Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Peter was excited, it was the first time in a long time that he had experienced the feeling. Six months ago his Aunt May had died. A drug addict had been admitted to the hospital she was a nurse at and there had been a struggle to get him down so they could take a look at him. May had gotten pushed and hit her head on the corner of a table in the fall. It was a freak accident but that made it no less devastating. The twenty year old college student had been an absolute mess. Mr. Stark had really stepped up by taking him in. Mr. Stark had been putting money into an account for him for years, because he didn’t believe in unpaid internships like other companies. “There is no reason you young people can’t learn as you go, pay your dues and all that jazz AND get paid while you’re at it.” he huffed at Peter’s protest over the money.

Peter felt a little weird because while he certainly learned a lot from Mr. Stark he most certainly was not paying his dues….whatever that meant. He did go down to lower floors to help out. Ms. Potts had suggested it years ago. She said it was great to play around with Mr. Stark but he should get to know the other interns and some of the workers of S.I. After actually going down to talk to people he realized that her suggestion had to do with the air of mystery that had surrounded him that he had never been aware of. Everyone was aware of Mr. Stark’s personal intern but no one knew anything about him. Which made Peter feel a little bad when it seemed like a lot of the older employees thought he was some spoiled brat nephew or something. Which he supposed was better than them thinking he was Mr. Stark’s illegitimate son.

Mr. Stark had decided to take him in so he wouldn’t have to be alone. Peter had protested but in the end admitted it was nice. Plus he did have a bedroom at the Avenger’s compound so he could still patrol easily. Though after Mr. Stark found out he was running himself into the ground by trying to patrol when ever he wasn’t in class he had been benched for awhile. Assignments had been thrown together at the last minute, he forgot to eat,and sleep did not matter. All he could think about was that if he had been patrolling maybe he could have done something different. Right now his patrol schedule is very limited which was better. Karen did monitor him and let Me. Stark know if he wasn't okay.

He had started to visit Dr. Strange at his inner sanctum. Mr. Stark hadn’t been thrilled at first but it was hard to argue after visiting with Dr. Strange Peter had started to pick up the pieces of his life. Slowly the two men started to talk and went from reluctant friends to more than that. Peter felt a little bad about that because he had been planning something for a few months. It was funny how alike Dr. Strange and Mr. Stark were. He was misleading them both. They thought he was getting better but he had been pretending. He needed people to stop worrying about him so much.

Peter was putting the finishing touches on the machine he was working on. It was going to take him back in time so he could save May. Mr. Stark says there was nothing he could have done and even if he had happened to be out as Spider-man at that time it wouldn’t have changed anything. But Mr. Stark was wrong. With this machine and the spell he had snuck out of the sanctum he would be able to go back and Spider-man could do his damn job.

“Peter, when was the last time you slept?” FRIDAY asked. “You have the certain….cagey air about you that Boss gets as well.”

Peter thought. “I don’t know….what day is it FRI?”

“It is Tuesday the 15th.”

“Then two days. It’s fine, I’m on spring break.” he answered, trying to focus on setting up the spell.

“I’m afraid I must initiate the Time For Bed protocol set up by Ms. Potts.” the AI warned.

“No need Fri. I’ll sleep when I get back.” he said before pushing the start button. The machine started to hum to life and the keyboard lit up. Though when the machine started to spark and smoke Peter’s eyes widened. There was a flash of light and everything went black.

When his eyes open Peter gives a groan of pain.He blinks a few times and frowns, the sky above him is dark. Nighttime? It had been the middle of the afternoon when he had been in the lab.

“Ohmigod you’re alive!”

Peter opened his eyes after closing them for a few moments and saw there was a blonde woman with pigtails now leaning over him.

“Geeze I thought I had found a dead body….again.” the woman complained.

“Again?” he croaked out as he tried to sit up.

The woman just shrugged. “Hey it’s Gotham.”

“Gotham? Peter repeated as he looked around. He was laying in what looked like a dirty alley. Gross.

“Yeah it ain't pretty but hey….it’s home.” the woman shrugged with a smile.

“I don’t know where that is.” Peter replied. “Aren’t we in New York?”

Now it was the blonde that looked confused. “New York? Where’s that?”

“You have a Brooklyn accent. It’s in New York!” Peter’s head hurt.

“Brooklyn? Nope…..you hit your head kid?”She seemed worried.

“I….I’m not sure.” Peter admitted still looking around. When he saw his broken machine he groaned. Slowly things were clicking. He was in a place called Gotham, a place he had never heard of. He was talking to a woman who didn’t know what New York was. He remembered it had been afternoon and now it looked to be night time. His machine had worked...until it didn’t. Maybe the spell hadn’t been right? Dr. Strange said magic could be unpredictable if you didn’t know what you were doing. Maybe he was in a different universe.

“I’m Peter Parker.” he said as he slowly made his way to his feet. He swayed a little but didn’t fall over. He took that as a win.

“Harleen Quinzel.” the blonde smiled. “But you can call me Harley!”

Peter shook her hand and was relieved to see that his Stark watch was still on. It housed the nanobot suit Mr. Stark made him, that they had called Iron Spider. He wasn’t sure how well it would work with the theory he had going. “Harley….this might sound weird but I think I’m not in the right universe.”

He expected to be called crazy. “Nah….sounds like a pretty normal thing for Gotham.”

Peter shook his head wow Gotham sounded...well a lot like New York
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harley had been on her way home when she saw some weird flash of light and a crash come from the alley she had just passed. This was Gotham so the smart thing to do would be to keep on walking, but curiosity got the better of her and she went to investigate. Cautiously she crept forward and was surprised to see a young man passed out. He looked like he wasn’t hurt but she wouldn’t know for sure by just looking. She decided to just wait a bit. There was some broken machine close by but she wasn’t sure if it was connected to the kid.

A groan caught her attention and she gave a sigh of relief. She didn’t want to deal with a dead body. Harley really wished that the idea of someone coming from another universe or dimension could be called weird. But like she said...this was Gotham. There was only one thing to do.

“Come on kiddo I’ll take you home and we’ll figure something out!” she smiled watching as Peter gathered up his broken machine. So it did have to do with him. Good to know. She led the way to an apartment building. After fishing her keys out of her purse she opened the door.

“Pammy I’m home! And I brought a surprise home.”
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Peter’s mind was a blur of chaotic thoughts. He had to figure out where he was and how to get home. He had messed up and had to fix this.

“Pammy I’m home! And I brought home a surprise!”

Peter looked up as a beautiful woman came out from another room. A beautiful woman with red hair and green skin. Okay he was starting to think Gotham might be weirder. He watched as the woman, Pammy, stopped and her smile turned into a frown.

“For the love of…..Harley I told you to stop bringing strays to the apartment!”

“Uh…..hi…..I’m Peter.” he awkwardly introduced himself.

Chapter Text

Pamela Isley had led a very full life. Starting out as a young botanist lead astray, she survived a murder attempt and used her newly developed plan powers to become an eco terrorist. Though she was now very much reformed, part of a team, and had a very loving girlfriend. Said girlfriend was currently testing his patience and pitting it against her sanity.

“Pammy, this is Peter.” Harley introduced the stranger who was now in her living room.

“I know that. He just said that. But that does not explain why he is here, with you.” she pointed out.

“He’s from another dimension!” Harley exclaimed.

Pamela stared at her girlfriend for several seconds before turning to Peter. “Get out.”

Harley pouted and opened her mouth to protest but Pamela held up her hand, still looking at Peter. “I don’t know what you told her but I don’t care. We aren’t suckers.”

“I uh….haven’t really told her anything. I just need some help.” Peter said nervously.

“Just so you know I own several plants that can kill you.” she frowned. “So if you thought you could trick Harley and rob us you are sorely mistaken.” Actually now that she thought about it his lack of reaction to her was a little odd. Even if people did not connect Harleen Quinzel to Harley Quinn it was pretty hard not to connect Pamela Isley to Poison Ivy. The green skin and ruby red hair was hard to miss or forget. “Do you know who I am?”

Peter gave her a puzzled look. “Um….Pammy?” he guessed.

“What do the names Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn mean to you?” she pressed.

“Um….creepy clowns and an itchy rash?” Peter answered looking even more confused.

“He doesn’t know where Gotham is!” Harley exclaimed. “He’s from some place called New York.”

“New York?” she repeated.

“Yeah!” Harley exclaimed. “Said I had an accent from some place called Brooklyn. And get this! He is from a place called Queens!” It was obvious Harley found this very funny.

“I’m Pamela Isley.” she said after a long pause. “So what’s your story?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter had to admit that he was rather nervous at the interrogation though this woman had nothing on Black Widow. Though she clearly had some kind of unknown power which didn’t help things.
“So...six months ago my Aunt May died in a freak accident at her job.” he began, appreciating Harley’s sympathetic cooing as she led him to take a seat on the couch. “She raised me since I was little after my parents died. My Uncle Ben died when I was fourteen and then it was just the two of us. She was….everything to me. I was trying to make a time machine to go back and save her.” He waved to the broken machine He had left by the door.

“How were you going to save her?” Harley asked him with wide eyes.

Peter swallowed. “I...well I gathered all the information I could get and I know the day and around the time she died. I was going to go back and save her…..I….I save so many people but I failed May!” When a mug of something was placed before him he looked surprised.

“Tea.” Pamela explained. “Chamomile and lavender to help calm. Sweetened with honey.”

Peter gave her a small smile and took a small sip after blowing on the tea a bit.

“You some kind of hero?” Harley asked. “You said you saved people.”

Peter looked up, worried that he had said too much. But maybe these women could help him. If that was the case he needed to be honest with them. “Does the name Tony Stark or Iron Man mean anything?” Maybe there was a Mr. Stark in Gotham!

He watched as the two women looked at one another and shrugged. “Well in my world he’s a famous superhero.”

“And….how do you know him?” Pamela asked, catching on a little faster than Harley.

“I am a hero too. I’m Spider-man.” he announced, ignoring Harley’s snort of laughter.

“You don’t look like a bug.” she pointed out.

“When I was fourteen I was bitten by a radioactive spider and it gave me powers. I can stick to walls,I have enhanced strength and reflexes.” Harley apparently wanted to test this out because half a second later Pete caught the book she hurled at his face.

“Harley!” Pamela exclaimed.

“What?” Harley asked. “I wanted to see if it was the truth.”

“It’s okay.” Peter smiled before jumping up to land on the ceiling and moved to sit on it. He was a firm believer that the ceiling was the most comfortable place to sit or lay down but no one ever believed him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So can we keep him Pammy?” Harley asked. Her mind was racing with what Peter had told them so far so it was easier to fall back on comedy.

“Harley….he’s not a puppy.” Pamela pointed out in an exasperated tone.

“I know that!” she exclaimed in an indignant tone. “He’s a spider. Weren’t you listening?”

“I’m going to get the spare bedroom ready.” he girlfriend sighed before eyeing Peter. “How long are you going to stay up there?”

Harley couldn’t help but clap when Peter let himself drop but flipped instead of falling. “You don’t have to worry about anything!” Harley smiled, throwing an arm around Peter’s shoulder. “Pammy and I will take care of you!”
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Peter had no idea what the future held for himself. But he had to admit knowing he had Harley and Pamela to lean on took some of the weight off his shoulder. “I really appreciate you and Pamela.”

Harley made a face at him. “Pamela is so formal.” she complained.

“Well I can hardly call her Pammy.” Peter laughed.

“Call her Ivy. It’s what most people call her.” Harley suggested. “Or if it makes you feel better go ask!”

Peter shrugged and went to go find the spare bedroom. It was pretty easy with his advanced hearing. The door was open so he knocked on the door frame. “Uh….so Harley said Pamela was a little too formal and I don’t think I should call you Pammy like Harley.” he explained.

The red head smiled. “Did she suggest Ivy?” she asked

Peter was surprised. Maybe everyone really did call her that. “Yeah.”

“I think Ivy is a nice name. Though my name wasn’t always connected with anything nice. Remember when I asked you what the name Poison Ivy meant? Well I used to be a bad guy. An eco terrorist if you want to be technical. I have power over plants and there’s a toxin in my lips. Though I’ve been reformed for years. So has Harley. She used to be Harley Quinn and was quite infamous.”

Peter whistled. “Well I appreciate your honesty Ivy.” he said after a small pause as he sat on the bed. “So….does Gotham have heroes?”

“Of a sort.” Ivy answered with a strange little smile.

Chapter Text

“So let me get this straight. This guy dresses like a bat and fights crime?” Peter asked as he sat at the table eating dinner with Harley and Ivy.

“Do you really have room to talk Spider-man?” Ivy asked.

Peter gave a dramatic gasp that made Harley giggle. “Hey! I took what fate gave me and stuck with the theme.” he said in his defense.

He had to admit that this Batman guy sounded interesting. He had been fighting crime for years but no one knew who he was. He wondered what would happen if he had pulled a Mr. Stark and just told the world who he was. Though it seemed like unlike Mr. Stark Batman’s only focus was Gotham, which according to his hosts had a long list of problems. Which made Peter want to try and help out while he was stuck here.

But at least Batman wasn’t alone out there and had a team. Though they were nothing like the Avengers. Sure they stuck to New York but they also went on missions all around the world to save people. He couldn’t wait to be one when he was older. Mr. Stark said not until he was out of college. Dr. Strange told him if he wanted he could study magic with him when he was older, though Peter thought he might say that to make Mr. Stark mad.

Thinking about Mr. Stark and Dr. Strange made Peter feel a pang of guilt. Did they know he was gone? How was he going to get back home? Should he even try or hope that they would be able to come find him. There was a good chance he could get into even more trouble fiddling around with repairing his machine. There was a lot to figure out.

Ivy and Harley were so nice to take him in. Peter hoped that he would be able to repay their kindness. “Um….hey this might be a weird question but do you guys think you can help me get a job?” he asked. “I don’t want to just sit around doing nothing.” He wasn’t sure where he could work with an ID card from a place that didn’t exist.

“I bet I can find ya some work.” Harley smiled. “Though it probably won’t be the nicest place but they won’t ask too many questions.”

“I can handle myself.” Peter promised. “My spider sense will keep me safe.”

“Your what?” Ivy asked raising an eyebrow.

Peter felt himself blush a little. “It’s...uh….what I call the extra sense I got after the bite. It alerts me to danger.” Aunt May had always called it his Peter tingle. He had hated it, but now he would give anything to hear her call it that again.
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Harley could tell that something had just made Peter sad but she wasn’t sure what it was. What she did know was that she did not like a sad Peter! “Hey Petey-Pie want to go out for a bit?” she asked.
Pammy looked over. “Harley, are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Sure, why not?” Harley asked. “He’ll be safe with me! Plus he knows how to take care of himself. He’s a hero where he comes from!” When her girlfriend sighed Harley clapped her hands because she knew she had won.

“I guess this will make the clean up go faster.” Pammy grumbled.

“Do you want help?” Peter quickly asked looking a little worried.

Harley was pretty sure she could see the exact moment when Pammy’s heart melted for their guest from another universe. Harley knew that Pammy liked to put out a tough exterior, but that was just because she was scared to be hurt by others.

“No it’s fine.” she said with a small smile. “Clean up really will go faster with you distracting Harley. I really don’t want to have to replace the kitchen sink again.”

“That was one time!” Harley exclaimed over Peter’s laughter. “Plus you are super bossy when it comes to cleaning up! Come on Petey-Pie lets get out of here! Grabbing Peter’s hand she dragged him out of the apartment. Gotham at night was not safe at all. But Harley was hardly worried. She knew she could handle herself and Peter could as well. They walked in silence for a few minutes as Peter looked around wide eyed.

“Geeze stop gawkin…..people will think you’re a tourist and try and jump ya or something!” She complained.

“Well….I kind of am a tourist.” Peter laughed.

“So you going to do your Spider Guy thing while you’re here?” she asked.

“Spider-man.” Peter corrected. “And….I don’t know. I might go out to get the lay of the land. Might help me clear my head. I’ve got to fix my machine if I can.”

“Better watch out for Batsy if you do.” she warned.

“Is he dangerous?” Peter asked.

“Yes and no. Lets just say he doesn’t like others on his turf.” Harley said after a pause. “There’s a reason why only the Bats fight crime. Plus there are some big bads out there that can be pretty nasty.”

“There are regular bad guys?” Peter asked looking confused.

“Yeah...we call them the Rogue Gallery. I...uh...used to be one….so was Pammy.” She didn’t want to hide her past. Plus her therapist said that if you wanted to move forward you couldn’t ignore what was behind you.
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Peter nodded at this news. “Yeah Ivy mentioned that briefly. But you guys are reformed and I think that’s really cool.” He watched as the tension drained out of Harley. He could tell that she had been nervous about the way he might react to that.

“So what’s up with this Rogue Gallery? Why aren’t they all in like jail?” he asked.

“Well when they get caught they get put into Arkham Asylum. It’s like the city wants them to get better but….it doesn’t really work out.”

