecting but rather looked at Teresa curiously. “Do you like animals?”
Teresa nodded eagerly, curls bouncing.
“Acceptable. Follow me,” Damian declared as he led Teresa out by her hand.
“Well thats a shocker,” Jason admitted. “I think that got me more than anything else.”
The rest of the kids nodded in agreement while Bruce just sighed. The family was growing and the complications with it.
Bonus:
MEME TEAM
(Jason added Peter)
Jason: Hey Kid!
Peter: Hello everyone :D
Cass: How’s The New Phone
Peter: It works. Not as nice as the phone the other billionaire that adopted me gave me >_<*
(multiple people are typing)
Tim: WTF
Damian: Explain, Parker
Peter: well im actually Peter Parker Stark Wayne now, Dami :3
Peter: but yeah
Peter: Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, adopted me for a while ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Jason: Damn, kid. He die too?
Peter: No actually '-'
Peter: I said kinda dead when I mentioned it to you
Peter: A wizard cast a spell that made everyone forget me ;|
(multiple people are typing)
Jason: I’m coming to get you. Don’t move.
Steph: Ooh cuddle time? I’m in❣️
Dick: WHERE? Don’t forget me ✨
Damian: Why do you feel the need to use that emoji every time, Grayson?
Dick: Why not? ✨
Duke: I’ll grab Tim. Should we pull up a movie?
Cass: Peter Likes Star Wars
Peter: …
Peter: That is correct ¬_¬
Peter: I am only mildly terrified but mostly curious
Peter: Whats my favorite color?
Cass: Red
Peter: Deepest fear?
Cass: Really? Too Easy
Peter: oh tru x-x
Peter: A secret?
Cass: 🤨
Peter: Oh yeah •×•
Peter: I forgot you knew XD
Jason: I know it!
Dick: Where tf are you guys? ✨
Dick: Also what secret? I want to know? ✨
Jason: No. I’m not telling you either.
Dick: Rude ✨
Dick: Cass I’ll give you my desert when Alfred gets back if you tell me ✨
Cass: 🤨
Cass: Family Room
Cass: By Kitchen
Dick: … ✨
Dick: Why didn’t anyone tell me Jason had a gun ✨
Duke: Because he threatened us with it first
Jason: Scaredy Cats! We are going to watch the movie without you 😜
Dick: 😭 ✨
Notes:
Sooo me finishing this 2 hours means that Ch17 might be posted before I go camping next week which means we are less than two weeks away from the end of this fic... Ch 18 will be the end although I may add another work full of one-shots and continuations for this.
Uhh Ch17 will be posted Wednesday? (I don't know anymore... I posted Ch15 yesterday and here we are.)
Subscriptions: 257 Hits: 9,001 Kudos: 505 Comment Threads: 97 Bookmarks: 204
Chapter 17
Summary:
Peter, Teresa, and Damian bond. Peter explores Gotham and has a run in with a rogue.
'Dick: WHY DID NO ONE SAY ANYTHING ✨
Jason: Because
Jason: You like Nissan.
Dick: … Nissan? ✨
Jason: Your Nissan the ground while you suck m
Babs: Jason lost texting privileges
Babs: There are children in this chat
Dick: *Dramatic Sigh* ✨
Tim: you walked into that one man’
WARNING: TORTURE AND DISCUSSIONS OF CANNIBALISM
^I put a second warning right before the torture starts. It’s not terrible (NO skinning or burning or anything. Broken bones and a pulled fingernail is it)
Notes:
This is the latest I have ever posted a chapter (it’s like 10pm). I honestly thought I wasn’t going to be able finish this in time and that I’d just have to post the first half since I didn’t want to leave on a cliffhanger. But I did it!
I didn’t edit this my normal way since I was rushed so feel free to point out any errors. They’re like a 98% chance I won’t have reception till Saturday afternoon so any changes will have to wait.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Peter sighs and looks down at his phone. It’s been a few weeks since the fire. He nor Teresa have been to school in that time. Bruce had said he talked to the schools and handled it but that could mean anything. He could have told the schools the truth about the fire and the siblings getting adopted by the Waynes. He could have lied or bribed.
Today had been his first day back. There was only a week or two left in the semester which meant finals. Sure, the classes were easy but Peter hadn’t even thought about school in weeks.
As a reward for finally returning to school, Teresa wanted to go to the Bat Burger but Bruce was unrelenting about the siblings having one of the other kids with them. It was almost enough to make Peter tell him he was Spider-Man just for a little bit of freedom. Sure, Jason took him on patrols but he was feeling caged in. School wasn’t even a reprieve from the confines of the manor.
Damian had been the only Wayne free and had been forced convinced into coming by Teresa. The boy was scowling as he was dragged along by Teresa, who had promptly grabbed both their hands when they picked her up and started skipping along.
As they neared the Bat Burger, Peter could hear a strange scuffle in the alley. He paused for a moment. It wouldn’t be safe to bring Teresa if it was a fight, even with Robin tagging along.
“Hey, Dami! Can you take Teresa in and get us some food? You can get me anything and Teresa knows what she wants. Thanks!” Peter blurted, walking off in a random direction until he saw Damian frown and guide Teresa inside.
Peter jogged to the alley and gasped when he saw a tiny black kitten with its head stuck in a jar. The poor thing was trying to free itself but was only managing to drag the jar around pitifully.
“Hello there, little guy. I’m going to help you get free, okay?” He said calmly, gently wrapping his hands around the kitten, wincing as it dug its claws in to defend itself.
The kitten's head had only swelled from its struggles so it refused to squeeze out the way it came in. With a sigh, Peter gently squeezed the jar until it broke into large shards. He used the stickiness of his hands to keep the shards from injuring the kitten further. It took a few repetitions before its head was free.
Peter stroked its head a few times before it gave him a hoarse hiss. The little guy was too small to be without its mother so it likely had worn out its voice crying for her.
An idea popped into his head and he wondered how to get the feisty guy to somewhere safe. He took off his scarf and swaddled the kitten, carefully leaving his head poked free. Just like with babies, the kitten slowly relaxed and closed its blue eyes.
“Peter!” Damian called out from the street.
Peter held the kitten close and made his way out. “Right here, Dami! I found a little friend.”
Damian rushed over immediately, frowning. He took the kitten into his hands like it was made from glass. “This kitten is too young to be away from its mother. Where did you find it?”
Peter gestured behind him before stating, “I already looked. There’s nothing alive in that alley.” Well, he hadn’t looked but he had listened.
Damian frowned harder, stroking the kitten's head gently. “How did you know to look?”
“I thought I heard something. I went to take a look around and saw the little guy with his head stuck in a jar. How old do you think he is?”
“Tt. Another example of human trash harming animals. I’d say he is around 5 or 6 weeks.” Damian gently lifted the kitten's gums, showing his sharp teeth and pale gums. “He had his teeth, which means his mother was weaning him. He is somewhat dirty and dehydrated meaning he has been away from his mother for a day or two. He will need immediate care. Come, there is a veterinarian this way.”
The trio walked to the vet, Teresa asking questions about the kitten. Damian had taken her Bat-Cow almost every day since he found out she was his niece so it was no surprise when she named the kitten ‘Bat-Cat.’
“Damian! It’s a pleasure to see you again! How is Alfred doing?” The receptionist at the vet greeted warmly.
