Chapter Text
Everything Peter learns about Gotham is another nail in the coffin that the city desperately needs help. There's no curfew, so criminals are able to wander around and hurt innocent civilians. The amount of villains far outweighs both the vigilantes and the police force combined. Their security surrounding the prisons are loose and there's a breakout every few days. He shouldn't stay for longer than he has to, but who says he couldn't help out along the way?
He keeps out of the media, assisting missing children or aiding homeless people. It scratches the hero urge he feels without wasting what web fluid he has left. Although Peter does it out of the goodness in his heart, his traveling of Gotham aids in his understanding of the city.
The vigilantes have certain routes they take. Which is a terrible idea not to switch it up every night, since it makes it easy to know when and where they'll be. The Bat Family do the heavy lifting of Gotham. There are some rogue vigilantes, but most align themselves with Bruce Wayne. He will admit, it's a very organized system.
But it’s not a perfect system. Things fall through the cracks, such as the illegal trade that Peter’s caught wind of. The bugs he’s planted around the city were the best choice he could have made. They alert him of twice as much crime as the police scanners, and virtually most of it is organized crime. The nastier kind that could have mass casualties. Turns out the Joker has quite the few admirers. Re: Jackanapes.
The henchmen are staging a raid of Arkham Asylum, using the Joker’s concoction of laughing gas that they’re going to be cooking up soon. Spider’s mission for tonight is to stop the bust before the materials get in the hands of the baddies. It sounds way simpler than it actually is. Nothing in this job is easy.
Stake outs were also exhaustingly boring. Peter’s been hidden in the shadows of the meet point for hours. He could have come just before, but didn’t want to take too many chances. He’s atop one of the crates when his senses just barely tingle long his neck.
“Hi Hood!” Peter instantly looks behind him, his heart hammering in his chest. No one’s there.
Until the visuals of the air disperse and suddenly there is. She’s just barely taller than Spider, decked out in all purple. She must have been using some kind of invisibility technology. He hadn’t even known the tech here was advanced enough for that.
“Oh, huh. You are definitely not Red Hood.” Who? “Are you one of the dealers?”
“No? I’m here to bust the guys.” Her face shapes into understanding.
“Me too. This will be a piece of cake with two of us here!” He does have to say, her enthusiasm is contagious. Any jitters he was feeling before calm down. “I’m Spoiler, and you are?”
“Spider. New in town.”
Spoiler laughs. “I could guess. What brings you to crime fighting in Gotham of all places?”
Peter hums. He doesn’t want to give too much away. So he says, “Wasn’t my choice, but life happens.” Vague enough he supposes.
A white van strolls up to the meetup point, as well as an expensive colorful car. Looks like Joker doesn’t really do ‘discrete.’
“You go high, I go low?” Spoiler whispered to him.
“It’s on.” Peter wishes his mask was as expressive as Deadpool’s so she could see the smirk on his face.
The both of them drop down, surprising both sides. “Sorry to drop in unannounced, but this circus act is over.” Spider quips.
Spoiler goes to fight off the other side of baddies while he focuses on one side. Jackanapes attempts to escape by opening the car door, but Peter’s faster. “Can’t have you clownin’ around on the road, Jacky boy.” The gorilla looks back at him livid.
With the strength that Peter has never seen anyone in his universe use, he pulls his hand off so hard it snaps the webbing. Fully snaps it. Holy shit. The villains in Gotham are… no joke. Heh. Jackanapes lunges at Peter, but he just barely side steps out of the way. When the ape falls to the ground, he attempts to web up the guy before his senses tingle. He has to avoid a knife from another guy. Peter backflips over him with skill.
When he attempts to rush at Spider with murderous intent, Peter webs the knife and pulls it towards himself. “Knives, really? Where’s the clown themed weapons? You know, clubs, balls, and magic tricks oh my?”
Jackanapes and his assistant don’t find his quips very amusing, as they both lunge again at him. In the nick of time, Peter is able to web at their feet, making them trip. He swiftly uses his web fluid to contain them. When he casts a glance at how Spoiler is doing, she seems to have finished up just as Peter did.
“Oh my god, did those come out of you?” She’s talking about his webs.
“No.” He figures he should be honest, if she knows about his web fluid maybe it’ll be easier for him to convince her to turn a blind eye to his thievery. “I make it myself. It’s a pretty complex formula.”
“Wait… You made those?” Spoiler beams even brighter, as if the concept of him making them is cooler. “So you’re totally a chemistry nerd?”
“Yes… Why?” Spoiler seems to catch herself before she says anything else and coughs into her fist.
“Ahem, no reason. I’m gonna call the cops so they can bag these hags and the merchandise.” So she’ll be distracted, just for a bit.
Maybe long enough for Peter to snag some of the materials he needs. “Got it, I’m going to… Check and make sure no one else is in the van.” God he sounds so awkward. Don’t blow it, Parker!
He goes to the back of the van, where the chemicals are surprisingly well contained. He just needs some protein based foundation and a reactor. He should get a stabilizer just in case. He’s muddling around and putting the liquids and powders in careful vials in his utility belt when someone speaks up.
“What are you doing?” Why the hell had his spider sense not gone off?
Peter fumbles a bit with his words before he squeaks out. “Remember how I make the webs? I… Kinda need these to put together some more. I’m not stealing a whole bunch, just enough so that I don’t have to-”
“Relax.” Spoiler smiles at him. “This might sound stupid, but I trust you. Just… Be done before the cops get here. Wouldn’t wanna be suspicious.” He… Wasn’t expecting that.