“Why not?” Peter asked.

“Well most don’t want help. They all have reasons for being the way they are. Plus it’s like super easy to break out so what’s the point?”

“That place sounds….counter productive.” Peter frowned.

“Where do your bad guys go?” Harley asked him.

“Well I don’t really fight big bad guys. I take care of small time criminals. I’m the neighborhood friendly Spider-man.”

“Okay, what about Iron Guy?” Harley asked.

“Iron Man.” Peter corrected. “He’s part of a team called the Avengers who are Earth’s mightiest heroes. And I don’t really know much about it but bad guys who are too enhanced go to the Raft.”

Harley gave him a confused look. “They put them on a raft?” she asked.

“No it’s the name of an underwater prison in the middle of the ocean.”

Harley gave a small whistle. “That’s….intense.”

“Yeah.” Peter agreed. “I really don’t know much about it. I’m a lot younger than the others so Mr. Stark tries to protect me, Even after all this time.”

“So Peter….if you do go out to do your spider gig, how are you going to swing it. All you came here with was that busted up machine.”

Peter held up his watch. “My suit is right here.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harley stared. “That’s….a watch.” Was she missing something? She watched as Peter glanced around and then took her hand to pull her into an alley. “Petey-Pie I know we met in an alley and that was a special moment but I don’t really want to hang out in one.”

Peter chuckled and shook her head. “I just wanted to get off the street.” He pushed a button and what looked like a moving liquid flowed from the watch.

Harley jumped back with a startled yelp as Peter was covered from head to toe in what she could now see was a costume. She had to admit it looked really spiffy. “Those colors really work for you.” She whistled her eyes widened when the suit pulled back so she could see Peter’s head.

“What the hell is that thing made out of?” she asked.

“It’s pretty complicated. Mr. Stark is a genius engineer.” Peter replied as the mask went over his face again.

“That’s pretty cool Petey-Pie.” she smiled.

“Hey….uh...Harley….” Peter began.

“You want to go explore?” she guessed.

“Well I am dressed for it.” He laughed and Harley joined in.

“Yeah go have fun….just watch out for the Bats.”

She was amazed at how expressive Peter could be with that mask on, she could tell he was excited. Without a word he jumped up onto the wall and started to scale the building.

“Pretty sure life just got a lot more exciting.” she smiled as she turned to head home. She wondered if she should have told Peter not to stay out or something like that.

Chapter Text

Spider-man easily pulled himself up the rest of the building and stood. “Karen?” he hesitantly

asked.

“I’m here Peter.” the welcomed voice of his AI replied.

“Oh thank god.’ he sagged with relief.

“I’m glad to be here with you.” Karen replied.

“I have to hand it to Mr. Stark ,he really out did himself.” Spiderman whistled. Mr. Stark had told him that Iron Spider would protect him even in space and that Karen would always be with him. He remembered asking Mr. Stark why he thought he would need to go into space. But Mr. Stark had mumbled something about his suit going too high and something about an alien portal.

“When we get back I’m sure you will inform him.”

“Right...about that….I have no idea how to get home.” Spider-man sighed.

“You’ll figure something out.” Karen encouraged. “And I will be here with you.”

Spider-man smiled, he loved having Karen with him. It was like having a piece of Mr. Stark here with him. Looking around he moved to the ledge and whistled as he looked out on the city. So this was Gotham. It was filled with buildings of all sizes, an absolute web slinging dream! It was almost enough to make him forget he was trapped in another universe with potentially no way home! Spider-man took a few steps back and then took a running leap off the side of the building shooting a web to the next one. He would just help with a little stuff. Surely that would be okay right?
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Red Robin frowned when he came across another pair of burglars that were hanging up by what looked like….spider web? What the hell was going on? Was there some new villain in town? It couldn’t be a new hero right? Everyone knew that this was Batman’s territory. No metas were allowed in Gotham.

Something up above caught his eye, it was a flash of red and blue. Looking up his eyes narrowed as he saw someone swinging from a rope in the distance. He had planned to question the criminals but it seemed like if he acted fast he could catch the person in action! Gritting his teeth he pulled out his grappling hook gun and fired.
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“Peter, someone is following you.” Karen announced. “They are to your left.”

Spider-man looked to his left and sure enough there was someone running on the rooftops three or four blocks away from him. They seemed to be using the combination of a bo staff and some kind of grappling hook gun to keep going. This guy was probably part of Batman’s team. He wondered what he wanted. He was obviously following him. But was he just following or did he want more? Well he supposed that there was only one way to find out. So he swung up onto the roof of the next building and waited. He watched with interest as the grappling hook shot up and caught on something, after a little while the figure was pulled up onto the roof.

Now that he was able to get a closer look he could see it was a guy that looked to be his age. He was dressed in red and black with black hair. He had a domino eye mask so he had no idea what color his eyes were. On his chest were crossing straps with a badge that had a bird on it? What was up with that big yellow belt? The Cape was pretty cool. Though the only hero he knew with a cape was Dr. Strange. Spider-man was pretty sure this guy’s cape wasn’t sentient.
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Red Robin put away his grappling hook gun and looked around. He had been following that spider guy for awhile and he had definitely seen him come up here. Has he become aware that he was followed? He was swinging by some kind of web material. Could this be some new metahuman who didn’t know the deal? Sometimes other heroes popped up, either wanting to help Batman or they thought he wasn’t doing a good enough job.

He looked around but didn’t see anything. Had he gone somewhere else?

“You don’t look like a bat.” a voice said.

Red Robin yelped and threw a batarang in the direction the voice had come and watched as the crouching spider guy jumped out of the way “Who are you?!” he demanded.

“Wow….rude.” the stranger complained. “You always just throw things at people?”

“You startled me!” Red Robin exclaimed. Wait...why was he apologizing?! “Who are you?”

“Spider-man.” the stranger answered.

Well that made sense. It would certainly explain the spider webs. “Look Spider-man...you can’t be here.”

“But...I am here?” Spiderman pointed out. “Or do you mean like metaphorically? Because if that’s the case are any of us really supposed to be here?”

Red Robin pinched the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache coming on, not too different from when Nightwing was in a mood. “Look I don’t know who you are or where you came from but Batman does not allow meta-humans in Gotham.”

“What’s a meta human?” Spider-man asked.

Red Robin frowned. Who was this guy? “A meta human is a human with super powers.”

“Oh….cool.” Spider-man replied. “So...why am I not allowed to be here?”

“Because you don’t know what you’re doing!” Red Robin exclaimed.

“Do any of us though?” Spider-man asked.

“Stop trying to distract me!” Red Robin snapped. “You need to leave!”

“I would if I could man.” Spider-man sighed. “But why am I not supposed to be here?”

“Gotham has some very dangerous criminals.” Red Robin explained. “I don’t want to have to worry about some spider guy swinging around.”

“So...if I just help people it’s okay?” Spider-man asked.

Red Robin blinked. “What? No!”

“So I shouldn’t help people? Dude that is not cool. Sometimes people need help.” Spider-man scolded.

“You should leave it to the, to Batman.” Red Robin protested.

“You were going to say leave it to the professionals weren’t you?” Spider-man asked.

Red Robin was momentarily distracted by how expressive the mask was. He could almost see the grin that he heard in the guy's voice. “That wasn’t….look….like I said Gotham has very dangerous villains and interfering could end up with people dying.”

“So can I help with the normal bad guys?” he asked.

“No!” Red Robin exclaimed.

“Dude, that is harsh. Like I said, people sometimes need help. What if I see someone being held at gunpoint?”

“Well...I mean….” Red Robin stammered.

“Okay cool I gotta go!” Spider-man exclaimed. He had been standing on the side of the building and stepped off the ledge. Red Robin felt his heart drop as he ran, hand going for his grappling gun to save the guy. But when he got to the ledge he saw him swinging away.

Red Robin stared wondering what the hell had just happened.

Chapter Text

Jason kept his head down and his hands in his pockets as he walked. He was a man on a mission. He wanted ice cream and no one was going to stop him. Gotham had to be the most crime filled city in the world, but at least it had a lot of late night businesses. Such as the mini mart that was near his favorite safe house. It was the perfect place to go for an after patrol craving. Sure it was pretty dangerous to be out past midnight in Gotham, but he was fucking Red Hood and he didn’t take shit from anyone!

Especially not his asshole family. He had a criminal empire to run and didn’t have time for their problems. Sure he kept the family comm line open just in case there was an emergency. But did his family ever keep that in mind? Fuck no! He had shit to do and did not want to keep hearing about this mysterious Spider-man that had popped up recently. Guy was staying away from his territory so this fit nicely into the not my problem category. And if he did try and go into Crime Alley well then he and Mr. Gun would have to have a chat with Spider-man. No he wouldn’t kill the guy but if there was a better way to say stay off of my turf than a flesh wound Jason didn’t know and he didn’t care. Classics were called classics for a reason after all right?

Jason stopped at the crosswalk and waited for the light to change. He glanced to his left and felt like the air had been knocked from his lungs. Standing at the crosswalk right next to him was the most adorable man he had ever seen in his life. Brown curls framed his face a little and those were the biggest hazel eyes he had ever seen. He had heard the term doe eyed before but hadn’t seen it in action until now. Man, he had always thought Dick’s puppy dog eyes could be dangerous.

The light turned and someone bumped into the guy, mumbling an apology. Which that in itself was a red flag, this was Gotham and no one cared if they bumped into someone! Jason’s eyes narrowed as he realized what had just happened. The cute stranger had just gotten his wallet taken! “Hey asshole!” he shouted meeting the thief’s eyes before he took off. Jason was about to go after him but a hand on his arm stopped him.

“Don’t worry about it.” the guy said.

Jason was flabbergasted. “That dude just stole your wallet!” This guy was cute but maybe he was a little dumb. Or worse….a bleeding heart good samaritan. That shit would get you killed in a place like Gotham.

“It was only my decoy wallet….hey you should start walking if you want to cross the street.” the guy smiled.

Jason blinked as the guy started to cross the street and hurried after him. “You have a decoy wallet?” he asked, unable to help his curiosity. Maybe this guy wasn’t dumb after all.

“Yup.” the guy smiled. “All that’s in there is a chain letter saying if the thief doesn’t slip a copy of the letter in the pocket of the next ten people they rob they will be cursed with fifty years of bad luck.”
Jason blinked, eye wide in surprise, and then started to laugh. “Oh man, that is priceless. I wish I could see the look on that guy’s face when he opens the wallet to see how much he got.”

“Sure I lose out on wallets but I feel like it makes things more fun.”

“I’ve never heard of anyone trying to make getting your wallet stolen fun.” Jason shook his head. “I’m Jason by the way.”

“Peter.” the ex-stranger introduced himself. “Peter Parker.”

Out of reflex Jason didn’t give out his name. It wasn’t often but some people still connected him to Bruce. “What are you doing out so late?”

“Wanted some chips. You?”

“I need ice cream.” Jason replied

“A noble quest indeed.” Peter smiled as they entered the store. “What kind of ice cream? My vote is rocky road, but only if it has mini marshmallows. I don’t like the kind that has marshmallow swirls.”

“Why don’t you like it?” Jason asked. He knew he should probably just leave the guy alone, but he had asked him a question.

“The kind with the mini marshmallows reminds me of when I was a kid.” Peter shrugged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter had quickly figured that Gotham was the most dangerous place he had ever been, not that he had been many places but that's besides the point. He had been staying with Harley and Ivy for almost a week now. He had taken a look at his machine but was still at a loss as to what to do to fix it. He was getting a feel for how Gotham worked. He didn’t even know if there was magic in Gotham.

He had gone out as Spider-man a few times to see what there was to see. To be honest it was a lot of fun to swing around Gotham. Gotham was absolutely crazy! He hadn’t run into anyone from the Rogue Gallery but he had been spotted a couple of times by people from Batman’s team. So far he had met Red Robin, Nightwing, and Robin. He didn’t understand why there were so many bird themed names. When he said something about that Harley laughed until she was almost crying.

So far Red Robin was the most fun because he was so easy to confuse and tease. Nightwing seemed nice enough. Robin was a feral little nightmare….and Peter really wanted to smoosh his cheeks together. But since he wasn’t ready to find out if he could regrow a finger he refrained...for now.

Jason was the first person he had made friends with outside of Harley and Ivy. He could easily see how Jason could move around Gotham late at night without worry. The guy was huge! It was a little weird that he had a lock of white hair when he was only in his mid twenties.

Peter hadn’t been sure how much to tell Jason about himself. So he told him that he was far from home and a little stranded. When Jason expressed concern Peter assured him that he had found people to stay with and was being careful. Not that he could tell Jason the real reason he didn’t have to worry. His spider sense was more than enough to keep him safe. But it went off so easily due to Gotham’s danger level. It was like when he first got his powers and everything was out of whack. Thankfully he had been wearing the special earbuds Mr. Stark had made for him.

“Did you have a fun night my little seedling?” Ivy asked as Peter let himself into the apartment.

“Ivy, were you waiting up for me?” Peter asked with a smile.

“Of course not. I do have nocturnal plants.” Ivy said even though Peter didn’t believe her.

Both Ivy and Harley had been absolutely amazing. Harley had literally found him on the streets and taken him home. Sure Ivy had been rather prickly when they first met but Peter now understood when it came to life in Gotham you couldn’t be too careful.

“How was patrol?” Ivy asked.

“It was okay. Got chased by Robin for a while before I gave him the slip.” Peter reported. “Those Bats do not play around.”

“I haven’t crossed paths with the current Robin and he is quite dedicated to the mission. He’s lasted the longest as Robin.”

“There have been other Robins?” Peter asked curiously

“Several.” Ivy answered without giving further insight.

“Cryptic.” Peter said after a long pause. “Well I’m off to bed.”

“Sleep well my little sapling.” Ivy smiled. “I’m making pancakes for breakfast.”

“Your pancakes are the best!” Peter cheered. “Thanks Aunt Ivy!”

It was said without thinking and they both stared at one another as Peter screamed at himself inside his head. It just felt good to have someone like Ivy look out for him.

“Well Harley is planning to make scrambled eggs, so I thought I should do something to offset it.” Ivy replied. She wasn’t making a big deal out of what he had just said and Peter wanted to sight with relief. He said goodnight and ran off to his room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Did our little spider get in okay?” Harley asked when Ivy joined her in bed.

“Yeah. He said he had a nice patrol and then went out for a little snack.” Ivy replied before kissing her girlfriend’s cheek.

“He called me Aunt Ivy after I told him that there would be pancakes tomorrow.” Ivy smiled.

Harley’s eyes widened. “Awwww! That’s not fair! He hasn’t called me Aunt Harley!” she whined, making Ivy laugh.

“It’s a sign that he’s comfortable with us.” Ivy explained. “Don’t push and I’m sure it will happen naturally.”

Ivy had never thought of herself as the nurturing type. At least not when it comes to human life. She was great at taking care of plants. She had certainly never wanted children and knew Harley didn’t either. But having Peter live with them brought out a maternal side in her as well as Harley. Ivy knew she would be sad when Peter went home. But for now she and Harley would do their best to help Peter and look out for him.

Chapter Text

Harley had warned Peter that she could help him get a job but that it wouldn’t be the most legal. Ivy had wanted to know why he felt the need to get a job. So he had explained that while he wanted to go out at Spider-man at night, though he promised not too often since both women seemed very concerned with him running into the Bat, he needed something to do during the day. He wasn’t sure what to do about his machine, so he was hoping that by doing something else to keep his mind occupied the secrets of the universe would open to him. Also it wouldn’t hurt to be able to give Ivy and Harley some money after they had been so nice as to take them in.

Peter had been a little worried about what kind of job Harley would get, his imagination ran rampant to be honest. So when she said she got him a job at a diner it was a surprise.

“You okay Apple?” Harley asked, making Peter realize he hadn’t said anything for a while.

“Sorry I just….wasn’t expecting a dinner job,” he explained. “You made it sound like whatever job you would get me would be super sketchy and potentially illegal.”

“Well you’re getting paid under the table.” she pointed out. “That ain’t legal. Besides you’re my little Blueberry I wouldn’t get you a dangerous job! Pammy would absolutely kill me. And I am not joking when I saw she knows how to grow a meat eating plant big enough to get rid of a body.” Harley had gotten tired of calling him Petey-Pie, and now just called him the names of different pies. She never used the same pie in one day and Peter found it really amusing.

After that Peter had stopped questioning things. Instead he went for an interview and the next day he was learning the ropes of working at a diner. Peter had learned that there was no part of Gotham that could be called the good part of Gotham. There was just not so bad, bad, horrible, and go at your own peril. Aunt Ivy had explained that the rich elite either had mansions outside of Gotham or they lived in fancy penthouse apartments that had door men and were several stories high.