Damian nodded, holding out the kitten. “Alfred is doing fine. We found this little guy with his head stuck in a jar. Is Dr. Anderson in?”
“Aww,” she cooed. “I’ll grab her right away. Are you going to foster this one?”
Damian looked conflicted for a moment before glancing at a worried Teresa and an amused Peter. He sighed and nodded before pulling out his phone to text the family. The receptionist cooed again and walked into the back.
Peter pulled out his own phone to see what excuse Damian used.
MEME TEAM
Damian: Peter has found a kitten.
Damian: We shall be keeping him.
Steph: pictures or it’s cap 🧢
Damian: Bat-Cat
Jason: Oh, no. He’s already named it.
Peter: actually 🤓
Peter: Teresa named him :D
Steph: I’m dying 😭
Steph: I will fight god to let us keep him 👊 ❤️
Cass: ^
Peter: ^^ (ง• ₒ•)ง
Duke: ^^^
Tim: another cat? We already have Alfred the Cat
Steph: ratio
Peter: ratio
Cass: ^
Alfred: I shall prepare the kitten supplies for Bat-Cat
Bruce: I suppose we can have another cat…
Peter: wait have you been here all along Mr. Wayne >:[
Tim: oh yeah, he just never reads this chat
(Cass added Babs)
Babs: omg he is adorable❤️❤️❤️
Duke: Babs? I thought you were already in this chat
Babs: nope! I just read everything in it 😏
Tim: ignoring how invasive that is, are we really getting another cat
Steph: Tim. I will hurt you.
Cass: ^
Damian: That is a daft way to type but ^
Damian: I will store my sword inside of your body if you so much as glance negativity at Bat-Cat.
Cass: ^
Steph: ^^
Peter: Bat-Cats nickname shall be Brucey and Jar Jar Binks 😍
Tim: 👀
Duke: 👀
Steph: why Jar Jar Binks
Peter: oh
Peter: I found him with his head stuck in a jar 🫙 🐈
Dick: HEY! ✨
Dick: I’m at work. Why are you spamming my phone? ✨
Jason: Oh, no reason.
Dick: … ✨
Dick: I don’t believe you but I’m solving a murder so I can’t actually look ✨
Steph: you’ll see 😝
Cass: ^
Duke: you guys are mean sometimes
—
Peter chuckled and put his phone down as the vet walked in.
“Damian! And who do we have here?” Dr. Anderson exclaimed, gesturing at the kitten.
Damian cleared his throat. “This is Bat-Cat. He was found shortly ago with his head in a jar. Please give him a health check.”
The doctor nodded with a kind smile before holding her hands out for the kitten. “I’ll be right back. I’ll take good care of the little guy.”
Peter looked down as his phone buzzed again.
MEME TEAM
Dick: A NEW KITTEN ✨
Dick: WHY DID NO ONE SAY ANYTHING ✨
Jason: Because
Jason: You like Nissan.
Dick: … Nissan? ✨
Jason: Your Nissan the ground while you suck m
Babs: Jason lost texting privileges
Babs: There are children in this chat
Dick: *Dramatic Sigh* ✨
Tim: you walked into that one man
Alfred: video.gif
Alfred: Do you remember this foster kitten, Master Damian?
Steph: Subtle, Alfie. Real subtle
Tim: I mean, we should probably move away from talking about dicks
Babs: 🤨
Tim: uhh
Tim: I’m sorry. Please don’t take away my texting
Babs: Safe
Babs: for now
Tim: I think I’ll go help Alfred
Steph: is that kitten fighting a hairbrush? It looks like Cass 🐈
Cass: ^
Peter: does Cass not like hairbrushes?
Cass: no
Peter: can I do your hair sometime?
Steph: WHAT
Steph: WHY NOT ME 😭
Peter: I’ll do yours too!
Cass: Maybe.
Peter: I can do Steph’s while you watch if it helps!
Peter: I like doing hair &:)
Peter: I did it all the time with my last family
Dick: ooh do me!! ✨
Peter: no.
Dick: 😭 ✨
Steph: ooooh Burn!
Cass: ^
Babs: what about mine?
Peter: sure!
Babs: yesss 🤩
Damian: Do not force Peter to slave over you.
Jason(2): Did you just…
Babs: Hey! How’d you get back here!
Jason(2): I have more than one phone.
Jason(3): You can freeze as many as you want.
Babs: 😑
Dick: Did baby bat just threaten us for Peter?!? ✨
Bruce: Names.
Dick: Did baby D just threaten us for Peter?!? ✨
Duke: I think he did…
Duke: I’m offended and scared…
Peter: Aww thanks Dami! (=^・^=)
—
A door shut causing the trio to look up. Dr. Anderson walked in a small carrier.
“Looks like you got to the little guy before he became critical! He’s got spunk, that’s for sure!
“He will be perfectly fine as long as you follow the typical instructions which I believe you know, Damian. I have him on a heating pad in there so he should be safe to eat when you arrive home. I recommend mixing formula and wet food for a while until he gains some weight. Any questions?”
Damian took to the carrier and thanked the woman before pushing Peter and Teresa out the door. Alfred was outside with a car.
“That was fast!” Peter exclaimed. “It hasn’t been that long since you said you were getting kitten supplies ready!”
Alfred’s face twitched into a smirk for a moment before returning to a pleasant smile. He guided them all into the car and quietly drove them home.
Once home, Alfred guided the group to a room Peter hadn’t explored yet. It had waterproof vinyl on the walls and soft mats on the floor. A small pen sat in a corner with a heating pad, a few soft toys, and a litter box. Soft white noise played with a heartbeat in the background.
“Why don’t we put Bat-Cat in his pen and give him some time to decompress while making him some food?” Alfred suggested.
Once Bat-Cat’s carrier had been opened for him, Alfred guided them to the small kitchenette in the room. “Miss Teresa, will you grab me a can of wet food from that drawer? Master Damian, I believe you know how to make the formula. Would you please instruct Peter?”
Alfred gently guided Teresa on how much wet food to put in the dish while Damian showed Peter how to make the forums with terse demands. Once the two had been mixed, they set the gruel in front of where Brucey had been wandering.
The kitten immediately began eating, covering his face in the mixture. “Ah, that is a good sign. Remember Noctis, Master Damian?”
Damian hugged. “Noctis was quite stubborn. He refused to eat from anything other than the syringe. This will make nighttime feeding much easier.”
Teresa cooed over the kitten as it got gruel over its legs and chest in addition to its face.
“I think he has more of it on him than in his stomach…” Peter commented and laughed and Damian’s eye roll. “So what are the instructions for caring for him?”
“That is normal. He will learn to eat cleanse over time. We have special wipes to clean him off after he eats. He is old enough that we do not need to aid him in going to the bathroom, however we do need to make sure he stays clean when he inevitably gets feces on himself.
“As for feeding, we shall create a schedule and rotate who feeds. While he is this small, it is important that we feed him at least one during the night. Alfred and I are typically up at midnight so that shall not be an issue.
“Alfred will care for him while we are at school while Teresa and one of the caretakers who did not feed during the night can provide food and cleaning in the morning and evening.”
Peter blinked in shock. “That is the most I’ve heard you say, Dami!” He exclaimed while ruffling the boy's hair.
Damian batted his hand away, scolding,“Tt. Control yourself. Were the instructions understandable or do I need to repeat myself?”
“Nope! I got it! I’m up at midnight a lot too so you can count me in on the night time feedings.”