Peter’s experience in Gotham has been batshit insane so to say. People don’t tend to offer kindness and when they do, it’s always in exchange for something. He knows it’s a survival instinct, that kindness here can be used against you. So, it makes him wary when someone shows him trust or respect.
“You’re okay with that?”
“Pssht. I’m not Batman or Red Robin. Things here are complex. Plus, if you do turn out to be a bad guy you’ll be dealing with the big ol Bats.” Fair point. Peter may be superpowered, but the Batfam had him in numbers.
Peter ends the night feeling like he gained an ally.
The Flock
Peter was on the news the next week. There is one aspect Gotham and Queens shared; they loved to gossip. He was labeled as a 'Red Hood copycat.' Which finally gave Peter some idea on who he was. Spoiler had called him Red Hood before she realized he wasn't him. Bile rises in his throat thinking that his Gotham debut was being labeled as a copycat. It was whatever, he wouldn't be here forever. Plus, the newspaper was kinder with how they described Spider. Even though the city wasn't fond of vigilantes, his previous accounts of helping before stopping the bust backed up his character. Small blessings.
Gotham Gazette
Copycat or Spider Mimicry?
A new vigilante graces our streets of Gotham this week. The new face, who has been rumored to be called 'Spider', busted a potential exchange to the Joker's henchmen with the familiar Spoiler. The two fought and detained both sides of the meeting without any casualties. This new hero has a striking resemblance to crime-lord 'Red Hood.' Which begs the question... Does this new masked hero admire the anti-hero?
Many would think so, their get-ups being identical in various ways. However, this new arachnid has already built up quite the reputation. Sources say that Spider helps around neighborhoods finding missing children and running errands. There looms no threat in this new hero's intentions. Even despite the hero being a metahuman, many attest that he's gentler than a windy day. But you can never be too sure here in Gotham. Stay alert, stay alive.
Peter had a busy first patrol. The Web - his bugs he’s planted - alerted him of a jarring rise in crime in Park Row. Fittingly, the area is more commonly known as Crime Alley. He's gotten pretty acquainted with the layout of Gotham in just the month that he's been here. Shockingly, it reminds him of his early days in Queens. Since he started, the crime rates plummeted and now he’s mostly running errands at home. When he started he couldn’t go a night without handling petty crimes.
Peter remembers his first real night on the streets of Queens. Most of the criminals called him some kinda freak. Sometimes he misses those days, as weird as that sounds. Before his life was so complicated; a time when he wasn’t so burdened by loss and world ending crises. Even now, the only thing that’s going through Peter’s head is his new plan. His brain is rushing through all the tasks he’ll have to catch up on when he gets home.
His internal dialogue is ringing so loud that he doesn’t feel the tingle down his spine. Next thing he knows, there’s the sound of a gun click behind him.
”So you’re the little copycat who’s been running around. It’s pretty rude to piss on someone else’s lawn, you know?” Peter doesn’t need to turn around to know that this is Red Hood and he’s wearing a smug little smirk.
”You must be Hood, can I call you Hood? This wasn’t how I was picturing our first meeting.”
”Keep talking and you’ll have iron through your skull.” The threats remind him of someone else. He can’t put his finger on who. “Do you even realize this is my turf, Spinner?” Huh, Spinner is a new one.
”Must’ve missed it in the Gotham pamphlet.” Peter prepares himself to unarm the man behind him. He’s aware this guy is trained, but he’s still faster than him. “I’m sure it was right under the tutorial on how to choose an alias, given how little I give a fuck.”
"For someone who rescues kittens from trees you sure have a dirty mouth."
Now. Peter turns around and unarms the man behind him. Predictably, he’s sporting a red hood and mask. “Hands slipped, hope you don’t mind I just take this off your hands for a minute.” But Hood reaches for his other gun. Peter holds the gun he ‘borrowed’ to him. “Let’s talk.”
”We’ve already been talking, yapper to yapper I don’t think you know how to shut up.” Hood holds his hands up. “You also don’t seem like the type to shoot someone.”
Peter lowers his gun. “You caught me, I couldn’t shoot you. Hopefully you choose not to shoot me too?”
”No promises.” Hood lowers his hands as well. “Speaking of talkin’, I got a few questions and maybe I’ll let you scurry your eight little legs out without a bullet wound.” Now Peter knows who Hood reminds him of. The seamless bickering is one that could rival the conversations he’s had with Wade.
”No promises.” He shoots back, and Hood chuckles a bit.
”First one, Spinner. Been kinda curious, are you really a meta?”
”Not in the way you’re thinking.” Vague enough. It seems to satisfy the other.
”Alright. What’s your end goal here? We don’t get many goody two shoes around here.”
”Just passing through. I’ll be out of this city in a jiffy.”
”Not what I asked.” Hood reaches to his side and holds up a gun once again to Peter.
”I’m just here to help. Your friendly neighborhood Spider.”
Hood scoffs. “No offense, boy scout, but the only other golden boy around here wants me behind bars. I gotta assume you want the same.”
Golden boy? Does he mean Batman? “I can’t say I agree with your methods but… You remind me of a friend. Except less happy go lucky and more shooty shooty.” Peter holds in a laugh. “We got no beef here.”
Hood squints before he motions for Spider to leave. Peter throws him back his gun before shooting a web and jumping off backwards. Just to show off.