He was happy to report that the cooking gene had not skipped him like it had skipped May. “Thanks Aunt Harley.” At first the slip up with Ivy had been embarrassing. After that he felt guilt, like he was insulting May’s memory or something. But then he realized that Aunt May would be happy he had someone to look after him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Ohmigod if I don’t get something to eat I am going to die.” Stephanie complained

“Ate breakfast…..few hours ago.” Cass smiled

“Exactly!” the blonde exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. Cass had gotten home from working a case in Hong Kong last night so she had insisted that they have a girl’s day. Basically she was tired of the weird environment going on right now. There was some new vigilante with a spider theme going on swinging around Gotham. And boy oh boy did Bruce have a bee in his bonnet over it!
“Look,” Cass said pointing. “Diner.” Sure enough at the end of the street there was a decent looking diner

“Great job Cassie!” Stephanie cheered. “You came home at just the right time. Things are a little crazy right now.”

“Spider?” Cass asked.

Stephanie wasn’t surprised that Cass already knew even though she had been home less than twelve hours. Hell she probably knew everything.

“Yeah this spider guy has almost everyone on edge. B is of course pissed off that someone is crashing his tea party. Dami is mad because B is mad. Tim isn’t thrilled but I think he just wants more information. Dick says he seems like a fun guy.”

“Jason?” Cass asked.

The blonde shrugged. “You know how he gets. As long as it doesn’t happen on his turf he doesn’t really care that much.” Cass nodded at this as they walked inside.

Spoiler had yet to run into Spider-Man and it bummed her out a little. From what she heard, even though she heard different perspectives, he sounded like a fun guy. Her favorite story was Red Robin’s first meeting with him. She could picture the look on his face when Spider-man stepped off the roof.

Robin was his usual grumpy self, following Batman’s lead as he usually did. Nightwing liked him. But who didn’t he like? She hadn’t heard about any interactions between Spider-man and Red Hood. But it wasn’t like he came around to trade stories with the family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Peter looked up as the bell over the door rang and two girls came in. “Hey ladies, just sit wherever!” He called out from where he stood on the other side of the seating area. He had quickly realized how Harley had been able to get him this job on both short notice with getting paid under the table in cash. The place was kind of a disaster. They had been robbed just last week and some one had been shot, so the owner was having a hard time getting people to work there.

Of course nothing like that was going to happen while he was working there. Peter had come to realize that being stuck in an alternate dimension did have some benefits. No one knew Peter Parker at all. So no one knew what he could or couldn’t do before his spider bite and he didn’t have to worry about something being traced back to Mr. Stark.

A few minutes later he went over to the table. “Hi! Welcome to the Rusty Spoon,I’m Peter. Can I get you guys something to drink?” he asked. Peter noticed more often than not people were surprised by his chipper attitude but neither of these customers were.

“Hi, I’m Stephanie. Can I get a chocolate milkshake?” The first young woman was a blonde with blue eyes, pretty much had that American girl next door aesthetic which made him think of Captain America. She seemed nice, didn’t seem to have that down trodden air a lot of customers came in.

After writing down her order he looked at her companion and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. His spider sense was going off. It had taken some time but he learned that there were different levels. This feeling was the same feeling he had gotten from Black Widow the first time he saw her. Stephanie’s friend was an Asian girl with beautiful eyes that looked like they had seen enough events to fill a few life times. She wasn’t a danger to him right now but Peter knew she could be dangerous if she wanted.

“Cass.” she said pointing to herself. “Tea?”

Peter was distracted for a few moments and then realized she was asking if they had tea. “Oh,y-yeah. We’ve got English breakfast, earl grey, green tea, and chamomile.”

“Chamomile.” Cass smiled. Peter nodded and hurried to go put the order in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cass had been happy to go out with Stephanie. Stephanie had taught her the benefits of ‘girl time’, which was something she had never heard of before coming to Gotham and being accepted into her new family. His case had kept her in Hong Kong for over a month. Life had become so interesting since getting her new family, no day was the same.

When she came home and heard reports of someone else being a vigilante she was very surprised. It was an unwritten rule that there were to be no metas in Gotham that everyone respected. Well the bad guys did not but that was a different matter. Dick made Spider-Man sound like fun. She could tell her father was very annoyed at him but had yet to act. From what little she had heard it didn’t sound like he was doing anything bad, just helping people.

She didn’t really think much about the diner they had just stepped into, though she did a quick scan for potential threats but found none. That was good, when it came to Gotham it was better to be careful. The place seemed busy, that was good because it meant the food was probably good. Sitting down she noticed there was only one person working in the front. When he came closer she noticed he seemed a little frazzled, though he hid it well behind a cheerful front. Interesting, usually Gothamites just kept to themselves and didn’t make an effort to hide if they were upset. It was like they didn’t care, which was sad.

When one lone worker came up to them she watched as he took Stephanie’s order. However when he looked at her she noticed that his eyes widened just a little. If she hadn’t been an expert in noticing body language she would have missed it. But growing up missing the smallest detail could lead to death. Suddenly their waiter, Peter, seemed very aware of her. But she didn’t understand why.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stephanie had to admit the Rusty Spoon was a nice little place. A little understaffed but the kid working there was taking things like a champ. He always had a smile on his face and was as talkative as Dick, she had a feeling that if Peter hadn’t been working he might even be more talkative. She hadn’t known that was possible!!

When she had commented on why it was just Peter working and expressed concern Peter had explained that the dinner had been robbed a week ago. Thankfully it had happened before Peter started. However he told her that unfortunately this place got robbed kind of regularly. It wasn’t in the worst part of Gotham but that wasn’t saying much.

“Send text.” Cass encouraged.

“Oh! Right.” Stephanie pulled out her phone and sent a group text. She sent the address and a picture out the Rusty Spoon.

‘Good waffles and milkshakes. I found a new after patrol food spot.’

They couldn’t go to the same place all the time but everyone had a place they liked. Even if no one else in the family came she and Cass were going to make sure no one would dare to rob this place again!

Chapter Text

Jon flew through the air taking his time, well for him anyway, he may not have developed his super speed yet but he was pretty darn fast thank you very much! Damian had been extra grumpy lately. He wasn’t being very open about what was wrong but that was not very strange. Dami would never be an open book. But as his best friend Jon knew that Damian was a lot like a cat. He seemed grumpy and standoffish but if you were patient he would come around. Finally he had gotten Damian to open up and found out there was some mysterious meta powered person fighting crime in Gotham.

He had been shocked. Everyone knew Batman’s rule about no metas being allowed in Gotham. The idea of someone disobeying Batman was such a strange idea. Was that even allowed?! There were very few exceptions, like himself. As Damian’s best friend and partner he was allowed in Gotham as long as he gave notice. Since he wanted to surprise Damian he got his dad to let Mr. Wayne know ahead of time.

Damian said that the rogue meta had a spider theme. He had asked what he was doing that was so bad but Damian didn’t explain that part. He just insisted that there were no unauthorized metahumans in Gotham. Finally he made it to Gotham, now he had to figure out where Robin might be in his patrol.

As he flew a flash of red and blue caught his eye. Blue eyes went wide as he saw someone in a costume swing from building to building. Jon stopped in mid air and stared. It was the rouge meta! He looked around wondering if there was a Bat nearby. But it looked like he was alone. Should he go to the cave to see where Damian….wait….Robin! He had his cape on and was on the job. Robin was always going on about the importance of no names on the field and that they were wearing uniforms when they suited up. It seemed a little silly when he was literally in his favorite pair of jeans, a superman hoodie with a cape. He could see where Robin was coming from with how much he had to wear.

He was pretty sure he should go to the Bat Cave and report. Or….he could do what Robin would do! Which was to act on his own and follow the lead in front of him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spider-Man was having a pretty average night, well as far as Gotham went. Stopped a few muggings, saved a couple of young women from some thugs, helped some kids get home. He hadn’t been chased by anyone from the Bat team so that was nice. Unless that meant they were planning something, but then again the night was pretty young. He hadn’t been out for a few nights so it was nice to get out after working at the Rusty Spoon. Those two girls had come back already. When Stephanie had said she’d be back he had kind of assumed she was just being nice.

Deciding to take a break he swung up onto the roof of the next building and sat on the edge and looked down on the city. In some ways Gotham was like New York, but to be honest in a lot of ways it was so much worse. It was like everyone walked around under a rain cloud, it was depressing! Didn’t anything good happen here?

“Are you a bad guy?” a voice in front of him asked.

“Shit!” he yelped as he fell back. Spider-man couldn’t help but stare wide eyed. There was a literal child floating in the air in front of him.

“Are you a bad guy?” the kid asked again. “Also you shouldn’t say bad words.”

“S-sorry.” Spider-man apologized as he climbed to his feet. “Um….who are you?”

“I’m Super Boy!” the boy answered. He couldn’t be more than ten or eleven.

“I’m...I’m Spider-man.” he said. “But no, I’m not a bad guy. Why do you ask?”

“Well because you’re not supposed to be here.” Super Boy explained.

Spider-man groaned. “You too?”

Big blue eyes looked at him in confusion. “Me too?”

“Everyone keeps telling me I’m not supposed to be here.” he sighed. “I know that.”

“So….why are you here?” Super Boy asked.

“I’m trapped.” Spider-Man sighed. “I was messing with things I should have left alone and got sent here. Now I’m stuck in a strange world in a place I’ve never heard of until a few weeks ago.”

“You’ve never heard of Gotham?” Superboy asked. “What about Metropolis?”

Spider-man shook his head. “I’m from New York.” He could tell that the kid had never heard of New York, just lived with everyone else he had mentioned. “Why did you ask me if I was a bad guy?”

“Well my best friend Robin told me a little bit about you.” Superboy explained.

Spiderman’s eyes widened and he jumped to his feet taking a few steps back. Shoot was this kind here to help hunt him down?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Superboy watched in confusion as Spider-man backed away from him. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Spider-man stopped after putting a little distance between them. “Sorry….it’s just I met Robin once and he threw these sharp things at me.”

Superboy couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah….that sounds like him. But that doesn’t explain why you’re so nervous. I’m by myself.”
“Oh.” Spider-man looked a little less nervous. “So….what are you doing here?”

“Well I saw you and decided to come talk to you!” he smiled.

“Wait...you’re flying!” Spider-man exclaimed.

Superboy started. “Well….yeah…..”

“How are you allowed to be here? I thought there weren’t supposed to be any super powered people allowed in Gotham.”

Okay now things made sense. “Um well I’m Robin’s best friend and sometimes we fight crime together. We’re the Supersons!”

“O….kay?” Spider-man said. “Look, I'm not a bad guy. I’m a hero from where I come from and just because I’m here I can’t ignore people suffering.”

Superboy found himself smiling. Spider-man wasn’t a bad guy! He was a hero trapped in Gotham. “Will you tell me more about yourself?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spider-man had been confused why his spider sense didn’t warn him. But it was pretty clear that Superboy didn’t want to hurt him even though he was supposedly Robin’s best friend. Though he couldn’t help but wonder how this little ball of sunshine was friends with that feral Robin kid.

“Do you want to hear about the time I met Thor the god of thunder?” he asked as he sat back down.

Superboy looked at him with wide eyes. “You’ve met a god?!”

Chapter Text

Damian sat at the bat computer, going over case files. Father had suggested he take a break for the night. It had taken years for him to learn that this did not mean he had made some unknown mistake, nor was it a test in obedience or resealance. Both Father and Richard had promised him that he would not be tested as he was while living with Mother.

“Damian, what are you doing?” Father asked as he came out from suiting up.

“I am prepared to take a break from patrolling tonight as you suggested, but there is still work to be done.” he replied not looking away from his work.

“Yes….but Jon…..” Father protested, sounding confused.

Damian did look up at this. “What about Jon?” he asked. It was odd that Father would bring up his best friend out of the blue. Was something wrong with Jon?

“Don’t you two have plans?” Father asked.

Damian frowned. “No.”

Father looked as if he wondered if he had said the wrong thing. Damian scowled, wishing that his father would get to the point. Though he would never say it out loud out of all his brothers he appreciated Todd’s blunt speech the most. People wasted so much time trying to figure out the right thing to say rather than just saying what they really meant. “Father please explain yourself.” he said in what he hoped was a polite but insistent tone.

“It’s just that Jon asked for permission to come to Gotham. So I thought the two of you had something planned. But perhaps he was planning to surprise you.”

Ah, now Father’s hesitation made sense. He had been worried that he had ruined the surprise. Though surely Jon should have arrived by now if he was coming over. The little hayseed had a bedtime to keep after all. “Could you text Jon’s father to see if he has left yet? Jon may have become preoccupied. This way his surprise will not be ruined.”

Damian was pleased to see some of the tenseness leave his father’s body. He watched patiently as the message was sent, though soon frowned after the answer.

“Clark says he left over half an hour ago.”

Damian felt a ball of dread form in his stomach. Jon most definitely should have been here by now. He may not have his father’s super speed just yet but his level of speed was not something to underestimate. Had something happened to him? What if he and his stupidly big heart had flown by a little old lady needing help to cross the street and got caught by one of the more dangerous Gotham criminals.

“I’m suiting up!” He didn’t wait for confirmation. He needed to make sure Jon was okay!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spider-man had to admit he was pretty caught off guard when he saw a little kid just floating in the air in front of him, but that quickly went away as he got to know Superboy. This kid was like ridiculously cute! It was amazing that he was best friends with Robin of all people. Though as much as he liked Superboy he wasn’t sure how much to tell him about his situation. What if he told Robin? The Bat family had been pretty aggressive in chasing him when they happened to come across him. Thankfully they were usually pretty easy to get away from.

Though it was nice to talk to a hero who was younger than him. He had always been the youngest when it came to the Avengers, though it had taken him a long time to actually become an official member. Still, he had plenty of stories to tell Superboy.

“So then I stole Captain America’s shield after I webbed up his legs!” he exclaimed. “Later he told me that was one of my best training sessions with the group.”

Superboy looked at him with big blue eyes. “Wow, that's amazing. It’s so cool that you got to work with grown up superheroes when you were starting out.”

“Well it was a lot of hard work.” Spider-man admitted. “I was fourteen when I first became a superhero.”

“That’s how old Robin is!” Superboy smiled.

“Really….I thought he was a little younger because he’s so small…..”

Before he could say anything else his spider sense went off and he jumped out of the way as a batarang flew in his direction.

“Get away from him!” Robin snarled as he landed on the roof.

Superboy had been shocked by Robin’s sudden appearance but recovered. “Oh gosh! Robins I’m sorry. I was on my way and I saw Spider-man sitting here, so I decided to go talk to him.”

“He is dangerous!” Robin insisted with a glare.

“Hey!” Spider-man protested. He was only dangerous to criminals….and even that was kind of up in the air since he didn’t like to hurt anyone. And he definitely wouldn’t ever hurt a kid.

Superboy rolled his eyes. “Robin, I’m Superboy! Plus Spider-man is nice. He knows a lot of cool stories.”

“That’s right!” Spider-man insisted. “I’m just your friendly neighborhood Spider-man.”

“Superboy is not your friend.” Robin snarled. “The time has come for Gotham to be rid of you even if I have to run you out of town.”

“Oh come on,” Spider-man began holding his hands up. “I’m sure we can talk things out if we just-ohmigod why do you have a sword?!” Spider-man had been about to step forward but now was backing up. There was only one thing to do.

“OkaybutsorryItoldcoolstoriestoyourfriend!” he shouted before running to the edge of the roof to jump off and swing away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red Hood was having a pretty good night, not too much was going on and he was planning on ending his patrol a little early and end the night with more chili dogs that he would admit out loud should he tell anyone how he ended his night. He hadn’t even heard his family trying to chase that spider guy down.

He thought it was a little odd that the guy seemed to be avoiding Crime Alley. Not that it made him unhappy but it just seemed odd, like someone had warned him. But who did he know? He was clearly a good guy since he was fighting crime. Another interesting tidbit was that he hadn’t heard anything about spider guy fighting any rogues. There wasn’t anyone really bad out on the streets but it was something to note. Maybe he was scared of Batman coming after him? From what he had heard the big bad Bat had yet to step in.

“Robin, leave him alone! He wasn’t doing anything bad!!” a voice called out.

Red Hood raised a brow under his helmet at the familiar squeak of Superman’s kid. He turned and his mouth fell open at the sight before him, though he would swear up and down never happened. He watched as spider guy jumped and swung from roof to roof, followed by an angry looking Demon Brat and a worried looking Superboy flying after the duo.

“How dare you corrupt Superboy’s mind!” Robin shouted.

“I just told him funny stories I swear!” Spider guy said before yelping when a batarang cut his web making him fall but caught himself at the last minute.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Red Hood followed and jumped down onto the roof they had stopped on. “What the hell is going on?!” he demanded. Robin ignored him as he looked around for spider guy and Superboy turned his attention to him.

“Hi Mr. Red Hood!” he greeted.

Red Hood held in his sigh, he hated being called that. But Big Blue had raised a proper little boy scout. “Kid what the fuck is going on?”

“Um….well I was on my way to see Robin and I saw Spider-Man sitting on a rooftop. I went over to talk to him but I lost track of time talking. I guess someone told Robin I was supposed to come over because the next thing I know Robin showed up and started chasing Spider-man!”