Damian shot him a concerned look. “If you are suffering from nightmares, Alfred has cookies and warm drinks in the kitchen. It is nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Aww, you do care, Dami!” Peter teased, wrapping the boy in a hug.
Alfred cleared his throat gently. “I think Bat-Cat deserves some rest. Might I suggest some cookies in the kitchen? I believe we were celebrating your first day back at school.”
Peter glanced around warily as he walked through Gotham. He knew Bruce would be mad but he wanted to get Bat-Cat some new toys and no one was free to go with him. Teresa had gone home earlier in the day with a mild fever so it wasn’t like he was going to be missed. He wouldn't be surprised if a Bat somehow appeared but he was close to the store he saw cute toys at once.
Gotham was growing dark as time passed, an evening storm rolling in. It hadn’t started raining yet but Peter didn’t have much longer before he’d be caught in the downpour. The bright lights in the store were blinding compared to the shadowed streets.
The toy he remembered was in the same spot as last time. He grinned and checked out using some money he had ‘found’ while helping Alfred clean. (Rich people weren’t very subtle. He had declined their money over and over. He even laughed at their faces when he tried to return the money he found cleaning but Alfred convinced him to keep it so as to not make him guilty for putting Peter to work.)
The air was still when he left the shop and it put his hair on end. Even the gangs that wandered the streets were home safe tonight. It was eerie. Almost as if it was more than the storm.
Feet hit the ground behind Peter, startling him. He spun around, ready to fight only to relax at the sight of Red Robin.
The vigilante turned his head slightly and whispered into his comm, too low for an average person to hear, “Found him. Bringing him back now.”
Tim waved, body language loose and easy. “Hey there! I believe your family is looking for you. Can I walk you back?”
Peter snorted but shrugged anyway. “Sure. I was headed back anyway. I just wanted to get a toy for Bat-Cat.”
“And your father couldn’t have just ordered it online?”
Peter blinked. “Oh, yeah. I forgot that rich people can do that. It’s fine. No one’s even out tonight.”
Red Robin clicked his tongue in disapproval. “No one’s out because Joker is planning an attack tonight.”
Peter slapped his palm onto his face. “That makes a lot of sense. I should have guessed when I heard Red Hood muttering about a clown freak ruining a perfectly good day.” Technically, Peter didn’t know if Jason wasn’t in the Red Hood outfit when he said that but he had heard him raging in the cave.
“Do you talk to Red Hood often?” Tim questioned, trying to sound innocent.
Peter smirked. “Aww, are you jealous? Don’t worry, I think you're cuter than him.”
A blush painted Tim’s cheeks, just barely visible in the darkness.
“Hey, were your parents pastry chefs?”
Tim reeled at the sudden topic change. “No, why?”
Peter grinned harder. “Because you're a sweetie.”
Tim choked for a moment, face beet red. With forced composure, he stated, “Come on, let’s get you home before anyone worries.”
Peter waved his hand to dismiss the comment but started walking. “Eh, they are already worried. You wouldn’t be here if they weren’t.”
“What do you mean by that?” Red Robin asked, suspicious.
Peter’s spidey-sense screamed, warning him something was coming. He looked around, trying to see anything but the streets were empty. He flinched when a dart stuck into neck, another shortly following to hit Tim.
Red Robin dropped like a bag of rocks, head hitting the ground in a concerning way. Peter blinked away the grogginess and clicked the emergency combination on his phone. He moved to drag Tim somewhere safe but two more darts needled into him. He stared mournfully as his body went limp and the cat toy fell into a puddle. Darkness overtook his vision as his body thumped into the ground.
A groan broke through Peter’s lips as he returned to his body. His eyes felt sticky and he lacked the energy to force them open. He went to wipe his eyes but cold metal on his wrist and upper arm stopped it. His eyes shot open at that.
He was in what seemed to be a trashed apartment. Food containers, cups, and other trash littered every surface. Weapons and tools were layered on the trash littering the table. The whole place stank of mold and body odor. A turn of his head showed Tim, still dressed in Red Robin suit, in a similar position to him. Both boys were held onto upright boards by heavy cuffs.
Peter put my pressure into the cuffs but they refused to break. Was he still too drugged or did whoever behind this know he was enhanced?
Tim groaned from beside him, head lolling as he tried to hold it up.
“Tim,” Peter whispered. “You okay?”
“Wha- Where are we?” The boy asked groggily.
“I wish I knew.”
As if knowing they were awake, the door to the apartment was thrown open and a hideously dressed clown sauntered in. “Hello, Ladies and Gents! Tonight performance is a special one-“
Peter cleared his throat, interrupting the fugly clown. “Actually, it’s not looked favorably upon to use ‘ladies and gentlemen’ anymore. I recommend ‘guy, gals, and non-binary pals’ or just stick with the roots and say ‘y’all’ or ‘everybody.’”
Both Tim and the clown gave Peter quite the look. Tim looked like he was going to pass out again, which he probably was. The clown looked… offended? Murderous? Hard to say.
“Oh, we have a funny one. Haven’t had one of those since the first Robin.”
Peter hummed and nodded sagely. “That's true. Although, one problem: I’m not a Robin nor will I be.”
The clown smiled, bringing his face close to Peters. “Not planning on continuing dear old dads legacy? Quite the unique little bird.”
“Hm, ‘fraid not. The Robin costumes are quite gaudy if you ask me. Actually, on that topic, are you, by chance, colorblind? Because I’m not sure how you managed to find such a hideous combination. If you need help, I have an app that helps create complimenting outfits! I’m sure we can find some to go with your skin tone. Highlighter white, hmm. I think pastels go nicely!”
Idiot-Clown looked furious once more and took a step back. “It seems no one has taught you any manners, little bird. I’m afraid that I will have to wait, however, I need to deal with the little Robin over here.”
Murder-Clown pulled out a phone and cackled as he began to call someone. It felt like the phone rang for years until it clicked and Batman’s distinct voice growled out, “Who is this?”
Joker cackled and aimed the phone at Peter and Tim. “Batsy! Long time, no see! I seem to have caught two little birds in my net.”
Peter waved his hand at the camera and smiled while Tim just stared, pale.
“Joker. What have you done now?”
“Tsk. Tsk. No ‘hello?’ No ‘how are you doing?’ My, your newest bird sure takes after your manners. I’ll make you a deal, Batsy. Find me, disarm my traps, and you can have your baby birds back.” Joker paused dramatically before drawling, “However, each trap you set off breaks another baby birds bone to add another layer of drama.”
Bruce growled, “Don't touch them.”
“Oh, dear. Does Daddy Bat not believe me? Shall I offer a demonstration,” Joker cackled, grabbing a hammer from the table. He set the phone up on a tripod stand, offering a perfect view of the boys. He sauntered over, ignoring Batman’s threats.
⛔️— WARNING: TORTURE — ⛔️
“Hmm, eenie meenie miney moe, I think I shall break this birdie's toe.” Joke walked up to Tim, running a hand down the boy's cheek. “Nah, just kidding. It’s more fitting to break a wing.” Red Robin screamed as Joker brought the hammer down on his arm, bending it unnaturally.
“You have an hour, Batsy. Otherwise, I’m having fried Robin for dinner.” The color-blind clown clicked the phone off and turned to the boys with a grin. Tim was still panting, occasionally groaning at the waves of pain. Peter stared. “So, how was my performance? Stunning, right?”
Peter shrugged the best he could and put a disappointed tone in his voice. “You know, I thought Killer Clowns went away in, like, 2016. Not very unique, my guy. Honestly, I’m not impressed. The whole threanting and torture thing is so unoriginal. Let me guess, Batman is going to get through the traps and you are going to tell him he either saved us or deals with the bombs you planted around the city.”
The clown's look of guilty offense was enough to make Peter laugh. “Come on, man! You can’t seriously think doing the same thing over and over will even affect Batman at this point. How many times have you kidnapped his Robins? His kids? And the cannibal comments? Have you seen what Red Robin eats? I’m disgusted just watching it!
“I mean you even killed one and we are still bored of you. You try to act like a showman but you are just a hallmark movie. Same plot, different actors, a tiny tweak. At least ‘Condiment-King’ is original.”
Joker snarled. Bingo. Peter had found the buttons. “Aww, you’re jealous! If you want, I can help you come up with something unique but you gotta drop the clown thing first. That’s too overused. Hmm. Oh! I know! Toilet-Man! You can flood the streets with feces every so often! Now that’s unique.”
Ass-Clown growled, scowling and picked up a random weapon off the table. “I’d like to break this little birdies song but it can wait. I want your thoughts on my performance.”
“I doubt it will be original.” That was the straw that broke the Joker back. The clown grinned and brought the hammer down on Peter's knee. He thrashed as he groaned in pain. Sure it hurt but the pain of knowing that if he broke out of the cuffs, he couldn’t run, was worse.
Killer-Clown cackled. “One flightless bird. One legless bird. Hmm, maybe ground chicken will be tasty.”
“Ew. Ground chicken sounds disgusting,” Peter bit through the pain, dramatically gagging in faux disgust.
The Joker sighed in exaggerated exasperation. He perked right up when his phone dinged a few times. “Oh, goody! One of Batman’s birds set off a trap. Who’s wings shall I clip next…?”
Shit. “Hey, what’s up with these cuffs anyway? Why such heavy duty ones?”
Ass-Clown grinned wider. “You like them? Last time a little birdy told Superman and he interrupted my show! I figured I’d test these out and see if they slowed him down.”
Peter nodded. “Hmm. I guess he doesn’t appreciate birthday-party comedians. Don’t worry, I’m sure the kids love you! It just takes a certain… low-level humor to appreciate your jokes.”
“It seems this birdy is volunteering! I do love when the audience interacts. Where o’ where to tenderize next on this spring chicken.”
“Aww, you think I’m a spring chicken? How sweet!” Peter clenched his jaw as Joker moved closer, running the hammer along his body.
“I already did a chicken leg. Maybe a wing next… Ah I know! Let’s trim those spurs!” He cheered while bringing the hammer down on Peter's hand. Peter whimpered but refused to scream. He could do this. He’s been through worse. He took a few shaky breathes, trying to separate the pain from himself.
“Tsk. You are quite a disappointing audience. Maybe I should move to the little Robin,” he proclaimed, looking at Tim’s now passed-out figure. When did that happen? “Oh, I know! Maybe I should bring in another audience member. I saw Batsy got another new baby bird.”
Joker clicked his tongue a few times in thought, rubbing a finger on his jaw. “Tiffany? Taco? Tabitha? Ah, Teresa. I bet she’d give me quite a performance.”
Peter had done so well controlling the rage that bubbled deep inside his chest. He’d kept his cool when the Wayne’s grilled him. He stayed positive when Bruce wouldn’t let him go out alone. But this? This was the breaking point.
A snarl tore through Peter. He fought against the cuffs but couldn’t even make it groan. “Oh, that got a reaction. Curious,” Butt-Clown purred. “I wonder… Little birdy, is she your weakness? I thought it was going to be Lovebird over here but, ooh, that is much better.”
Joker brought his hand to run it down Peter's face, laughing at the boy growled. “I bet she is a screamer. Hmm, would she scream if I fed her her own nails? Or, oh! Maybe she would like her brother's fried legs better.”
Peter growled, “Cannibalism doesn’t suit you. I think death would.”
Joker feigned shock. “Baby bird! What a naughty thing to say! Daddy Bat wouldn’t like that, I’m afraid. Hmm I’ll let you decide, shall I tattle or shall you lose… a claw!”
Peter just growled again, fighting his restraints. Joker just cackled in glee and grabbed a pair of pliers. “Nail it is! Stay still, now. You don’t want to lose the finger. I rather think Teresa will enjoy eating this.”
The man giggled in glee and pulled the finger nail off. It burned. He groaned in pain. He thrashed and clenched his jaw, a high pitched whine escaping. He panted when Joker finished, pain flaring from almost every limb. His thrashing didn’t help his previous injuries.
The Joker grinned and showed Peter his prize. “Actually, I rather think you deserve the first bite. You have plenty more.”
He leaned his face close to Peter and brought the pliers up. Peter turned his head away from the bloody nail. “Open up or this becomes Teresa’s first bite.”
That did it. Peter’s eyes snapped to the man and he snarled. His head shot forward and he dug his teeth into the man’s neck. The Joker shrieked and tried to pull away but only aided Peter. The man finally freed himself, Peter spitting the piece of neck onto him.
He sent fist in Peter's face, knocking at least one tooth out. The acid hot tub he took a dip in must have given him a bit of extra strength because his teeth didn’t normally do that.
The taste of bitter blood in his mouth drew him out of the rage. He spit it at the man dramatically, a tooth or two flying with. “Oh, gross! Why is it spicy? You taste like face wash. Did you forget to rinse your neck or did the acid vat make your blood taste like this? Eww.”
Peter spit another glob of bloody spit onto the man, dramatically gagging. “I think I might actually throw up. You taste worse than face wash, bug spray, and a tide pod burned into the new Nintendo game cartridges. Ugh.”
Tim groaned before asking, his words slurred, “Did you do the Tide Pod challenge? Batman wouldn’t let us.”
“Oh hey, welcome back! I think I got banned from the lab for months after doing it. Plus, they forced me to eat activated charcoal and that shit nasty.”
Red Robin nodded seriously, flinching as his throbbed. “Yeah, Batman threatened to take away every electronic we owned. I gave up at that point but Red Hood kept pushing until B threatened to burn one of his favorite first edition books.”
The Joker looked furious as the pair chatted as though he wasn’t there. He pressed his hand on his neck, trying to stop the heavy bleeding, before scrambling to grab his phone.
Ass-Clown grinned and pointed the camera at Peter before calling Batman. “Hey-ya Bats, you got a feisty little bird. Do you know what farmers do to birds like this? Put them down.” The fugly clown cackled before hanging up on Batman.
“Oof. I really don't want to die again so can we just not?”
“Oh? Do you have something to offer?” Joker drawled eagerly.
Peter shrugged. “Other than my witty charm, amazing jokes, Toilet-Man idea, and killer bite?”
The killer-clown tutted, running his hand over the weapons on his table. He hummed in thought as he paused on a weapon just out of sight before moving on. He grinned as he landed on a crowbar.
He swung it like a baseball bat a few times, grinning as he got a feel for it. The man walked dramatically slow towards Peter, smirking as he twirled the crowbar. He looked quite intimidating with the blood running down his neck although it was diminished slightly as he stumbled.
“Did you know that I used this crowbar to kill a little Robin? It’s only poetic that I use it on you.”