Red Hood laughed. Of course Baby Blue wanted to come make friends with spider guy….Spider-Man, he had honestly never listened closely enough to pay attention to the name. He looked over to Robin who was stalking around with his katana out. Well he guessed this was what happened when Demon Brat thought his boyfriend was in danger.

“Demon Brat enough!” he called out. “He clearly gave you the slip. Baby Blue take your boyfriend back to the cave and do…..whatever it was you planned to do. I don’t care. Just get off my turf.”

The reaction he expected was instantaneous. Both kids blushed and made funny noises.

“Hood! How dare you insinuate such a thing!” Robin snapped, though he did sheath his sword. Hood was going to have to talk to Dick about taking that away from him.

“R-Robin and I are just friends Mr. Hood.” Superboy stammered.

“Fine whatever.” Red Hood replied “Just get out of here!”

He watched in amusement as Robin let Superboy fly him away. He waited until the two were well out of sight before saying anything. “You can come out now.” He glanced around wondering where Spider-man had hidden himself away and fully expected him to step out from somewhere. What he did not expect was for the guy to suddenly appear beside him as if he had been invisible.

Red Hood jumped back and pulled out a gun. “What the fuck?!”

“Language!” Spider-man gasped.

Red Hood blinked. “Are….are you being serious?” he asked.

“Sorry, force of habit.” Spider-Man laughed. “Thanks for saving me. I really thought the kid would get tired and give up.”

Red Hood was not going to let him bury the lead. “If you could turn invisible why didn’t you do that sooner?!”

Spider-Man blinked a few times. How the fuck was his mask so expressive. “To be honest….I didn’t think about it. That Robin kid is really scary when he’s angry.”

Red Hood couldn’t help but laugh at this. “Yeah I can see that when you aren’t used to it. I thought they didn’t let him take his katana out anymore.”

Spider-man gave him a worried look. “Oh...um….you’re not going to like chase me right? Because I am really tired and super hungry and I just don’t know if I have that kind of energy in me. Can I get a rain check?”

Red Hood shook his head. “Yeah….I don’t really care about you being in Gotham. I do however care about you being in Crime Alley.”

Spider-man’s eyes widened and he looked around. “Oh shoot, I didn’t even notice! I was just trying to get away from Robin.”

“Understandable.” Red Hood replied. Okay so maybe he was a little curious about the guy, but not curious enough to put any effort into it. “So….what’s your deal?”

“My deal?” Spider-man asked.

“Yeah, what’s your thing? Want to join Batman’s crusade? Think you can do a better job than him? Want to kill him?”

Spider-man’s eyes went comically wide. “What?! N-no….it’s none of those things. My deal is…..complicated.”

A small silence stretched between them. “Okay then.”

“Okay then?” Spider-man repeated. “You’re going to let it go? Just like that?”

“Yup.” Red Hood replied. “Hey, you want to get some chili dogs? I know the best place in all of Gotham.” He wasn’t sure why he had made the offer. Guy had just been chased down by a feral little Demon Brat…..he could probably use a good chili dog.

“Uh….sure…..I could eat.” Spider-Man replied.

Chapter Text

Peter felt like he had been through a lot recently, even more than normal. Forget having the fear of God put into him, he now had the fear of Robin deeply instilled into him. He had met a lot of kids as Spider-Man but usually they were excited to see him, and not of the spider stabbing variety.

He did not understand Gotham at all. What were little kids doing fighting crime. And okay he had been fourteen when he started out….but he had suddenly gotten freaking super powers! Though there was a very large learning curve on teaching himself control. Aunt Harley and Ivy had told him a lot about the vigilante team that protected Gotham. Batman had been fighting the good fight for over twenty years. How was Gotham still this bad?! From what he understood no one on his team had powers. In a way he was a bit like Mr. Stark. Though maybe not as on top of things?

Batman had a strict rule about no enhanced individuals in Gotham. Meta humans. Though he honestly liked that term better than mutants. But it wasn’t like Batman never worked with Metas. His aunts had told him about the Justice League that protected the world and were like the Avengers on a grander scale. So it wasn’t like Batman was a bigot or anything….he had just decided in complete arrogance that he knew what was best for the most crime ridden city ever and for twenty plus years everyone was just okay with that. Peter did not understand at all.

Yes, people called Mr, Stark arrogant. Well, they called him a lot of things, but at least he usually played well with others. As long as he could be snarky, full of sass, and call people by nicknames he came up with on the fly Mr. Stark was pretty happy. He thought back to the alien attack on New York. What would've happened if the other Avengers had to come from other places?

When he heard the bell above the door ring Peter looked up and smiled as a familiar blonde walked in.

“Hey Steph!” He greeted. “No Cass today?”

“Nah she is out of town.” Stephanie complained “But I brought someone new. This is Tim!”

Steph stepped to the side and Peter saw that she was with two guys. “These are two of my friends Tim and Dick.”

“Nice to meet you!” Peter smiled
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Steph had been trying to get some of the others to go with her to the Rusty Spoon for what felt like forever. Who would have guessed that when it came to suggesting a new after patrol eating spot everyone would turn into a picky little bitch? Everyone had a reason for why their favorite spot was the best. Now it wasn’t like she was suggesting they all abandoned their go to spots. She would never stop going to that Bat Burger on 5th!

Even though she had finally gotten Dick to agree to try this place out as civilians and had dragged Tim with them. Why? Why not? It was easy to bully Tim into things! If Dick liked something he would eventually drag Damian there. She was sure once everyone met Peter they would see what she and Cass had seen. Peter Parker must be protected at all costs. It was thanks to him that she knew that not only did otters hold hands when they slept so they wouldn’t drift apart, but that as juveniles they found the perfect rock for shell cracking and kept it in a little skin pocket for the rest of their lives.

How freaking adorable was that?! Peter was full of random facts that kept every visit interesting. The Rusty Spoon had quickly become more than just another Gotham diner, the atmosphere was a little less heavy and it was all because of Peter. She was happy that she hadn’t heard about any more robberies but she would feel better if word could get around that the place was a hot spot for Batman’s crew.

She took Dick and Tim to sit in the booth that she and Cass liked to sit in. Tim was still pouting because he supposedly had important WE work to do. The little twerp had even snagged his laptop on the way out, though she had made him promise to put it away when their food came.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tim had no idea why Stephanie had dragged him out to eat. He had been trying to work out an issue with WE, there was a money issue and things just weren’t adding up but he couldn’t figure out what was wrong. He had told Stephanie that he had important work to do but in her usual fashion she ignored his protests completely.

“Tim I swear to god if you don’t put your laptop away I’m going to take it and get Barbara to change all your passwords!” Steph exclaimed.

Tim looked up with a scowl. “I told you I had important work. I think someone is embezzling a lot of money.”

“Timmy you’ve been typing away for hours.” Dick complained. “I know work is important but you need to take a break to eat.”

“Can I get you guys anything to drink?” a voice asked.

Tim looked up and his blue eyes widened just a touch as he found himself looking into big warm brown eyes. He heard the others place their orders but he couldn’t focus on what was said because those brown eyes were looking at him expectantly.

“Drink?” he repeated. What did he want to drink? He drank things...right? Oh god everyone was staring at him now. “Coffee!” he finally managed to answer. “Black.”

“Ah just like my soul.” Peter smiled. Tim felt his stomach flip. He legit had a coffee mug that read: I like my coffee like I like my soul…..black. Dick had gotten him it for Christmas and it was his favorite mug.
“Wow….that was….smooth….” Steph snickered after Peter walked away. Tim glared at her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“That’s it Tim I’m taking the laptop!”

Peter looked up at the raised voices just in time to see Stephanie lunge for Tim’s computer, being held back by Dick while Tim tried to hold it out of her reach.

“I told you this was important!” Tim shouted. “The company has lost half a million already!”

Uh-oh this sounded like it could get out of hand fast so he hurried over. “Uh…..everything okay?” he asked.

“I told Steph I had important work to do but she and Dick dragged me out of the house!” Tim said, still glaring at the blonde who was glaring right back. “I’m trying to figure out who is embezzling from W.E. but there’s some math that isn’t adding up.”

Peter’s eyes widened. That...was a lot more complicated than he was expecting. Tim looked to be around his own age. Why was he looking into embezzlement issues for the city’s biggest company? Curiosity getting the better of him, he looked at the laptop screen that was now facing him while Tim and Steph had their glaring contest.

“Oh I see the problem.” he said after a quick look over. Which seemed to catch everyone’s attention.

“What?” Tim asked, looking at him with slightly wide eyes.

Peter pointed. “Not only did you add something wrong on the third row of the ninth column the decimal is in the wrong place.”

“What?” Tim repeated as he looked at the screen. His mouth opened in surprise. “You….you’re right.”

They were all looking at him and Peter felt himself getting nervous. “Oh….s-sorry….I guess I should have asked to look.” he apologized.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“No!” Tim squawked. “You...you helped me out a lot.” He was amazed that not only had Peter caught what was wrong but had done it so quickly. He had to be crazy smart. But what was he doing working in a dingy diner?

“Uh, hey if you don’t mind me asking, why are you working on something like that?” Peter asked. “You look like you're my age and should like be at college or something.”

Tim tilted his head a little. Was that why Peter was working in this crappy place? Because he needed to pay for college?
“Timmy here is a genius!” Dick beamed. Ever the big brother he never let an opportunity to brag pass him by. Normally Tim didn’t care but him doing it in front of Peter was a little embarrassing for some reason. “We’re both the adopted sons of Bruce Wayne and Tim-Tim is the CEO!”

Tim felt the tips of his ears heat up with his blush. He mentally screamed for Dick to shut up but as usual he didn’t get the memo.

“Wow that’s so cool!”

Tim looked up in surprise. Most people doubted his ability when they heard that, especially if they were older. But Peter just accepted it.

“That’s really impressive.”

Tim felt his heart turn over in his chest. Okay….maybe Red Robin would make some after patrol appearances. But he wasn’t going to tell Steph that just yet.

Chapter Text

Jason was having a pretty great week, and it had all started with inviting Spider-Man to go get chilli dogs. Guy was pretty cool, he was very talkative but Jason noticed that he didn’t give serious details about himself. Which Jason understood. It wasn’t like he was ready to give Spider-Man his life story either. He knew that Spider-Man was here because of an accident involving magic. God he fucking hated magic. It didn’t help that he didn’t really have any contacts in the magical world.

The best thing would be to have Batman call Zantanna, but unfortunately Spider-man did not have much faith in Batman and the others. Not that he blamed him since they had done nothing but chase him when they caught him on patrol. Of course Spider-Man’s last interaction with Robin hadn’t helped anything. Little demon brat could be downright terrifying to strangers. He thought they had gotten him to stop going out with his katana.

He had done something he had never thought to do, give someone permission for someone permission to come into his territory. Feeling bad for Spider-Man Jason had told him that if he felt like the Bats were getting to be a little too much he could come to Crime Alley for a breather. His family knew to stay away and if they had business in that part of town then they better let him know!

Against his will Jason found himself being interested in the heroes of the world Spider-Man came from. He couldn’t help but laugh at hearing about this Stark guy, notes in front of him, just straight up telling the world he was Iron Man. He just couldn’t completely wrap his head around that one. It made him wonder what would have happened if Bruce had pulled that kind of shit. Well maybe if he had done something like that when there had been no other heroes around.

He had been hearing a lot about some stupid diner called the Rusty Spoon. Stephanie had first told him about it and how she and Cass had stumbled across a ‘hidden gem in Gotham’ and that he should check it out. He of course blew her off. But he had overheard quite a bit of comm chatter about the damn place. So he decided to check it out on

A little bell above the door rang.

“Hi, welcome to The Rusty Spoon. Take a seat wherever! Oh hey,it’s you.”

Jason felt himself freeze in the doorway as he found himself looking into a pair of very familiar pair of brown eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter looked up when he heard the bell over the door ring. Putting that up had been a great idea. It let everyone know when the front door opened. Not that he expected anyone to be able to barge in and get the drop on him; it was still nice. He liked to think it had given the other diner workers and maybe even the patrons. He was doing all he could to make the customers feel safe to eat here.

His week had started off on a slightly terrifying note, thanks to Robin. Seriously, who gave a fourteen year old a sword?! If he hadn’t already thought Batman had a few screws loose then he would certainly think so now! Though at least his week had greatly improved after meeting the infamous Red Hood. Peter was pretty sure he was supposed to have been afraid of the gun toting anti-hero who guards Crime Alley with a passion. But to be honest he spent a little too much time around Deadpool to be really scared of him.

His Aunts had told him all about Red Hood. That yes he was technically a drug lord but how he had rules that he enforced without hesitation. Aunt Harley had said for the first time in thirty or fourty years Crime Alley was a decent place to live. Did that make it a safe place? Nope, but apparently when it came to Gotham a lot of people would accept decent.

He looked up at the bell and started his usual greeting though it ended a little differently.

“Welcome to the Rusty Spoon. Take a seat wherever! Oh hey it’s you!”

He had a lot of fun talking to Jason when they last met. But it wasn’t until after they parted ways that he realized he hadn’t gotten his new friend’s number. Though it looked like fate had brought them together again. Maybe Parker luck wouldn't exist if a Peter Parker hadn’t been born into that universe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the first time in a long time Jason wasn’t completely sure of himself. He thought back to when Steph was rambling on about this place. Yeah she had mentioned a really fun guy that worked there but he couldn’t for the life of him remember the name, though now he knew it was Peter.

Fuck he wished he had paid more attention. He hadn’t stopped thinking about the day he met Peter. It had almost been enough to make him wish he was a little closer to his family so he could ask for advice. But at the moment he would rather die, again, than ask anyone what to do about the strange feelings Peter Parker brought to life inside him. Though something he had come to realize was every relationship he had ever had had been with people in the world of….nightly activities. They knew he was Red Hood and accepted him. Peter just thought he was a normal dude, and to be honest he kind of liked that. It had been a long time since he had talked to someone as just Jason Todd.

He learned that Peter was from out of town and had moved in with his two aunts, he had lived on the other side of the country and didn’t really know much about Batman or his team. Jason was tempted to try and see what he thought of the vigilante team of Gotham, but another part of him wanted to just try things out as Jason Todd and put Red Hood to the side. He found himself talking about things he hadn’t thought about in years.

Peter was clearly smart but it was different from the smart people he knew like Replacement and Bruce. They were very down to business but Peter didn’t let smart being his personality. Jason knew Bruce was proud of being considered the world’s best detective, though Jason didn’t remember voting, and knew Replacement saw himself as not that far behind. Talking to Peter felt….easy. Smart was not his personality.

“So then Ned and I were going to…..” Peter had been refilling his cup of coffee but suddenly stopped talking. Jason was about to ask if he was okay but then a couple of guys came from the back with guns out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter had been so excited to see Jason again, it was hard to meet someone willing to talk to others and be friendly. For someone like him this was a huge issue, Peter liked being friendly with others and generally helpful. But in Gotham everyone pretty much assumed everyone else was going to screw them over. How did anyone meet and make friends or have relationships?! He had been getting more and more homesick due to missing the friendships he had unintentionally left behind.

Jason was a bright spot in Gotham’s dreary atmosphere. They had met by chance and had fun talking to one another. He had come to refill Jason’s coffee when his spider sense went off just as some masked men came storming in from the back

“Everybody freeze! Just give us the cash and no one gets hurt!” one of them shouted.

Peter groaned. “Great now that x number of days since last robbery attempt sign will have to be reset.” he grumbled.

There was brightside to being in Gotham. Because no one knew pre-spider bite Peter Parker he had a little more freedom.

“So do you want money or do you want everyone to freeze?” he asked.

“What?!”

Peter could see he had confused the first guy. “Well you said for everyone to freeze. How do you plan to get the money?”

“Fine….just open the register!”

Perfect. With his hands up in the air Peter started to move slowly towards the counter, started being the key word. Peter launched himself forward, jumping up; he used the momentum to swing around around the guy and pull him down after wrapping his legs around his neck. His friend pointed his gun at him, but without missing a beat Peter jumped up and grabbed his gun arm pulling him down a little before elbowing him in the face then quickly taking him down. (This Black Widow fighting the security guards in Iron Man 2)

Peter stood and brushed himself off. He couldn’t wait to tell Nat all that training she had done with him had paid off.
“Um….can someone call the cops?” he asked politely. “I don’t have a cellphone on me right now.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
When a couple of robbers charged into the diner from the back Jason had quickly taken in the scene and was starting to formulate a plan. But when Peter stepped forward to go for the cash register he felt his heart drop with fear. Didn’t that adorable idiot know that it would just have been easier to let these thugs break into the cash register?! It wasn’t like this was a bank job and only one person knew the safe combo.

And then….well Jason wasn’t sure what the hell happened, it all happened so fast and Jason’s brain was struggling a bit to keep up with what it had just witnessed. Without missing a beat Peter had taken down two armed guys who probably had at least fifty pounds on him.

“That was hot.” he said softly

Peter blinked and looked over. “What?”

Jason felt his face go read because he realized he had spoken out loud. He didn’t know if he had ever been more embarrassed in his life. “I..I have a phone, I’ll call the cops!” He breathed a sigh of relief when Peter bought it and turned his attention to making sure those thugs stayed down.

Pulling out his phone Jason knew that Red Hood was going to let it be known that the Rusty Spoon was off limits. Yes Peter could clearly take care of himself but he still wanted to do what he could to help keep him safe.

Chapter Text

~~~~~~~~~~~Several weeks ago~~~~~~~~~~~

“Geez those meetings took forever!”

Tony Stark stepped off the elevator and loosened his tie. Pepper was taking a well deserved vacation so while she was away he was playing CEO, and he hated every second of it. As if he didn’t need another reminder why he handed the reins over to Pep so he could just be the head of R&D and play around in his lab as much as possible. The highlight of that plan was getting to bring Peter in to tinker with him.

It didn’t take him long to decide to make the internship more than just a cover up. Peter Parker was the brightest mind of his generation and it just made sense to nurture that. He didn’t just go and do it of course. For once Tony went through all the proper channels. He scheduled an official meeting with Pepper to propose his idea. Peter had still been a minor back then so Tony wanted to get all his ducks in a row.

He hadn’t regretted anything. Making Peter Parker his official intern went right up there with Iron Man on the Tony Stark list of good ideas. But then again he was a genius. A kid like Peter was going to be the future. Tony honestly had hopes of him taking over Stark Industries one day. Now that he had given so much of a hint of that. Peter needed to live his life.

“Baby girl has Peter already gone to the lab?” he asked

“Yes sir.” his A.I. answered. “Peter arrived at the usual time and after making himself a snack he went to your lab.”

“What did he make?” Tony asked as he changed out of his suit and into something more comfortable.

“Peter made peanut butter toast and drank a juice box.”

“Apple or fruit punch?” Tony asked.

“Apple.” FRIDAY replied.

“I knew it!” Tony laughed. “Well at least he ate something healthy. And to think Pep thinks I’m not responsible with my Spiderling.”

“Then I suppose I shouldn’t mention the five packs of fruit snacks Peter had?”

“I won’t tell if you won't,” Tony said without missing a beat.

When he stepped into the lab he stopped in his tracks. It looked like there had been some kind of explosion. “FRIDAY what the hell happened?!” he demanded “Where is Peter?!”

“Peter is gone.” The A.I. answered.
Tony felt his heart stop for a moment. “FRI…..care to reword that?” he asked weakly as he carefully moved forward. Friday wasn’t implying…..nope, no, he wasn’t even going to think about that.

“Peter is no longer in the lab.”

“I can see that. Where did he go?” Tony asked.

“I do not know.”

That was not a good answer. “How can you not know?! I programmed you to know everything!” Tony’s heart was racing. What had happened to his spider kid?! “FRIDAY tells me everything that happened from the moment Peter came in the lab until...whatever happened…..happened.”

“Peter came into the lab at three fifteen. He looked to be visibly excited. I asked if everything was well and he informed me today was the day he had been waiting for, that after months of work he was going to fix everything.” FRIDAY reported.

“Did he explain what he meant by that?” Tony asked.

“He did not.” Friday reported. “But I am used to vague statements after working with both of you two. I noticed that Peter was showing signs of sleep deprivation and questioned when was the last time he had slept.”

“And?” Tony prompted.

“It was long enough for the Time For Bed protocol Ms. Potts set up. I informed Peter of this but he said he would sleep when he got back.”

Tony frowned. “Back? Back from where?”

“I do not know Boss. He pushed a button on a machine he had set on his work bench.”

“Then what happened?” Tony asked. The bad feeling he was experiencing was getting worse and worse. Was Peter hurt somewhere? But why hadn’t he gone to the medbay? Had he been scared that he would be in trouble over the mess? Sure it looked bad but it wasn’t like Tony hadn’t blown things up in the lab. Tony had thought that Peter had got over his nervous tendencies.

“The machine started up but soon overheated. There was a bright flash of light when the machine appeared to explode and Peter was gone.”

What did this mean? Tony looked around trying to figure out where to start looking for clues. He barely noticed when a golden circle appeared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stephen Strange had a bone to pick with Peter Parker. When Peter had first approached him he had been against the idea of spending time with the young man. There had been a few times when Avenger business mixed with things that concerned the Sorcerer Supreme, which was how he had ended up meeting Peter.

The Cloak of Levitation was certainly fond of Peter. Peter had even taken to calling it Levi and treated it as some kind of pet rather than a powerful and ancient artifact. No matter how much he protested these actions, it fell on deaf ears. Of course it didn’t help that his cloak acted like a pet, wanting to play with and fuss over Peter.

Now at first Peter’s non stop chattering had been extremely annoying, and sometimes getting the boy to focus was like trying to herd cats, but Stephen had managed. It helped when Peter had shown an interest in learning magic. Tony’s annoyance over this hadn’t hurt. He could see why Tony enjoyed talking to Peter, he was incredibly bright and detailed oriented. So Stephen had seen no issue with teaching him a little magic.

Though now he was rethinking that decision. He had been going through some things in his library and noticed that there were some books placed out of order. Books that had spells about time travel and protection incantations. Instantly he was on high alert. Upon further inspection there were some ingredients missing from his cupboard. It was clear what was going on. He knew Peter had lost his aunt not too long ago and was hurting. It wasn’t hard to figure out he had some kind of plan to try and bring his aunt back. So he did not hesitate to open a portal to the tower.

“Stark, where is your ward?” he asked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tony looked up in mild surprise when Dr. Strange step through a portal. “Well hey there Dumbledor. What brings you to my neck of the woods. Also stop calling Peter my ward.”

“Are you not Peter’s care taker now? He has a room here and you look into his well being.” Dr. Strange answered in an innocent tone.

“Yes this is technically true. But I know that’s not how you mean it!” Tony frowned. He could see that little hint of a smirk, and he did not appreciate it. “But seriously, why are you looking for Peter?”

“I’ve noticed some books that are out of order in my library.” Dr. Strange answered.

“And?” Tony asked with an eye roll.

“These books contain spells involving time travel and some ingredients are missing.”

Tony felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over him.
It was then that the wizard seemed to notice the state of the room. “What happened. Have you been attacked?” he asked as his hands started to glow in case of a threat. Tony appreciates the willingness to throw down.

“No threat.” he smiled. “But something happened. However I’m still not sure exactly what. I know Peter did something….but he’s gone.”

“Gone?” Strange asked.

“FRIDAY said he came in with some kind of machine, powered it up, things went pear shaped, and when the smoke cleared Peter was gone.” Tony frowned.

“I believed Peter has combined magic and machine.” Strange sight.

Tony didn’t reply right away but eventually he did. “I want to be mad...but I’m kind of impressed. Also, this is your fault.”

“My fault?!” Strange glared. “How is this my fault?”

“Hey my kid was an innocent being of science until you got your hands on him!” Tony said, crossing his arms over his chest.

The chuckle that came from the annoyingly attractive wizard was grossly annoying. “Are you still mad that Peter came to me with an interest in magic?”

“No!” Tony quickly answered. Yes….magic was dumb! Tony was a man of science and thought Peter was too. But then he betrayed him. Still he would always forgive his spiderling.

“And exactly how long can you resist those big brown eyes?” Strange asked with a raised eyebrow.

Tony didn’t say anything for a long time. “Shut up.”

Chapter Text

Red Robin was having a weird night. He had heard some whispers about Riddler being up to something, that wasn’t the weird part. The weird part was every time he got to the place that there was a clue it looked like someone had already looked at it. Batman was offworld so he knew it wasn’t him. And while he knew his family wouldn’t ignore a Riddler case they weren’t exactly eager for them. Well Robin was always down for anything.

But to be honest he was kind of glad that Robin hadn’t caught up to him yet, because the last clue had led him to the meat processing plant. Robin acted like nothing phased him but he was still just a kid. Plus he didn’t think the cave needed another Batcow. He still didn’t understand how the Demon Brat was able to keep the cow healthy and happy living in a cave.

After finding a way in he dropped down onto a catwalk and started to look around. The last riddle should have been the last one. He had almost gone to the wrong place. The riddle had been: ``What grows bigger the more people take away from it?” He went through all the obvious answers and finally realized it was a fast food chain.

Red Robin came to the main floor and stopped in his tracks. In the middle of the room were a group of Riddler henchmen all webbed up and Spider-Man was sitting in front of a computer typing away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What the hell is going on here?!”

Spider-Man jumped at the voice and whirled around as Red Robin jumped down from up above. “Oh...hey man…..this isn’t what it looks like!” he exclaimed, holding up his hands.

“It looks like you are in a closed meat processing plant after stopping some henchmen from doing.....something.” Red Robin frowned.

Spider-Man blinked. “Oh….well then it is exactly what it looks like.” he said before turning back to the task at hand.

“I’m going to need some context.” Oh Spider-Man could just hear the frown on Red Robin’s face.

“Ok just….gimme a minute…..almost done here.” Spider-Man replied as he typed away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red Robin was not sure what to think about the situation he finds himself in. Things that involved Spider-Man were supposed to be high alert. No one had seen that much of him over the last week which had been a little weird but okay.

“Are you committing a crime of some sort?” He finally asked. He had no idea what Spider-Man was doing but he couldn’t just stand there and do nothing when he didn’t know what was going on.

“What?! No!” Spider-Man exclaimed. “I’m just fixing some security problems. Did you know these guys were going to taint the meat supply for some place called Bat Burger?!”

Red Robin blinked. “Not exactly. I was following the riddles and they brought me here. How did you get here?”

“Followed the riddles on those little green cards.” Spider-Man replied.

Red Robin’s eyes went wide in surprise. “You went after the Riddler?”

“Who?” Spider-Man asked.

“The Riddler!” Red Robin exclaimed in exasperation. “He is part of the Rogue Gallery! He likes to leave elaborate clues and riddles about his crimes.” His mind was racing. He had noticed all the riddle cards were open but had just thought someone else in the family had gotten there first. And not just that but not only did Spider-Man figure out the clues he had beat him to the chase. Which was annoyingly impressive.

“My bad.” Spider-man apologized. “I didn’t know this was a big bad guy thing. I found this pretty green envelope with a question mark on it and opened it up. Inside was a weird riddle. I thought it was like a game or something. So I followed all the riddles but when I got here there were these guys messing around with the computer. Found out they were going to taint the meat supply that was going to go to someplace called Bat Burger. Seen them around but haven’t gone yet. Heard good things about Joker fries.”

Red Robin stared. He had learned something new about the vigilante on top of B’s shit list. And that thing was Spider-Man was smart…..like crazy smart. Figuring out Riddler riddles was no small thing. And now he was working on a security program. Not knowing what else to do he just watched.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spider-man looked over his program one last time before activating it. There! Now no one would be able to hack the system and program anything. He found out that there had been a chemical added to the meat supply that would be used and shipped out the next day.

“So did you find out why this was going to happen?” Red Robin asked.

Spider-Man was kind of surprised Red Robin had just let him do his thing. “Yeah apparently there is some new burger going on and all those guys would say was that their boss wasn’t happy about it.”

“Wait, wait, wait the Riddler is pissed about the new Riddler burger coming out?!” Red Robin exclaimed. “That seems…..kind of extreme…..”

“Hey man you know your city’s flavor of crazy better than I do.” Spider-Man shrugged. “I know you told me to leave the big bads alone but I couldn’t just leave after finding out that these guys poisoned meat!”

“No….I don’t think that would have been wise.” Red Robin agreed.

Spider-Man couldn’t help but be relieved. He had kind of expected Red Robin to want to take him in right away or something like that. “But hey now that you’re here you can help me! I printed out what happened and gathered the evidence but if you could sign off on it the manager of this place will take it seriously!”

He looked up just in time to watch Red Robin open his mouth, close it, and repeat a couple of times. “Yeah….I could do that.”

“Okay thanks bye!” Spider-Man exclaimed. Just as Red Robin started to protest he shot a web and pulled himself up to make his get away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red Robin was used to crazy nights in Gotham. After all it was Gotham and he was a crime fighting vigilante with a bird theme. Was anything normal in his life? No….the answer was no. But you got used to it.

You know what else was not normal? A fearless vigilante pacing back and forth on a rooftop because he was nervous over going into a stupid diner. He peered over the side of the building and looked down at the Rusty Spoon once again. Finally he screwed up his courage and jumped down. He had been thinking about Peter for a while. He had felt like his last visit he had made an absolute idiot out of himself. He was in the neighborhood so why not? It certainly had nothing to do with the hope that being Red Robin might give him more confidence!

Chapter Text

Peter felt like he was having a pretty good night. He was still pretty amazed that Red Robin had been so cool earlier. Normally when it came to Batman’s team it seemed like the rule of thumb seemed to be interrogate, and in Robin’s case attack, Spider-Man first….and there really was no second part. The only person who had tried to get to know him was Red Hood, though he vehemently claimed he wasn’t close to them and his relationship with this was complicated.

Even though it was more that Red Robin had let him finish up rather than actually work with him, but Peter decided to count it since it was enough to make him miss the Avengers. What was Mr. Stark doing right now? Did he know he was gone? If so had he figured out what happened? Was he going to be grounded when he got home?! Peter knew he was an adult but he was pretty sure no matter what his age was Mr. Stark would always be able to make him feel like a little kid when he was in trouble. Maybe when he managed to get home Mr. Stark would be so happy he’d forget to be mad.

He wasn’t sure exactly what had gone wrong. Maybe magic and science just didn’t mix. That’s what Mr. Stark always said. Or maybe Mr. Dr. Strange was right and there were just some types of magic that shouldn’t be attempted. Peter had thought that he had been so careful, though when taking that book from the Sanctum he had been pretty nervous and rushed. He knew that there would have been so much time before the missing book and ingredients were found.

When the bell above the door rang he looked up and who he saw almost made him drop the pot of coffee he was holding. Red Robin had just walked through the door. He started to panic. Red Hood had said that Red Robin was pretty smart. Had he figured out he was Spider-Man or was it just a coincidence that he came into the diner the night Spider-Man happened to have come into close contact with him?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red Robin couldn’t help but notice that Peter looked pretty shocked at the sight of him. That was pretty normal, it wasn’t every day that one of Gotham’s vigilantes dropped in.

“Uh….hi….” he greeted. “Can I get a table?”

He watched as Peter frantically nodded. “O-of course Mr. Red Robin Sir!” he exclaimed before rushing to a nearby table that he started to wipe down. Mr. Red Robin Sir? He didn’t think he had ever heard anyone address him so formally before. It was kind of funny, though he managed not to laugh. The last thing he wanted was to embarrass Peter. Gotham citizens didn’t really see any of them unless something bad had happened or was happening, and then when it was safe they were off.

Peter’s nervousness was kind of cute. This was rather different from the first time he had come into the diner. He decided to explain himself a little more. “My friends Spoiler and Black Bat said this place has really good food.” he smiled. “And you can just call me Red Robin. I don’t think anyone has ever been so formal with me.” God he hoped Stephanie never found out Peter had called him Mr. Red Robin Sir. He would never hear the end of it!
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Peter had to admit that he had gotten pretty nervous when Red Robin came into the diner. He thought somehow Red Robin had found out he was Spider-Man somehow, even though logically there was a very small chance of that happening. Black Bat and Spoiler had been in a few nights ago and that had been super cool. Though he sometimes got the feeling that Black Bat knew something he didn’t know about the situation. They had told him everyone had spots they liked to go to after patrolling or sometimes to get a pick me up during.

He brought Red Robin a plate of fries and cup of coffee that he may or may not have just made fresh. Peter tried to stay on top of things like coffee but if it was busy when he first got there sometimes he didn’t think about making a fresh pot right away. Of course Red Robin was completely different with Peter Parker than he was with Spider-Man. He seemed a little nervous but after awhile he seemed to relax.

When he worked a later shift Peter would go out on patrol in the afternoon that went into the evening, because it was late there was no one else there. Red Robin explained that some people came up to them but a lot of Gothamites minded their business. Peter noticed that seemed to be the number one unwritten rule of Gotham. That would never happen in New York. If an Avenger was spotted everyone wanted pictures and autographs.

Peter gave the basic cover story his new aunts had helped him work out. There may be no New York but it seemed like the rest of the United States were there. Though there were cities Peter had never heard of before. Like Metropolis or Jump City. Peter Parker had been living on the other side of the country in California before he needed to come live with his aunts for personal reasons. Aunt Harley said no one would ask any follow up questions and that this would explain why he had no idea about Batman and his team.

Talking to Red Robin as Peter was fun, Red Hood hadn’t been underselling how smart he was, and in a way it made him a little homesick. Peter missed talking shop with Mr. Stark.