“Really? Because I’m not a bird. I think I’m more of an insect if I’m honest.” He casually shrugged, hiding the terror stabbing into him.
Ass-Clown got a few steps away before he paused, reaching up to clutch his throat. He started wheezing, foam beginning to bubble out of his mouth. Within a few seconds, he collapsed, seizures wracking his body.
“Damn, sorry man. If I wasn’t tied up, I’d help,” Peter quipped, a giggle running down his throat. He could hear Joker's heart stop. The man was dead. Peter could feel his less injured hand shake as the adrenaline wore off.
“Holy shit. Is he dead?” Tim exclaimed, scrunching his face as he blinked to clear his vision. He would need to be checked for a concussion.
Peter groaned, pain catching up as the adrenaline faded. “Yep. Ding-Dong the Joker's dead. Dead as a doornail. Pushing up daisies. Dead a dodo. Kicked the bucket. Off to Grandpa's farm.” Peter giggled after he spoke. Hmm. He was going to shock. Nothing he could do right now.
Tim glanced between the dead body and Peter before sluggishly mumbling, “How’d that happen? He’s never done that before.”
Peter broke out in laughter at that, tears streaming down his face. “He finally did something original. Sure, others have done it before and everyone will do it but it’s something new for him.”
Tim frowned at Peter. Peter smiled back. The door broke open causing both teens to flinch and look towards the noise. Batman, Red Hood and Nightwing walked into the apartment, weapons trained at the dead body.
Peter cleared his throat before announcing, “He’s dead.”
Red Hood stared at Peter, emitting hope. “Really? How?”
“No heartbeat. Not sure how he died. Blood loss? I bit him.”
Red Hood walked over to Peter and patted his head. “You will always be my favorite now.” He turned back to the body and felt for a pulse. He chuckled manically as he felt nothing.
The room froze once more as the window shattered and a vine carried his aunts into the room.
“Aunt Ivy! Aunt Harley! Yay! I have good news! The Jokers dead,” Peter chirped, ignoring the stares he was getting.
“Holy shit! Really? I think I might kiss you,” Harley exclaimed, bouncing over to Peter. Ivy drug her back with a vine, smiling the whole time.
“Good job, kid,” Ivy praised. Peter blushed. Ivy praised him often at work but she was normally hard to please. It made him happy when he earned her praise.
Red Hood cackled again and pulled out his phone to take a selfie with the body, holding up peace signs. He shifted to get better light and flipped the bird at Joker.
“As much fun as taking pictures with a dead body is, Tim needs medical care. He has a broken arm and what I think is a severe concussion.” Peter was worried. The boy had passed out for quite a while.
Ivy left Harley who was taking a photo with Red Hood and started looking Peter's cuffs over. She hummed in thought before pulling a small seed out of her pocket. She slipped the seed in and grew it until the lock popped open. With a grin, she repeated it on all of the cuffs.
Batman and Nightwing just stared. Were they okay? Peter hopped on one leg over to them and waved his hand in front of their face.
With identical movement, both startled backwards and stared at Peter. Nightwing exclaimed, “Pet- I mean, random child! We are here to rescue you!”
“Oh, I’m good. Tim needs rescuing now.” Peter snorted at their faces. They both looked constipated. “Oh, is this about the whole secret furry identity? Yeah I’ve known for ages.”
Batman’s face twitched. “How?”
“Oh I found the Bat Cave!” Peter exclaimed with more energy than he had. He needed to sit.
“You aren’t supposed to know.”
“Uhh, I can’t exactly forget it. Would it help if I told you I was Spider-Man?” No point in keeping it secret anymore. They’d surely notice when he healed broken bones in less than a week.
The seemed to be too much for him as Batman turned and walked stiffly towards Tim. Ivy had broken Tim out of the cuffs and was helping him find somewhere comfortable to sit. She tensed as Batman approached and rolled her eyes when the man pretended she wasn’t there.
Nightwing rested a hand on Peter's shoulder and pulled him into a hug.
“Oh shit. I’m going to pass out now,” Peter stated, the hug increasing the pain from his broken arm just enough to overwhelm him.
He woke up a few moments later to Jason and Harley dancing around Joker singing, “Ding Dong the Jokers Dead. Which old clown? The wicked clown! Ding Dong the Jokers dead!”
He grunted out a laugh before passing out again.
The next time he woke, his leg was being operated on. Good. If it healed while the bone was in shards, it would be stuck that way until he broke it again. They must have given the good stuff because while he was awake, he felt detached from the pain. Eventually he grew bored of watching and drifted off again.
He startled awake as a metal tray clattered on the floor. He sat up as quickly as he could and when his vision cleared, he saw Tim quietly cursing out a tray of random technology bits.
“I think it’s easier to build it on the table than the floor,” Peter croaked, resisting the urge to scratch at his gums.
Tim shrieked and jumped out of bed, holding his hand over his heart. “Don’t scare me like that!”
Alfred hurried into the room, looking for the cause of the disruptions before offering a pleasant smile to Peter. “Master Peter, it is good to see you awake. How about some water and a snack?”
Peter nodded in lieu of trying to speak again. Alfred poured him a glass of water and pressed into his hand. This brought attention to the cast surrounding one of his hands. He was already itchy under it.
Alfred gave Peter’s shoulder a squeeze. “You had us worried there! We will be having a discussion on keeping us aware of your location however I am quite proud of you for staying alive as long as you did. I am rather impressed by how little injuries you walked out with.”
Peter gave the older man a smile, leaning into the hand still on his shoulder. “How’d the Joker end up dying?”
A voice at the door startled them. “Jumping right into it, I see!” Peter mourned the loss of the hand on his shoulder but stuck his tongue out at Dick in greeting. “Turns out you're venomous! Congrats.”
Peter blinked in shock. When he had gotten venomous? Was that another effect of the lazarus water? “Ok. I’m going to pretend that doesn’t weird me out and ask how much trouble I’m in for killing the Joker.”
Dick looked offended. “You aren’t in trouble! In fact, I think all of us are secretly and not so secretly glad you did it. It was an accident and self-defense so there won’t be any consequences other than a happy city. I think Bruce is more upset about you calling Harley and Ivy ‘aunt’ when you still don’t talk to him much.”
Peter chuckled. He felt bad for killing someone, of course! But the Joker had hurt his family, had killed Jason, had hurt him and was going to hurt Teresa. The man would have never stopped going after her.
His stomach was tight at the thought of murder but his heart rejoiced. Even more, the bubbly rage he felt was purring in satisfaction. It was happy he had protected his family.
He would probably feel more upset about the whole situation whenever he had energy again. Until then, he was going to let his rage and his heart celebrate. His stomach wouldn’t be far behind when Alfred brought comfort food and cookies.
He smiled when Alfred set a small bowl of soup in front of him. Dick gasped dramatically and stuck his fingers in Peter's mouth. “Are those teeth coming in? Oooh, I’m so jealous. I’ve had to get so many tooth implants.”
Peter spit out the offending fingers before scolding, “Go wash your hands! I’m venomous, remember? Also your hands taste like shit. I think soap tastes better.”
Dick dramatically fell backwards onto Tim’s bed, whining as he hit head on the tray Tim had just finished cleaning up. The tray flipped into Dicks face, small electronic bits covering him. “Ow.”
Tim let out a cry. “Dick! I just finished cleaning this up! Go wash your fucking hands and get right back here. Alfred, can you please help me make sure he cleans this up after washing his hands? Please?”