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Red Hood's mood had dimmed quite a bit. News in the underground traveled fast. He had been hearing whispers that Riddler was planning something. But he hadn’t heard enough to have something to approach anyone about, plus knowing the family they were on top of it. But the wind held a rather interesting bit of gossip.

From what he heard Riddler had been stopped before he could even really begin. The clues had been set out but his goons had been stopped rather early on. B was off world so that left Replacement in his nerdy glory. He always liked puzzles and riddles, so hearing that Red Robin had stopped the Riddler in his tracks wasn’t all that exciting or interesting. However, from what he had heard Red Robin had been on the case…..but Spider-Man beat him to it!

Red Hood had a good laugh once the shock wore off. Oh to be a fly on the wall of the cave when Batman heard that bit of news! Maybe those idiots would try to talk to his friend instead of chasing him off every time they saw him. Offering to go get chili dogs with Spider-Man had been one of his best ideas. Guy needed a friend, he could tell under all those quick witted one liners the guy under the mask was anxious and wanted to go home.

After over an hour of searching for Spider-Man to congratulate him or Replacement to rub things in his face, Hood wasn’t really picky on which he preferred, he was starting to think about giving up. There were probably things that he needed to be doing, but he didn’t really care. Finally he sighed and just as he was about to give up his stomach growled. Taking a food break wasn’t giving up right.

Looking around Hood tried to figure out where he was….and that was when he saw it. The Greasy Spoon, his eyes widened under his mask. That was the place where Peter worked. It had been a few days since the robbery. Red Hood had wasted no time putting the word out that the place was under his protection. Though when word got out that a place was visited by a vigilante, people tended to leave it alone anyway.

“I could eat.” he decided before using a nearby fire escape to scale the side of the building. Yes he liked being around Peter as just Jason….but meeting him as Red Hood couldn’t hurt right? He knew enough about Peter to know he wasn’t closed minded like a lot of other people.

The bell above the door jingled in the way he remembered. He noticed Peter right away…..and then he noticed someone else. “Replacement?!”

Chapter Text

Peter wasn’t really sure what to do. There were currently two vigilante heroes standing in his workplace. He had to keep in mind that while Spider-Man had spent a lot of time with Red Hood Peter Parker had not. What did normal people think of him? He didn’t really lean toward the hero side like the other Bats seemed to do. Honestly Peter would call them all heroes. It wasn’t fair that just because you are not a cop that it meant you couldn’t save people legally. Though he knew Red Hood called himself an anti-hero. Which sounded kind of cool.

From what his aunties told him when Red Hood first came onto the scene he took over a lot of territory. He went up against Black Mask who was like the biggest crime boss at the time like he was nothing. At first he sounded like a bad guy but he soon learned that in his own way Red Hood was doing good things but it was in his own way. Yes he was a crime lord but he was one who was feared and respected. Aunt Harley said for the first time in years Crime Alley was starting to be a decent place to live.

As Spider-Man he could sense Red Hood’s frustration with Batman and his code. And he got it, he really did. Neither Peter nor Spider-Man understood a system that let men like The Joker lose on the streets over and over again. Part of Spider-Man thought that someone should just kill him. Which was weird because he had never had thoughts like that before. Red Hood had asked if Spider-Man was okay hanging out with someone who killed, so he told him about his friend Dead Pool.

But back to the matter at hand. Both Red Robin, who was not there because he had figured out he was Spider-Man, and Red Hood were in his diner. None of them seemed to know what to do.

“Replacement?” he asked, not knowing what else to say. That seemed to break the spell.

“Just an affectionate nickname.” Red Hood explained. Peter looked over at Red Robin after he snorted at the comment.

“I…ah….sense some tension.” Peter said nervously.
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Red Robin would have never expected to see Red Hood of all people walk into the Rusty Spoon. As far as he knew the only place he liked to frequent in uniform was his favorite Bat Burger, they all had one they preferred, and some diner that served his favorite chili dogs. He knew that Stephanie had told everyone about this place and what a hidden gem it was. But since when did Jason care about that stuff?

He looked at Peter and noticed that he seemed nervous. He knew not everyone was a Red Hood fan. Or wasit having the two of them here at the same time? Peter had seemed pretty nervous when it was just him. “Everything is fine.” he lied with a smile. Oh he was so going to figure out why Hood was here!

“Right no worries, I heard this place has good food. Plus there was that robbery that happened a few nights ago.” Red Hood replied.
Red Robin was naturally taken by surprise. Had Spoiler said anything about that?? He couldn’t remember! Curse his usual state of sleep prevention!! “There was a robbery here?!” He knew he shouldn’t be surprised, this was Gotham after all, but he couldn’t help but be worried for Peter’s sake. He seemed so sweet. How long before Gotham ruined that?

“Oh…yeah it wasn’t really a big deal.” Peter answered.

“Heard you took down the robbers yourself.” Hood replied in a tone that was just a touch smug but Red Robin knew only he heard. Hood was letting him know he had inside knowledge. Had he been there? He tried not to frown as Peter blushed a little.

“Y-you did?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “It was just some quick thinking.”
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Red Hood did not like that of all the nights he went to check on Peter that Red Robin had also come. Could he not have one good thing someone in his family didn’t ruin?! Of course it didn’t help that it was Replacement of all people. While they had come a long way everything wasn’t perfect. But at least he had come to see that Tim Drake had not been trying to replace him to be spiteful or seek glory. Bats was really on the edge after his death. Though it still pissed him off to no end that Joker was alive. There was a reason why when he broke out of Arkham it was best if he stayed out of it.

Of course he couldn’t help but rub it in Red Robin’s face that he hadn’t just been to the diner before but had seen Peter in action. Replacement probably thought of Peter as some one his age he could bond with. But Peter was a total badass which meant that he was better suited for him! He could see that they would probably have a talk about this later. But as long as that talk ended with him being the winner he didn’t care.

“Do you guys want to sit together?” Peter asked. Before either of them could answer the bell above the door jingled and a very familiar high pitched voice was heard.

“Huckleberry!” Harley Quinn squealed before bouncing over to Peter and hugged him. Red Hood was really glad he had his helmet on because his mouth had just fallen open in surprise.

Peter looked at his watch and frowned. “Wow, is it two A.M. already? Sorry guys, my shift is up.”

Harley ignored them and had eyes only for Peter. “Peanut Butter you gotta help me! Red says I’m not allowed to make pancakes anymore.”

“Well Aunt Ivy really has a point after the electric mixer incident.” Peter pointed out.

“Aunt Ivy?!” It seemed like he and Replacement were on the same page for a change because they said that at the same time. He knew that Peter lived with his two aunts but he had no idea that they were Ivy and Harley. How was that even possible?!
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Harley blinked a few times and finally noticed that Cherry was not alone. Her eyes narrowed at the sighed of Red Hood and Robin standing a few feet away. “What are you two doing here?!” she demanded.

“Aunt Harley, don't be rude.” Peter begged.

“You better not be causing trouble!” she hissed. “And both of you better not even think of laying a finger on my sweet lil Lemon Meringue!”

Hood watched as Harley took hold of a protesting Peter’s hand and dragged him out of the diner, completely ignoring his protests about needing to clock out.

“Did we just get called out by Harley Quinn?” Red Robin asked.

Chapter Text

Tim sat with his laptop and frowned. His mind was on Peter Parker, which wasn't that unusual. He had been thinking about him a lot. What was unusual was that Peter Parker called Harleen Quinzel Aunt Harley, but not before referring to Pamala Isley as Aunt Ivy. What the heck was going on? Harley did have a brother she didn’t talk to anymore but there was no record of him having any children. Pamela had been an only child. So who was Peter Parker and how did he get involved in those two? The two had left their lives of crime and had been clean for quite some time. So he was pretty sure that there wasn’t anything shady going on.

Another strange thing was that there was no trace of Peter Parker anywhere on the internet. Nothing on any search engines or social media platforms. It was like he had no digital footprint. It was frustrating not to be able to figure anything out. He had even boosted his computer to be able to get into the bat-computer files. This should be impossible! But yet here he was.

After awhile he gave up for the time being and started to work on another ongoing project, Spider-Man. The newcomer was quite an enigma. He didn’t seem to want to cause trouble but he clearly wasn’t going anywhere. B had been chomping at the bit to find him and get him out of Gotham. To be honest, Tim didn’t mind that he was there as much anymore. Spider-Man cut down on a lot of petty crime. He also seemed to be pointedly staying away from Rouge Gallery-related stuff. Well there was that one incident with the Riddler but Spider-Man had said that it had been an accident. His tech was quality stuff.

His suit had a very expressive mask and must have some type of technology that neither he nor Babs could put a finger on. Yes they had several recordings from his few interactions with one of them but when they tried to to voice recognition the program malfunctioned. Babs was both annoyed and impressed since she was the best of the best. It was too bad B didn’t play well with others because as far as Tim was concerned if you could stump Oracle then that should get you a spot on the team.

Spider-Man didn’t really have any patterns that he could tell. The public had taken notice of Spider-Man’s activities, and there were mixed reviews. Gothamites were naturally very suspicious and there was a debate on if Spider-Man was a good guy or was just trying to fool everyone. True to his word Spider-Man only helped with small time stuff and got a lot of things that the batclan could not. He also sometimes went out during the day when the bats were of course very nocturnal. Tim noticed that sometimes Spider-Man disappeared altogether but was sometimes seen in Crime Alley. But Jason hadn’t complained about Spider-Man at all.

Tim’s eyes widened a little as something came to mind. Was Red Hood allied with Spider-Man?
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Peter’s life had taken a very weird turn, and after being thrown into another universe and landing in the most crime ridden city in the world that was protected by a bat themed hero with a team out to get him….that was saying a lot. Now he had to deal with the fact that he had somehow made friends with some of the city’s protectors. When Black Bat and Spoiler had first came into the Rusty Spoon, he had been surprised to say the least. When Red Robin came in he nearly had a panic attack,thinking that the jig was up. Finally Red Hood of all people came in for a bite to eat. He knew from Red Hood, as Spider-man, that Red Hood did not get along with Red Robin. Well really he didn’t get along with anyone in the Batfamily as they were affectionately called. Thankfully there had been no fighting since his Aunt Harley showed up pretty soon to take him home. The bats and the spider talk that followed had been super awkward. And that was saying something after getting The Talk from Aunt May and then years later Mr. Stark.

Mr. Stark, thinking about his mentor made his heart hurt. Did he know he was gone? Probably. Though it was impossible to know what was going on back in his own universe. What if time went by faster or slower? What if by the time he made it back he was an old man or for him what was a number of months was actually years?! Honestly he tried not to think about that too much. He still wasn’t sure how to find a lab so he could start working on his machine. He had looked over the broken remains but there was only so much he could do in the livingroom of the apartment he was staying in.
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Jason was pissed off, that wasn’t anything new since it seems like more often annoyed was his default setting. Especially when it came to dealing with his family. He had just wanted to check up on Peter and make sure he was okay when Replacement of all people messed things up. Well not really but it felt like that! Peter was smart and he didn’t want to be forgotten about. Even though he was pretty sure that he had met Peter first!

Though at least he had his new friend Spider-Man. That was kind of a weird thought. When people thought Red Hood friendly was not a word that came to mind. Though it was pretty hard not to like being around Spider-Man, the guy was chatty and could give Dick Face a run for his money when it came to puns…..but the guy was funny. Jason imagined that it was hard to be trapped in a strange universe. He hadn’t been but knew that Nightwing and Batman had accidently been sent to alternate Earths. Of course he couldn’t just waltz into the Batcave and start asking questions.

But he wasn’t going to be put off! He might not be able to be a huge help to Spider-man but he was going to do what he could. Even if it was just offering him a place to play superhero because his family knew to leave Crime Alley alone. He also wasn’t going to give up on Peter, it had been a long time since he had liked anyone normal. Or as normal as you could get when it came to Gotham. Peter was his chance to see what Jason Todd could do, and in a way Peter reminded him of what it felt like before that bomb had finished counting down.
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Spider-Man was having a pretty average night. He had spent the last couple of nights patrolling Crime Alley to give himself a break. As Peter Parker he had heard people talking about Spider-Man. A lot still didn’t trust him but there were some people who had good things to say about him.

He looked up at an alarm going off in the distance. “Karen?” he asked.

“There is a museum that has had an alarm set off three miles southwest of you.” Karen reported that Spider-Man changed directions.
When he got to the roof he soon found a hole cut into the glass of a skylight but didn’t sense anyone around. Had the thief already left or were they still inside? He went to the street side of the roof and looked down as a few cop cars rushed up to the scene. That was weird. Why are there so many cops?

“Well this is interesting.” a voice said behind him.

Spider-man whirled around and saw a woman dressed in tight black leather with….cat ears on top of her head? How had she snuck up on him like that?!

“I had thought to attract a Bat not a spider.” she continued.

Spider-Man straightened his shoulders. “Uh….hello?” he said awkwardly. “Um….Ms. Catwoman did you just commit a crime?”

“Only an attention one.” Catwoman shrugged.

“A what?” Spider-Man frowned.

“Well you see I like to play cat and mouse with Batman. I grabbed a few little trinkets and then tripped the alarm.” Catwoman explained holding up a bag with her prize in it.

“Right, I heard you guys were like a thing.” Spider-Man nodded.

“Oh? And whom did you hear that from little bug?” Catwoman purred.

“Ms. Harley and Ms. Ivy told me about you.” Spider-Man answered honestly. He had known he’d met Catwoman sooner or later. Apparently back in the day she had caused quite a bit of trouble with his Aunties.

“You know Harley and Ivy?” Catwoman asked looking surprised.

“Yeah….they are kind of helping me out here and there.” he shrugged, not wanting to give everything away.

“Well that is interesting.” Catwoman purred.

“Are you part of the Rogue’s Gallery?” Spider-Man asked.

“Not really.” Catwoman replied. “I’ve gone….somewhat straight.”

“Somewhat?” he asked.

“Well a girl has got to have some fun. But why do you ask?”

“Well I’m kind of trying to stay under the radar. Not really working but I try. Anyways I told Red Robin I’d just stop small-time criminals. Not counting the time I accidentally stopped the Riddler.”

Catwoman chuckled. “I heard that caused quite the stir among the Rogues. So does this mean you aren’t here to stop me?”

“Well I’m pretty sure I should do that but it sounds like you have plans and I really would hate to ruin that. Plus I’ve made it a rule to be anywhere else that Batman is. Dude low key hates me.” Spider-Man sighed.

“How considerate of you. I do hate when my hard work goes to waste. But you’d better swing away little spider. Bats will be here any minute.”
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Catwoman watched as Spider-Man did indeed swing away. This was a very interesting development. She was going to have to pay Harley and Ivy a visit very soon.

“Catwoman.”

She turned and saw Batman in all his gloom and doom glory. “Batman.” she smiled.

“You are normally much further away after tripping an alarm.” Batman said, due to her experience with him, she was able to detect a note of amusement in his tone.

“I got a little….distracted.” She purred already decided not to give Spider-Man away. “But I must be off.” She took off running and jumped to the next roof before Batman could ask questions. The chase was on!!

Chapter Text

I have some questions. I think it's good to find out what people want to see happen

1)What Rogue would you like to see Peter/Spider-Man interact with and in which persona? For example Spider-Man would probably fight some one while Peter could be a in the wrong place at the wrong time or they could be some one who's curious about the kid who works in a diner that has the batfam charmed.

2)Would you like to see more Red Hood and or Red Robin interactions with Spider-Man or would you like to see more Jason and or Tim interactions with Peter. Or it can be the opposite Jason and or Tim dealing with Spider-Man or it can be the other way around with Red Hood and or Red Robin being around Peter.

3)What Batfam members do you want to see Spider-Man/Peter interact with next?

4)Should I check in with Peter's dads?

Honestly let me know if there's anything else you'd like to see. I can't promise I will write it but we'll see what happens!

Chapter Text

Alfred Pennyworth had seen and done many things. It was by popular belief that he knew everything. This wasn’t true of course. But he didn’t let on to that fact. One thing he did know was when something was going on with his grandchildren.

Like how he noticed that Master Jason sometimes lingered after getting medical attention and watched the others interact or that he sometimes turned his comm off while he patrolled Crime Alley. Master Tim seemed more lost in his own thoughts, which he often was but this time it didn’t seem to have anything to due with lack of sleep. Not that anyone in this family had anything resembling a normal sleep schedule. Miss Cassandra and Miss Stephanie seemed to have a new hangout spot. A dinner from what he had heard. And while he would prefer they go somewhere that served more healthy options he was glad that the two ladies were getting out of the house and enjoying time as civilians.

Master Bruce was still troubled by news of the Spider-Man, and as per usual whatever upset Master Bruce put a bee in Master Damian’s bonnet. Which was rather adorable if he did say so himself. Master Dick seemed unaffected by the presence of Spider-Man and seemed to be the only one willing to voice the opinion that perhaps they should try talking to the spider themed vigilante. Master Jason said to leave him alone all together and it wasn’t a big deal he was there anyways. It was a bit strange for him to say such a thing since there had been times when Spider-Man had been seen in Crime Alley. Alfred was starting to think Master Jason knew more than he was letting on. He had even corrected Master Damian who had been typing up a report.