Alfred gave Tim a gentle smile before clearing the tray off of Dicks face and guiding the man out of the room. Dick sure knew how to lighten the mood.
Notes:
-all photos are of the kittens I fostered during quarantine. I cannot remember the hairbrush kittens name (maybe it was from the Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot litter?) but the black kitten was Noctis, my first ever foster kitten. I cried from stress like every day (I don’t cry. I hate it.) and I cried when I had to pass him on.
-joker is a cannibal now. Dunno how that happened. (Toad :] - “Girl Dinner”)
-I got the song Jason and Harley sang from Ding Dong the Jokers Dead by FicFinisher!
-Only one more chapter to go! It’ll probably be an epilogue or somethin (I have 0 plans for it so far, I just know that I’m not ending it here. If there’s anything you want to see, let me know)
-ch18 will probably be posted next Wednesday. I hoping I don’t end up writing and editing it at 10pm like this chapter *sigh*
Subscriptions: 295
Hits: 10,747
Kudos: 571
Comment Threads: 106
Bookmarks: 237
Chapter 18
Summary:
For the finale, Peter and the Bats chat.
' Tim’s phone dinged and he looked down to check it. With a deep sigh, he asked, “What powers did you get and how did you get them?”
Peter snorted. “Which one asked that? Mr. Wayne or Steph?”
“Bruce.” Tim rolled his eyes.
“You guys can come in if you want. I don’t mind talking about all this anymore,” Peter raised his voice so it could be heard in the hallway. '
Notes:
Well, folks... I said Wednesday but I wrote most of this in my notes app while camping and decided to treat everyone to an early finale. I tied up a few loose ends and left a few others open. I do have plans for a few one-shots after this (1. Bruce and Damian walking into BatCave while Peters at the bat computer and 2. Jason and Calvin and 3. The bats vs. Teresa first dad).
I will be going back and editing a few chapters when I have time and motivation but this is it! Its been a fun ride so enjoy this final piece of love.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“So you’re Spider-Man?”
Peter looked up from his phone to Tim lingering in the doorway of the family room. “Yeah.”
Tim shifted uncomfortably, scratching underneath his red cast. “When did you start?”
“When I was 14. You can come in, you know? I don’t bite. Well… not typically.”
Tim shuffled to a nearby couch and meticulously placed himself in the chair. “Heh, yeah. Why did you start being Spider-Man?”
Peter hummed for a moment, turning off his phone. “My uncle was murdered in front of me. I had already gotten my powers and had been really angry at everything. Bullies, being an orphan, and then having powers thrust on me. It was a lot. So when his last words to me were about me being responsible for using my powers in a good way, I turned to vigilantism.”
Tim looked thoughtful for a moment and Peter grinned at the tiny noises outside the door. Tim must have lost a bet to be the one to weasel information out of him. “That sounds like a lot of pressure for a 14-year-old.”
“Oh, it was! I made a lot of mistakes and a lot of people got hurt or died. I even tried to quit a couple of times but some of my rogues knew who I was behind the mask and kept pulling me into the fray. I tried to quit after I came here too but I wasn’t lucky enough for it to last.”
Tim’s phone dinged and he looked down to check it. With a deep sigh, he asked, “What powers did you get and how did you get them?”
Peter snorted. “Which one asked that? Mr. Wayne or Steph?”
“Bruce.” Tim rolled his eyes.
“You guys can come in if you want. I don’t mind talking about all this anymore,” Peter raised his voice so it could be heard in the hallway.
All of the Wayne’s walked in, including Jason, and found seats. Teresa was having a girl's day with Barbara in hopes of her attaching to someone other than Peter and Alfred.
“You wanted to know how I got my powers, right? I went on a field trip to Oscorp Labs, a company that did a lot of research into genetics. One of their genetically modified and definitely radioactive spiders got out and bit me. I got sick and woke up with clear vision, enhanced senses, super-strength, quick healing, and was sticky. It wasn’t until I woke up here that I got biological webs and, apparently, venom.”
Dick raised his hand and after Peter pointed at him, asked, “Is that why you are scared of spiders?”
Peter chuckled. “Yeah. Although I don’t think I’m the only one.”
The group laughed, everyone knowing Dick wasn’t a spider person.
“How did you learn to control your powers?” Duke asked next, leaning forward to hear Peter better.
Peter grinned. “Trial and error. I got stuck on a lot of stuff, crushed plenty of things, and had quite a few sensory overloads.”
Alfred cleared his throat and asked, “Is that what the medical devices you mentioned pertained to?”
“Yep! Mr. Stark made me glasses and earplugs that helped with sensory input. My last spider suit had them too.”
Jason grinned and blurted, “You forgot to mention your Peter Tingle!”
Peter blushed and hid his face in his hands. “I have a sixth sense that warns of danger. It’s actually why I didn’t trust you guys, minus Jason, when I first met you. Especially Mr. Wayne.”
Cass waved Peters's attention to her at that and signed, “Does that have anything to do with a certain foster father?”
Peter groaned and ran his hands down his face. “Maybe that too.”
“I actually have some questions about that,” Dick began. “I went to look into him and he pretty much disappeared in addition to any information CPS had on you. It took some searching but I found him in a coma at a hospital.”
Peter glanced over at Jason who had started whistling suspiciously. “Yeah, I may have told Jason about him. I wasn’t expecting that, though.”
“Fine! I gave the guy what he deserved and even dropped him off at a hospital. I didn’t murder him so don’t give me those looks! Barbara already knew. She helped me get rid of anything on Peter since clearly the system was worse for him than the streets.”
Bruce sighed in disappointment but turned to Peter to ask, “I would like to legal action against your foster father. Would you be open to discussing what all occurred during your stay there?”
“I’d rather not.” Peter rubbed the back of his neck. “I feel like he’s gotten punished enough and that’s even if he wakes up from the coma.”
“Ngh.” Bruce looked sour but didn’t say any more. Damian just scowled at Peter, frustrated with Peter’s undeserved kindness. Peter read Damian's scowl as his anger at Peter being weak. It hurt but he pushed it down and smiled sadly back.
Steph raised her said next, grinning when Peter pointed at her. “Tell us more about Mr. Stark!”
“Sure! I think I told everyone his whole thing already but he was my universes Bruce Wayne. A rich, superhero that the public saw as a playboy. He was part of a team similar to the Justice League called The Avengers. He and his team trained me when they were able to, which wasn’t often. They went on a lot of missions and were often busy when I stayed at the tower.”
“You said Stark was Bruce Wayne in your universe. Were there any other similar people?” Tim asked eagerly.
“Oh totally. If I go by personality, there’s an avenger for each of you. Cass is obviously Natasha Romanoff, master spy, and assassin. Totally a badass but super sweet if she likes you. She was my main trainer.” Cass nodded in acceptance.
“Damian would probably be Loki, an Asgardian god that loved knives. He only tried to take over the world once.” Damian twirled a knife he definitely didn’t have a moment ago.
“Steph, you kind of remind me of Thor. He was Lokis brother but was always joyful and loved poptarts.”
“I do love poptarts!” She exclaimed.
“Jason would probably be Bruce Banner. Bruce turned into a giant green guy named Hulk when he got angry. Bruce also had an appreciation for classic literature.” Jason blushed at the comparison but the rest of the group nodded.
“Dick, you’d probably be Clint. He was an archer named Hawkeye but he was super annoying.” Dick looked sad. “He was a good father, though. He had three kids who lived on a farm with his wife. He was actually partially deaf after an explosion.”
“Tim, you’re a lot like Bruce when he was calm. Both of you are extremely smart.”
Jason scowled. “Replacement is always replacing me.”
“I’m also out of Avengers however, I do have the perfect match. Tony crash landed in the middle of Tennessee and a kid found him. The kid was super smart, built potato launchers and everything. He ended up working at the tower for a while before I left. So, Tim, you are Harley Keener!”
“Aww, did you have a crush on Harley too?” Steph asked.
Peter blushed and chucked a pillow at her. “Moving on! There are similarities between the Avengers and the Justice League too but I don’t really know much about the league. Other than Wayne and Tony, I can see Hawkeye and Green Arrow as well as Flash and Quicksilver.”
Cass had on her thinking face for a moment before she grinned and caught Peter’s attention. “How did you find out our identities?”
Peter smirked. “I could hear bats below the manor and went to check it out! I found the Batcave and it was so cool! I really want to mess around in your lab.”
Tim narrowed his eyes. “Wait a minute. Was it you who Rick Rolled the bat computer?”
“Is that still stuck on there?” Peter smiled innocently.
Tim let out a cry of rage, throwing up his arms and hitting Dick in the face with his cast. “I couldn’t get the stupid thing off! And even worse, Jason was the one that fixed it!”
“Oh, did he figure out that you just had to watch the video all the way and like it?”
All of the eyes turned accusingly to Jason who grinned. “What? The songs' catchy!”
Bruce sighed, “Ignoring Jason’s music tastes, what are you planning on doing now that you know our identities?”
“You mean like working with you? Or are you asking if I’m going to share them? Because snitches get stitches and I don’t fudge around with secret identities. Mine getting revealed is the whole reason I’m here.”
“Hn.” Bruce was quite expressive with his grunts and monosyllabic noises.
Dick rolled his eyes. His tone was overly chipper as he spoke. “As I’m the only one not emotionally constipated here, I’ll offer you a deal. You don’t share our identities and we don’t share yours. We can work together and you can stay the manor so we will all win!”
Peter shrugged and nodded. He wasn’t going to reveal their identities even if they did his. He may like petty revenge but revealing that big of a secret isn’t petty.
Damian cleared his throat. “You will be staying, correct? I believe Bat-Cat will be most upset if you leave.”
“I won't leave you, Dami. Don't worry, you are stuck with me now!” Damian scoffed but Peter could see the boy's tension start to roll off.
“Well, shit!” Dick exclaimed, slapping his leg. “We were so oblivious. Peter hinted so many times that he knew! Look at the cat thing. I mean, he named it Bat-Cat and said its nickname would be Brucie! And the jokes and burns! Agh, you are such a little shit, kid.”
Peter smirked for a moment before contorting his face into an innocent expression. “I would never! I truly believed all of those things I said about the vigilantes.”
Peter held his breath to keep himself from laughing as he was greeted with various stares. Jason and Cass were staring humorously while Duke, Bruce, and Damian looked dead inside. Dick and Tim looked like Peter just kicked their shins and said his first bad word. Steph was just cackling, kicking her legs.
Damian scowled when she kicked the corner of his shoe and aimed a kick at her ribs. Steph screeched and kicked at him, missing and hitting Jason instead. Jason squawked and grabbed a pillow to his Steph with, pulling it out from behind Dick who promtply fell off the couch. Dicks scrambling back up led to Tim getting kicked. Rather than risk Alfred anger, Tim grabbed a nerf gun from under the couch and started firing. Duke and Cass needed no invitation and threw themselves into the fray.
Bruce sighed and opened up a newspaper. He glanced and Peter over the top and asked, “Well, aren’t you going to join?”
Peter grinned a feral grin and jumped into the writhing pile of bodies, feeling more at home than he had in years.
Notes:
Guuuys, I’m going to cry! You all have been so nice and so many of you stuck around till the end! I absolutely loved writing this work and already have a one-shot or two planned out.
As for my next fic in this crossover, here’s the summary and a snippet (bc I love you all):
Peter ends up in the DC universe and finds himself working at Wayne Tech as an intern. He is pushed to the edge as his bosses refuses to leave him alone, his neighbor is obnoxiously noisy, and the bats of Gotham keep trying to talk to him.
‘ “Badge?”
He offered his badge with a smile and grimaced when the guard scowled.
“You don’t have access to this floor. What is the purpose behind your visit here?”
“Uh a ‘Mr. Drake-Wayne’ ordered an extra large cup consisting entirely of espresso shots,” he read off of his phone.
A door flew open and a frazzled man close to Peters age came running out. “That’s mine! Thank you!” He exclaimed while snatching the ‘coffee’ and chugging it. Does that even count of coffee?
Peter just blinked in shock. That seemed like a sure way to a heart attack or some serious health condition. “I- are you okay?”
Mr. Drake-Wayne looked up, a manic look in his eyes. “No.”’
If you love my works and want more, my account is Agelaius_Ace and the work you are asking about is Bat Infestation. I just didn’t want this work showing up on my page anymore ;)
Chapter 19
Summary:
Peter, Teresa, and Jason watch Mulan
(NOT NEW! I posted this as separate work but decided to just put it in the original.)
Notes:
Did I write this, prep for a job interview, and rewatch Mulan at the same time? Yes, yes i did.
I don’t normally like fics like this but I hope y’all love Jason and Peter and Teresa bonding some more
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Peter stared suspiciously as Jason loaded Mulan up on one of the fancy TVs Bruce had in almost every room. He had said that he had never seen Mulan but he was humming song almost perfectly as he messed with the buttons.
Although, Peter couldn’t complain. Jason had taken time out of his day to watch Mulan with Peter and Teresa in a family room at the manor. Peter snorted. Jason had absolutely told Peter he hadn’t seen it to try and entice Peter into spending more time with him.
Jason cheered as the movie started playing and flung himself onto the couch, knocking over the popcorn bowl. All three scooped up a handful of the fallen popcorn and started stuffing their faces. Teresa giggled when she put it all in her cheeks like a chipmunk, spraying soggy popcorn bits everywhere.
Peter snuggled closer into Jason’s side while Teresa leaned against Peters's other side. He loved his family.
Teresa wiggled in excitement as the Disney castle made its way onto the screen. Peter grinned at her excitement and the nostalgia of the movie.
“I want a bird to be my partner in crime!” Jason exclaimed when the flacon knocked a soldier's hat off.
Peter smirked. “You already do, idiot!”
Jason gaped for a moment before trying to gently shove Peters's face away, laughing as it stuck to his shoulder.
Teresa pointed at the emperor and gasped, “Alfred!”
Peter and Jason exchanged a look before breaking out in laughter. Jason wiped some of his tears away as Mulan sent her dog to do her chores.
When the ladies started to prepare Mulan for the matchmaker, Jason snorted and stated, “That was Bruce when he found me. Dressed a dirty street urchin in a suit and brought him to fancy-schmancy galas expecting me to be well-behaved. I think I made a bigger mess of the first gala than Mulan does with the matchmaker.”
Peter huffed a laugh. “And you said you’ve never seen Mulan.”