“It’s Spider-Man….there’s a hyphen bat brat.”

Master Damian’s outrage that Master Jason would dare try to correct him seemed to distract everyone that Master Jason knew the correct spelling of Spider-Man’s name, the Gotham Gazette was apparently getting things all wrong.

Well he couldn’t look into this Spider-Man person very much…..but he could visit the establishment that almost all of his grandchildren had been to.
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Spider-Man was sure about one thing that was a constant, it’s that there was always something going on in Gotham. He was so glad that thanks to Mr. Stark’s technology he was able to use Mr. Stark’s technology to form earbuds, otherwise he wasn’t sure he could survive in Gotham. The more he tried to help people the more he didn’t understand how such a crime ridden city never seemed to get any better. Sure New York had plenty of crime but Gotham was on another level.

Day or night there was always so much crime. Though at least during the day there seemed to be less activity by those that belonged in the Rogue Gallery. And okay maybe he did venture out into the city during the day a little more since most of Batman’s team worked the night shift. This was something else that was a little confusing. It wasn’t like crime stopped at sunrise even though the worst of it happened at night.

Screams off in the distance announced the end of his little break and had him swinging towards whatever it was that was happening.
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Everyone in Gotham knew that Signal was the day time protector of Gotham. It was a lot of work sometimes but he didn’t mind. Someone had to pick up the day time slack since pretty much everyone on the team worked the night shift. They sometimes did day time things when a case called for it. It didn’t hurt that he did have light based powers.

It was pretty unusual to deal with a heavy hitter during the day. So while on patrol having Oracle report that Bane had broken into a museum had him change directions. Oracle was watching on the security cameras and was unsure what Bane’s end game was or what he was after.

The thing with dealing with Bane was not to get too close and to move quickly. Signal was trying to scope out his opening. He needed to wrap this up as quickly as possible….but that was easier said than done. It didn’t help when he tried to attack with his eskrima stick; it ended up with him getting knocked back into a wall that was now severely dented. Dazed he slowly got to his feet but the next thing he knew Bane was standing over him and his fist was coming down hard.

‘This is going to suck.’

But the blow never connected. Signal stared wide eyed at Spider-Man who was now not only between himself and Bane but was holding onto that fist that had been about to knock him into next week.

“Hey Mellow Yellow.” Spider-Man greeted casually. “Not that I think you can’t handle yourself…but it looked like you could use a little help. Seriously, chef kiss to you and yours”

Signal felt his mouth actually fall open a little as Spider-Man not only held the now struggling Bane like it was nothing but actually did this one handed as he performed a chef kiss gesture with his other hand. “Uh….thanks.” he stammered. “The help is appreciated.”

“Cool, cool.” Spider-Man nodded. He then upper cut Bane knocking him back and possibly down for the count from the look of it. Signal gaped because no one had told him Spider-Man was so damn strong!

“Well I guess I’ll get going. Not trying to step on anyone’s toes.” Spider-Man said.
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“Wait!”

Spider-Man had been ready to bounce but the yellow stranger called out. “Yeah?” Part of him couldn’t help but worry that the guy was stalling him so his friends could show up.

“Uh…thank you…for helping me. My name is Signal.”
“Spider-Man, but you probably knew that.” he couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m always happy to help. I’ve been trying really hard to be good.”

“Are you not normally good?” Signal asked him. Maybe they thought he was a bad guy?

“No, I'm a hero back home.” Spider-Man said before pausing. “I’m an Avenger.”

“A what?” Signal asked.

“Nevermind.” Spider-Man sighed. “You good here? Not to sound rude but you guys usually just go in for the kill so I’d like to get out of here before more of your team shows up.”

“It was nice to meet you Signal. I’ll be swinging around.”
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“I’m telling you he stopped Bane one handed!” Duke exclaimed later on, that afternoon, finally everyone had gathered in the cave to hear the full story of what had happened at the museum.

“No way.” Tim protested. “There is no way he’s that strong.”

It seemed Bruce could sense an argument brewing because he pushed a button on the bat computer. “Barbara.”

“On it.”

After a small pause, feed from the security cameras came up. It showed the fight between Signal and Bane. Signal had arrived pretty quickly so it wasn’t yet clear what Bane had been after. Duke winced a little as he watched himself get slammed into the wall. However he couldn’t help but feel a touch smug as everyone’s mouths, except Bruce’s of course, fell open as Spider-Man had indeed been able to jump between Signal and Bane. Not only was he holding Bane at bay with one hand but with just one punch Bane was down for the count.

“Oh shit!” Jason exclaimed gleefully.

“Just how strong is he?!” Tim said as he replayed the footage.

“All the more reason to get him out of Gotham. Someone that strong is dangerous. What if he got hit with fear gas?” Bruce frowned.

“Or we could like...try talking to him?” Dick suggested causing everyone to look at him. “What? Nothing we’ve tried so far has worked.”

“He does try to stay out of our way.” Duke added.

“Which is all the more suspicious!”Damian exclaimed. “What nefarious deeds is he trying to hide?!”

Barbara spoke up next. “Duke I saw you guys talk a little but no matter what I try I can never get a clear reading on Spider-Man’s voice, which means I can’t do voice recognition.” This caught everyone’s attention. It said a lot when Oracle couldn’t override someone’s grear. “Did he say anything important?”

Duke thought about their brief interaction. “Honestly he just seemed concerned if I was going to be okay or not.” he answered. “He wanted to get out of there before anyone else showed up.”

“Gee I wonder why?” Jason said sarcastically.

Duke ignored him. “He said he was trying to be good, and at first I thought it meant he wasn't used to saving people. But he said he was a hero back home….and Avenger.”

“Back home?” Tim asked. “Well that lines up with when I first ran into him. He didn’t seem to know some pretty common stuff. Like what a meta-human is or why it wasn’t okay for him to be in Gotham.”
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After running into Signal Peter had decided to cut his patrol short. He hadn’t known Batman had someone who went out in the daytime! That was so unfair. Sure he liked helping out in Crime Alley but the buildings of Gotham called out to him like a siren called out to a sailor. Peter was fairly confident that he could get away from any of the batfamily, as Gothamites preferred to call them, but he really REALLY didn’t want to run into Batman himself.

With a sigh he headed up the stairs to the condo that his aunts lived in. It looked like no one was home which made sense. Aunt Ivy owned a small flower shop and Aunt Harley did volunteer work. They had both been pardoned after getting therapy and doing a lot of community service. Though he knew they weren’t the only criminals who turned over a new leaf. There was a guy called The Penguin that ran a popular club called the Iceberg Lounge.

Peter stopped in his tracks as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He looked around but didn’t see any danger, he also didn’t hear any heartbeats that weren’t behind doors. So no one was lurking around the corner waiting. What was even more confusing was that up ahead the door to the condo had a playing card stuck to it. Carefully Peter moved forward but no one jumped out at him. Confused, he stared at the cared and then poked it. Nothing happened.

So why was there a playing card stuck to their door? Was it some weird prank? Pulling it off the door he went inside, deciding to ask whoever came home first about it.

Chapter Text

Peter had thought that his aunts might come home before he had to go to his late afternoon shift but it was not to be. But it was fine that they didn’t. As always the cook looked relieved when he came in. But he seemed a little more relieved than normal, which was a little weird, “Package came in for you Pete.”

“For me?” Peter asked, looking confused. No one knew him except for a handful of people. Though come to think of it he had made some new friends. But if it was one of them why not just give it to him in person? He noticed an unopened box sitting on a counter and went to open it. Inside was a little doll that was in some kind of…jester costume? On the back was a joker card like the one that had been on the front door. “Well this isn’t unsettling at all.” Peter muttered as he put the doll back in its box. There was no return address and the box only said his first name. So someone had to drop this off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jason took a deep breath before walking into the Greasy Spoon. He had spent a little time hyping himself up to go in, but not as long as it had taken when he had first visited as Red Hood. He had been a little disappointed when he got in and didn’t see Peter. He didn’t want to be a creep and ask if Peter was working that day. He also couldn’t just leave because what if it got back to Peter later on? He hoped that he would be able to get to know Peter and be able to see him more often.

So he sat down and ordered a cup of coffee. He wasn’t a big coffee drinker but used it when he needed the boost. At least it wasn’t running through his veins like Tim. He had decided to stick around for a little bit since he had a copy of Pride and Prejudice on hand. And to think Roy mocked him for carrying around a paperback to read because you never knew. Well who was laughing now?!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harley struggled a bit to unlock the door without dropping the grocery bags she was holding. She had spent the day working in the little flower shop Ivy owned. Ivy had gotten a loan from Wayne Enterprise after Mr. Wayne had set up a program to help people like them get back on their feet. Not too many rouges went straight but there were plenty of lower level goons who didn’t want that life but hadn’t had any other choices. Some went to jail based on crimes they already committed. But it was nowhere near as bad as it would have been when they were eventually caught, plus their families got financial help no matter what. Ivy still worked with the city on botanical projects. Last year she had revived the plant species native to Gotham that everyone thought had died out.

“Pammy, what do you think Triple Berry will want for din-din? You know how hungry that little tummy can get. I want there to be something in the fridge for….” And then she dropped the bags she was holding.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If anyone had told Poison Ivy five years ago she would be living a normal life, doing community service and owning her own little flower shop while sharing an apartment with her girlfriend who had once been the right hand to Joker she would have laughed. Yet here she and Harley were and life…was amazing. She used to think it would never get any better. But then Peter, literally, fell into their lives. Having Harley help out at the shop was sometimes more trouble than she wanted but it was still nice to have Harley there with her. Like her, Harley was still serving community service, she wasn’t a licensed therapist anymore but she still had a lot of experience.

She was about to answer when she heard a crash come from the kitchen. “Harley I told you it was too many….” her words died in her throat as she stopped in her tracks and saw what Harley was staring at. It was a joker playing card.

It was clear who this was from. But why now?? Ivy was not naive to believe that Joker didn't know where Harley was. Their relationship had ended years ago and after a time it seemed like Joker had lost interest in going after Harley, though it helped that they had Batman's protection.

"Why would he do something after so long?" She asked as she embraced her shaking girlfriend.

It hit them at the same time "PETER!!"

While it wasn't like Harley had made a show of her new found nephew. News didn't stay secret for long. Someone could have overheard either of them.

"You go get Peter and I'm going to check for traps." She decided.

"You go." Harley said. "I know exactly what to look for!"

Ivy wasn't thrilled with the plan but nodded anyway. Once they were all together they'd make a game plan.
—----
"So do you think the Darcy and or Bingley marriages will last?"

Jason looked up ready to start a fight with whoever just spoke to him. First of all he hated when people tried to talk to him when he was reading. Second of all, what the hell kind of question was that?! Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were a classic literature couple

But upon looking up and seeing that at some point Peter had started working made his mind went blank. How long had Peter been working? "What?" Inwardly Jason winced.

Peter didn't seem to notice. "Well the book talks about love and romance but not passion. Bingley almost missed out on marrying the great love of his life. And sure Darcy and Elizabeth had some sparks during their enemies to lovers phase but half way through their ship tag turned into idiots in love.”

Jason blinked. He had gotten a lot better but there were still times when he realized just how behind he had gotten being dead, turned into a zombie, and then became a revenge obsessed psychopath. He had no idea what the hell Peter had just told him. Enemies to lovers? Ship tag? Idiots in love? What did any of that mean?! “Well I can’t say much for Jane and Bingley because you have a point. But I think Elizabeth and Darcy have chemistry. Love isn’t always a passionate explosion, sometimes it needs time to build.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter was about to reply when the door to the diner almost came off its hinges because of how fast someone pushed the door open. Though his spider sense did not go off, for a moment he was confused but then he saw who had come in.

“Aunt Ivy?” The words were barely out of his mouth before he was pulled into a tight hug.

“You’re okay!” Ivy exclaimed. “Oh my little sapling we were so worried.”

“Worried?” Peter asked, still confused.

“Harley and I found a joker playing card on the kitchen counter!”

Peter felt the mood of the room drop but he didn’t know why. “Uh…yeah….it was pinned to the door.”

Ivy finally pulled back looking both scared and angry. “And you just took it off the door?!”

“Uh….yes? Aunt Ivy….what’s going on?”

“You’re coming home with me.” Ivy announced.

Peter’s mouth fell open. “What? I can’t go now. I've only been here an hour.”

The look his aunt gave him made the rest of his protest die in his throat. “Peter you can walk with me or I can summon vines to wrap you up like a mummy and I will drag you home.”

Peter stared for a few moments. “Hey Jim….I’m going home.”

“Take yer package with you!” Weird….Peter thought the line cook would be in a panic at his leaving.

“Package?” Ivy asked as Peter went to the back and came back with his box.

“Uh yeah….it was here when I got here.”

He showed her what was in the box. Without a word she grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the diner ignoring his protest because he had dropped the box.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jason had watched all of this with a sinking feeling. Harley had called Peter her nephew and had probably been seen with him around the city. Noticing the dropped box he picked it up. Maybe he could give it back to Peter the next time he saw it.

However when he saw the Harley Quinn doll with a joker card pinned to her back he knew Peter was never going to see the damn thing again. Word spread fast and it had clearly reached Joker, alerting him that his ex had someone she cared about in her life that could not control plants.

He was already out on the street when his phone buzzed. He almost wanted to ignore it but realized it was his private phone that few had the number to.

“What?” he barked into the phone, it was a custom made piece that automatically changed his voice.

“Hood…..I need your help.” His eyes widened at the sound of Harley’s voice. Had she been crying?! He pushed his panic down when his first thought was Peter. But there was no way something could have happened so quickly after Ivy had taken him.

“Harley what’s wrong?” That’s right, he had to act like he had no idea what was going on even though he had a front row seat to some of it just now. “Are you okay?”

The line was quiet. “I am….but….I think the Joker is going to come after my nephew Peter. He’ll be home any minute with Pammy, I gotta tell him everything but I don’t know how much time I got. Can you watch the perimeter or something? After he hears everything we need to hide!”

Jason was already heading for the closest safe house. “Don’t worry Harley….I’ve got you covered.”

He had lost count of how many times he had cursed Bruce for letting that insane clown live.

Chapter Text

Peter was very confused. One minute he was enjoying himself and talking with Jason, then the next thing he knew he was being dragged home by his Aunt Ivy. Worst of all she wouldn't answer any of his questions! He knew it had something to do with the playing cards and the doll but wasn't able to put it together.

"PETER!!" As soon as he walked through the door there was a flash of blonde, pink, and blue, before he found Aunt Harley clinging to him even harder than Aunt Ivy had.

"Um ... .were we robbed?" He asked, looking around the living room that looked like it had been ransacked.

Finally Aunt Harley pulled away and looked up at him. "Razzleberry we gotta talk."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red Hood was on a time crunch. He didn’t know how long he had to find Harley, Ivy, and Peter a safe place to stay. The issue at hand was that it felt that none of the locations of his safe houses, which he had many of, seemed good enough for Peter. While time was of the essence he still wanted to do his best for the three of them. His connection to Harley was complicated. They had their times when she had been working for Joker and he was Robin. Then he died, came back to life, and got dunked in the Lazarus Pit by Talia. Dealing with pit madness had not been fun but making rage fueled revenge plans really did help the mind to focus. Somewhere along that time Harley had gone straight and turned her life around, which he fully supported.

He let her know if she ever needed an escape plan he’d be there for her. This didn’t happen all at once and at first she was suspicious. He ended up confessing that he had been the second Robin, the little bird that Joker had put down. Hood had heard about trauma bonding but hadn’t experienced it until then. They weren’t besties by any means…but they had an understanding.

He got onto the main comm line. "I'm doing something important. No one fucking bother me." He said before turning off the line, cutting off questions. He may not have a safe house yet but he could act as a look out
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Has anyone noticed that Red Hood has been disappearing more and more?” Oracle asked.

“It’s kind of weird.” Red Robin agreed. “It seems like he’s been focusing more on Crime Alley.” He had heard whispers about Red Hood appearing more than normal.

“Hasn’t Spider-Man been spotted in Crime Alley lately?” Oracle asked. She had been trying to get whatever information she could on the guy.

“You think Hood is dealing with him?” Nightwing asked. “Why wouldn’t he let us know when he knows we’ve been trying to get a hold of him?!”