“Oh, yeah. I did, didn’t I? I may have lied, this is an absolutely fucking amazing movie.” Jason shrugged and popped some more popcorn in his mouth.
“Look at me
You may think you see
Who I really am
But you'll never know me
Every day
It's as if I play a part
Now I see
If I wear a mask
I can fool the world
But I cannot fool my heart
Who is that girl I see
Staring straight back at me?
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?”
Jason was sniffling by the time Mulan finished singing. “Tsk. Dying and coming back to life with all these fucking scars sure left me thinking that.”
“Mood,” Peter replied patting Jason’s leg.
Teresa frowned when the enlistment notices were being handed out and stated, “He’s mean. Why would they make someone that's hurt fight others?”
Peter sighed. “They had to. The bad guys were coming to hurt everybody so they needed anyone that could fight even a little to help.”
“But why not Mulan? Why couldn’t she go in her father's place?”
“For a long time, people believed women were weak and couldn’t fight in war. So they only wanted men to fight because they thought men were strong. This isn’t true, of course.”
Jason scoffed. “I think Cass and Steph would murder us if we said it was. It’s not, though, kid. You are just as strong if not stronger than other kids your age. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Teresa frowned but was pulled back into the movie as Mulan stole her father's gear and rode off on the horse. She giggled again when Mushu was woken up.
“What’s a cross-dresser?” Teresa asked curiously.
“Uhh.” Peter paused trying to think about how to explain it. “It’s a word that means a boy who dresses as a girl or a girl who dresses as a boy. It’s not really used much anymore so I wouldn’t recommend calling anyone that.”
Jason snickered at Peters's panic. Teresa just nodded and watched as Mushu tried to wake up the dragon statue and giggled when it fell.
They all watched with various as the movie progressed until Mulan tried to sound like a man. “Look it you! That’s what you look like when you try not to sound like a toddler as Spider-Man.”
Peter poked Jason in his side and laughed as he squirmed. Teresa giggled as Mushu tried to appear intimidating to Mulan and her ‘cow.’
Teresa oohed as Mulan started her first day in training. Jason snorted and teased, “Look! It’s Timmers! That’s probably what he looked like when Bruce started training him. Although, I wouldn’t know because I was dead.”
The group cheered when Mulan made it to the top of the climbing pole but sobered as they went to war. They all sat at the edge of their seats as Mulan fought against the Huns with the avalanche.
They all yelled out their rage when Mulan was cast aside for being a girl and ignored when she tried to warn them.
Jason nodded in approval when Mulan’s friends joined her in stopping Shan Yu and they all clapped when Mulan was awarded her award.
Peter ignored the tears on Jason’s face as Mulan’s father welcomed her home. “I love this movie. Mulan is awesome.”
Peter grinned. “Yeah, she’s so you.” Jason had run off into danger and died although his reunion with Bruce was probably more tense than Mulan’s was with her father.
“I love Mulan! She’s so cool. Can I have a dragon? Pleeeease,” Teresa begged, pulling out the puppy-dog eyes.
Peter chuckled. “I don’t know where to get one! If you find one, you can keep it!” At Teresa's sad face, Peter added, “I can probably make one… but it won’t be the same.”
Teresa gave him a hopeful look and he sighed, “Fine, fine. I’ll make you one.”
Jason pulled both kids onto his lap and ruffled their hair. “You two are my favorite siblings, even if you are related to Dickie.”
Peter squawked and turned around to tickle Jason. The man screeched and kicked Peter away. Peter stuck his leg and skittered back up to tickle him again, Teresa joining in now.
The three siblings giggled as they tried to tickle each other, relaxed and safe in each other's presence.
Notes:
A bit short but a cute little somethin
Pages Navigation
Bre_Kitten on Chapter 1 Tue 22 Aug 2023 06:28PM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 1 Tue 22 Aug 2023 06:30PM UTC
Comment Actions
Gryffindork on Chapter 1 Wed 06 Sep 2023 03:23PM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 1 Wed 06 Sep 2023 03:23PM UTC
Comment Actions
Punto on Chapter 1 Fri 22 Nov 2024 10:46PM UTC
Comment Actions
raginblastocyst on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Sep 2023 09:40PM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Sep 2023 09:41PM UTC
Comment Actions
BEDAZZELD on Chapter 1 Wed 27 Sep 2023 07:45PM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 1 Wed 27 Sep 2023 07:46PM UTC
Comment Actions
superpinksalma on Chapter 1 Sun 08 Oct 2023 08:40PM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 1 Tue 10 Oct 2023 12:09AM UTC
Comment Actions
trash_fire7056 on Chapter 1 Fri 13 Oct 2023 01:53PM UTC
Comment Actions
Smol_DangerNoodle on Chapter 1 Mon 04 Dec 2023 10:41AM UTC
Comment Actions
The_Peep_Behind_The_Slaughter on Chapter 1 Sat 17 Feb 2024 08:46PM UTC
Comment Actions
IlariyaLev on Chapter 1 Sat 07 Sep 2024 08:22PM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 1 Sat 07 Sep 2024 10:00PM UTC
Comment Actions
Eve (Guest) on Chapter 1 Sat 12 Oct 2024 09:35PM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 1 Sun 20 Oct 2024 09:10PM UTC
Comment Actions
Eve (Guest) on Chapter 1 Sun 13 Oct 2024 03:30AM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 1 Sun 20 Oct 2024 09:07PM UTC
Comment Actions
Punto on Chapter 1 Fri 22 Nov 2024 10:45PM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 1 Sat 23 Nov 2024 06:19AM UTC
Comment Actions
Punto on Chapter 1 Sat 23 Nov 2024 06:32AM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 1 Sat 23 Nov 2024 06:33AM UTC
Last Edited Sat 23 Nov 2024 06:34AM UTC
Comment Actions
Punto on Chapter 1 Sat 23 Nov 2024 03:20PM UTC
Comment Actions
XxXTavuXxX on Chapter 1 Tue 03 Dec 2024 01:01PM UTC
Comment Actions
Fifi_thedragon on Chapter 1 Wed 04 Dec 2024 12:58PM UTC
Comment Actions
Sorry_if_my_english_is_bad on Chapter 1 Thu 05 Dec 2024 06:36AM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 1 Thu 05 Dec 2024 01:38PM UTC
Comment Actions
Sorry_if_my_english_is_bad on Chapter 1 Thu 05 Dec 2024 03:08PM UTC
Comment Actions
SilkenThread on Chapter 1 Tue 06 May 2025 01:02PM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 1 Wed 07 May 2025 04:26AM UTC
Comment Actions
idiotsons on Chapter 1 Mon 06 Jan 2025 06:35PM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 1 Fri 24 Jan 2025 10:37PM UTC
Comment Actions
Shen_Yuans_meatbun on Chapter 1 Sun 23 Feb 2025 06:32PM UTC
Comment Actions
HappyIam on Chapter 1 Fri 25 Apr 2025 12:56AM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 1 Fri 25 Apr 2025 01:17AM UTC
Comment Actions
Sunsetevergreen on Chapter 1 Fri 19 Sep 2025 11:10PM UTC
Comment Actions
My_life_is_a_bad_sitcom on Chapter 2 Wed 16 Aug 2023 09:44PM UTC
Comment Actions
Anonymous Creator on Chapter 2 Wed 16 Aug 2023 10:13PM UTC
Last Edited Wed 16 Aug 2023 10:21PM UTC
Comment Actions
Pages Navigation