“You know Hood.” Red Robin reasoned. “He has to do everything on his own. Especially when it comes to what he considers his turf.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter had no idea what to expect when he finally got back with his Aunt Ivy. He had never seen his Aunt Harley look so shaken up. And it was all because of those playing cards and a doll? But as Aunt Harley sat him down and told him the story of the Clown Prince of Crime and his Harley Quinn. He remembered that when he had first met his aunts, Aunt Ivy had asked what the names Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy meant to him.

He listened to the origin story and experienced a wide variety of emotions. He knew everyone had a starting point whether you ended up a hero or a villain. He had heard of the Joker but it wasn’t a topic many wanted to talk about. Not that he sought out information since he was one of this city’s big bads which meant he was off limits.

But the problem was that this clown was messing with one of his Aunties. And Peter wasn't about to let that slide. He lost one aunt and wasn't going to lose the two he had found in this strange new universe. Aunt Harley and Aunt Ivy were his family. No fucking clown was going to mess that up, Batman be damned. His suit flowed over his body, stopping at his neck.

“Key Lime what are you doing?” Aunt Harley asked him suspiciously.

“I just want to talk to him.” Peter insisted.

“Sapling.” Aunt Ivy frowned.

“I just want to talk to him.” Peter repeated. Both women cross their arms and frown at them. He knows he has to give them a little more. “I am going to talk to him…and rough him up a bit. My suit is equipped to take care of anything I could come up against. Not only do I have my spider sense but there is an A.I. named Karen to help me. Karen say hello.”

“Hello Peter’s Aunts. I am Karen. I am an artificial intelligence that was installed into Peter’s suit. On top of that there are a number of protocols set into place to keep Peter safe. I am so well crafted that I am functional despite the two of us not being in our universe of origin.”

Aunt Ivy looked thoughtful. “Well….that is pretty impressive.”

“I still don’t like it!” Aunt Harley exclaimed. “You don’t know what the Joker is capable of!!” Her voice had gone tight with fear and Peter understood.

“What if I take someone?” he asked.

“Like who?”

“Red Hood?”

He watched as the two women exchanged a look and seemed to communicate telepathically.
“Uh ... .actually you won’t have to go too far to find him Banana Cream.” Harley announced.

Peter looked confused. “Why’s that?”

“He owes me a favor and I asked him to watch the perimeter while we try to figure something out.” Aunt Harley admitted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red Hood was standing on the roof across the street from the building Harley lived in with Ivy and Peter. It felt a little weird to know where Peter lived when he had originally wanted to find that out as Jason Todd. But with the current situation the way it was he couldn’t really make any demands. He still hadn’t found a safe house he liked and was pretty sure he’d have to set something new up. Which was fine, it wasn’t like he was hurting for money.

“Hey buddy.” A voice out of nowhere said. “I need your help.”

“Fuck!” he swore as he jumped a foot in the air. Turning he found Spider-Man. As usual the guy just seemed to appear. But Red Hood didn’t know if he had been using the cloaking function or if he hadn’t noticed because he had been distracted with the Joker issue. “Sorry man, I can't really hang out, I'm helping a friend.”

Spider-Man nodded. “Cool, cool, cool. I just need to know where the Joker hangs out and I will get out of your hair..”

Red Hood’s changed the schematics in his helmet. “Uh ...his base is the fun house in the abandoned amusement park on the west side of the city,” he answered. “Wait...why do you want to know where the Joker is.”

“Because I’m going to go fuck his shit up.” Spider-Man cheerfully answered before jumping off the ledge to swing away.

“Okay well be careful…..wait what?!”

Chapter Text

Spider-Man was many things, but he was not a liar. While he knew he didn’t need Red Hood he would ask for his help because he had told Harley he would. It was kind of weird to think about how Red Hood now knew where Peter Parker lived. Now that he thought about it there was no one in his life that knew Spider-Man and Peter Parker without knowing they were the same person.

He had heard a lot about Red Hood from others and from the man himself. Some people thought he was good while others thought he was a bad guy. Red Hood described himself as an anti-hero. Which sounded pretty cool and Spider-Man was totally going to start calling Deadpool that when he got back to his own universe. Sure Red Hood was technically an active drug lord but he also had rules and any of his men who were found breaking those rules were punished.

Red Hood was part of Batman’s team but he said he was the black sheep of the group. Something bad had happened to him and he had been gone from Gotham for awhile, when he got back he had changed. Red Hood didn’t seem to like to talk about his past. Spider-Man had shared some details about himself. Hood knew he was from another dimension.

“Peter Red Hood is following you.” Karen informed him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red Hood had jumped on his bike and was soon following Spider-Man. Why in the hell was he going after Joker all of the sudden?! He always talked about how he was trying to avoid the big players to avoid getting on Batman’s bad side even more.

“Hey bestie.” A familiar voice in his helmet said. The first time it happened he had nearly fallen off a roof. Spider-Man had explained that he just wanted to see if it was possible for Karen to get into his helmet's network. Then he explained who Karen was. Hood was impressed at the high tech technology Spider-Man had at his fingertips. It seemed even stupider that B was trying to drive him off. Spider-Man had done nothing but good since he had arrived in a universe not his own. But of course that short sighted bastard would ignore those facts.

"Spider-Man are you crazy?" He demanded as he took a sharp corner to keep up.

"Well I don't think so but I have friends back home that would debate that."

"So you're just stupid!" Hood growled

"Rude!" Spider-Man gasped. "Why are you trying to hurt my feelings??"

"Because you are going after the Joker. What the hell?!"

"The hell….the hell! You want the hell?!" Spider-Man asked dramatically.

"I want an explanation. Joker is not someone you want to mess with." He hated the note of fear he still felt deep down when it came to that clown. He buried it under red hot anger. Rage had always been his friend.
—-----
Red Robin felt like he was having a productive night. It was a little early but if he turned in now it wouldn't be too late to get some W.E. stuff done after he wrote his patrol report.

“Heads up.” Oracle announced. “Spider-Man has been spotted heading through the city. Anyone near the west side of Gotham?”

“I am.” Red Robin answered.

“Try not to engage.” Batman ordered.

“Understood.” he responded. “Oracle what street is he on or heading towards?” Once he got the answer he frowned wondering what he might be up to.

“Hood is following.” Oracle announced. From the lack of responses from everyone else Red Robin knew she had said that to him privately. “Maybe try talking this time?”

“I’ve been thinking about trying a different approach.” he admitted. They were getting nowhere just chasing after the guy, they ended up running around like headless chickens.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spider-Man finally stopped on top of a building not too far from the amusement park. He knew Red Hood would need some answers before they continued. He knew Red Hood was worried about him and he needed him to know that if Red Hood wanted to go with him he was going to need to stay the fuck back.

“What the fuck Spider-Man?!” Red Hood demanded when he had joined him.

“Peter Red Robin is approaching.” Karen warned.

“Hold that thought.” Spider-Man said. “I’m only going to explain things once so I want to wait for everyone to get here.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Red Hood asked.

“Come on out.” Spider-Man called out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red Robin stepped out of the shadows and ignored Red Hood swears. “I just want to talk.” he said holding his hands up.

“Look, Red Hood and I are kind of in the middle of something.” Spider-Man began. “I really do not have time for your shit.”

Red Robin couldn’t help but be a little surprised, Spider-Man always seemed easy going. Something serious was going on. “What are you two up to.”

“This idiot is going after Joker.” Red Hood announced. Red Robin gasped. Had he just heard what he thought he heard?

“Look I just need to talk to him. I’m not going to kill him. I may not understand the justice boner Batman has for the guy but I accept it.”

“Justice boner?” Red Hood snorted. “I’m totally going to use that.”

Red Robin shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “Why do you need to go talk to the Joker?!”

“He threatened a friend of mine.” Spider-Man said crossing his arms. “I’m just going to go and explain why he needs to back the fuck off.”

“Wait you’re going after Joker because of what happened to Harley?!” Red Hood asked.

“Joker threatened Harley?” Red Robin questioned. “When did that happen??” And since when was Spider-Man friends with Harley Quinn.

“Harley helped me when I first arrived in this stupid universe,” Spider-Man explained. “No offense.”

“No I get it, this universe is pretty shitty.” Red Hood nodded.

“Not the point!” Red Robin exclaimed.

“Look you guys can come with me but you’d better not get in my way….looking at you Red Robin.”

“And if I refuse?” Red Robin asked.

“I’m down.” Red Hood said at the same time.

“I’m sure you’ve seen my handiwork. If you get in the way I will web you so fast you won’t know what hit you…well except now you will know because I just told you. AND I will web your hair and it will be super sticky!”

Red Robin opened his mouth to argue but then shut it. He was supposed to be taking a different path. “Fine. I’m not going to stop you. But I will step in if you get over your head.”

“Aw, that’s a real cute offer.” Spider-Man cooed before as he shot a web and swung away.

Chapter Text

Red Hood did not like the fact that Red Robin was there. This was going to lead to questions he didn't want to answer. He knew he couldn’t have hidden the fact that he was Spider-Man’s ally forever. Surely they would notice that Spider-Man was spending time in Crime Alley, a place where he was king and his family respected that. They were a family of detectives after all. But now it was going to be out in the open sooner rather than later.

They soon arrived at the abandoned amusement park. It seemed rather on the nose for Joker to set up base here but whatever. They kept to the shadows until they got to the funhouse.

“Obvious hideout is obvious.” Spider-Man said, sounding unimpressed. “I’m going to get up high and to scope things out a bit so we can decide on the best way to get inside.”

Red Hood inwardly groaned as Spider-Man jumped on top of a nearby ticket booth and then was gone.

“What are you doing?” Red Robin asked

“Right now or with my life?” Hood asked. “Because I can only answer one of those questions.”

“Hood be serious!” Red Robin snapped. As always it was satisfying to annoy Replacement.

“Are you friends with Spider-Man?!”

Red Hood thought about it. “Yup. Dude is all alone in another universe and all you shit heads care about is B’s no meta rule.”

“It’s a rule for a reason!”

“Yeah but has anyone stopped to consider that Spider-Man has done nothing but good since he got here?! We could help him get home except Batman has to be the prettiest girl at the party!”

Red Robin stared. “What does that even mean in this context?!”

“It means Batman can’t handle the idea of there being someone he can’t control running around his city so he’d rather chase Spider-Man off than see what he has to offer!”

Spider-Man’s voice came through his helmet. “Hey I lied about finding the best way in. Ima go jump though this skylight I found.”

Red Hood had to pause so his brain could process what he had just heard. “Spider-Man no!”

“Spider-Man yes!” And then he heard the sound of breaking glass.

Red Robin looked around. “What’s going on?!”
“That idiot just jumped down into the middle of Joker’s lair!” he shouted as he ran towards the funhouse. “He went through a skylight.”

Red Robin was right behind him. “Let's get up there so we can access the damage and make a plan!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joker was a very busy man. Being the clown prince of crime was not an easy task. Even though he made it look otherwise. Whispers had reached him about his ex Harley Quinn, that she had been seen with some kid and was calling him her nephew! What the hell was up with that?! Harley had never been the motherly type. Neither was that plant bitch as far as he knew.

So he had decided to play around a little bit and have some fun. What was the point of having an ex if you couldn’t terrorize them now and again. Suddenly a loud crash was heard, glass fell from the ceiling and a few moments later a figure dropped dramatically down landing crouched down. No one said anything for several moments until Joker got tired of it. “What….what am I looking at.”

The figure stood up. “That….was a superhero landing.” the guy explained. “Absolute hell on the knee but it looks really fucking cool.” The masked man was dressed in a metallic looking suit of blue, gold, and red with a spider on the front.

“Hey I know you.” the Joker smiled. “You’re that….bug boy I’ve been hearing about.”

“Spider-Man.” the guy corrected him. “With a hyphen.”

“I don’t really care.” Joker said “Before I kill you I just need to know why you’re here. Awful big set on you to come crashing in.”

Spider-Man didn’t look nervous at all, which irked the Joker. “I’m here to serve you a court order the leave Harley Quinn the fuck alone.” Spider-Man announced.

Joker’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

Spider-Man burst out laughing. “Kidding! I don’t have pockets to carry paperwork. But seriously. Don’t come near Harley, Ivy, or their nephew Peter.”

“And if I refuse.” Joker growled.

“Oh I was hoping things would take this route.” Spider-Man seemed gleeful. Who the hell was this bug themed asshole?! Didn’t he know there was a certain way to do things in Gotham. Batman was seriously slipping! While they had been talking, his men had been surrounding Bug Boy.

“Kill him!” Joker shouted right before his men charged forward with all manner of weapons.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spider-Man knew he was slowly being surrounded. There had to be at least sixty henchmen filling in the room while he talked to the Joker. Not that it mattered. “Karen please enact the Just Stay Down protocol and announce it.” The Just Stay Down protocol was basically instant kill without the kill part. It could handle a large number of enemies but left them alive and in a lot of pain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red Robin was inwardly panicking when he heard Spider-Man had gone ahead without them to talk to the Joker. Yes Spider-Man had been doing well by handling petty crime but was Harley really so important that he would risk everything for her?! He could die! Yeah the guy was a little annoying but Red Hood had a point, he was doing good.

"Initiating Just Stay Down protocol."

Both he and Red Hood had been about to jump down to help when a smooth female voice spoke. He watched open mouthed as spider legs came out from Spider-Man's back lifting him up a little. Spider-Man then proceeded to hang there as he moved through the waves of Joker goons without having to lift a finger to take them out. A glance at Red Hood told him the other was just as impressed.

"Where are you going?" He asked when he saw Hood move to jump down.

"Getting a better seat to the show" And then he was gone. Red Robin soon followed.
—-----
Spider-Man looked up and met the eyes of Joker. Guy was going to run. Who said he was allowed to get away. He shot a web at one foot, Joker went down, and was soon being dragged back.

He had instructed Karen to answer his questions aloud. "Karen how long before a person passed out from air loss?"

"The average person can go a minute and a half before passing out. But after one minute brain cells will start to die.'

"Can't have that…but first things first." Reaching down he snapped the Joker's wrists like they were twigs. Didn't want him pulling any stunts.

He ignored the scream of pain and lifted Joker up high by his throat. "Karen set a timer for one minute and count down the last ten seconds out loud."

"Of course Spider-Man." He spent that entire minute staring into Joker's eyes.

"Five…four…three…two…one…"

At one Spider-Man dropped him, watching him gasp for air. "You are going to leave Harley, Ivy, and Peter alone."

"And if I don't?"Joker challenged.

Spider-Man leaned over the fallen rogue and showed him his web shooter. "If I even think you are going to pull something I will come back, break every bone in your body, then press my web shooter to your mouth and fill your lungs with web fluid." He threatened.

"Maybe until your lungs explode. Or maybe I will let you choke to death. Normally the solution dissolves after two hours, you'll be long dead by then. But I heard you died and got brought back to life. So I'm going to use the web fluid that becomes solid after five minutes. It will be like your lungs will be filled with cement. So I hope you do get brought back to life, because you'll just die again and again.”

He could see that the Joker knew he was serious. But he needed to drive his point home. He leaned over and let the suit melt away enough to show his eyes. “Play your games with Batman all you want. When it comes to Harley….don’t….test….me.” Once the Joker nodded Spider-Man punched him in the face hard enough to knock him out then covered him in webbing for good measure. Before he turned to face Red Robin and Hood, his mask was back in place. He had been very careful to make sure only the Joker saw. It was a risky move but Joker needed to see the fire in his eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red Hood had no words for what he had just witnessed. He didn’t know a lot about Spider-Man but he had spent a lot of time with him. But absolutely NOTHING could have ever prepared him for the beatdown he had just witnessed. It hadn’t been bloody or over the top, in fact it had been straight to the point. He had seen Spider-Man fight low level criminals, he had heard about when Spider-Man accidentally shut the Riddler down before he even got started. But what had just happened had been calculating, merciless, and to the point. There was no way Joker didn’t know that Spider-Man would come back and end him if he even looked at a picture of Harley every again.

But it wasn’t just Harley that was now safe, so were Ivy and Peter. While he was a little disappointed he hadn’t gotten to swoop in and save the day for Peter, he had to admit that this was SO much better.

“If I died again right now I would have no regrets.” He said as Spider-Man walked up to them.

“Well that’s nice. Hey lets get some chili dogs I am starving…..wait what do you mean die again?!” Spider-Man exclaimed.

Chapter Text

When Peter got back to the apartment he got an earful from both his aunties. But he got it, they had been scared despite his reassurance beforehand that he would be fine.

“I’m never letting you out of my sight again Sweet Potato!” Aunt Harley wailed as she hugged him tight.

Peter couldn’t help but laugh a little as he carefully hugged her back. “I told you everything would be fine. I took Red Hood with me and we even ran into Red Robin who tagged along.”

“Did he cause you trouble?” Aunt Ivy asked him, looking concerned. “It’s not like Batman’s team has been very friendly.”

“I told him right away that if he tried to mess with me and my plans I would web him up without hesitation.” Peter answered. “He said he’d stay out of it unless I needed help.”

Harley gave a snort of laughter and finally pulled back. “What did you say to that?”

“Told him it was a cute offer.” Peter replied. He could see that the place had gotten all cleaned up while he was gone and figured the two needed a distraction.

“So….is Joker….still…you know?” Aunt Ivy asked.

“Alive?” Peter asked with pretend shock that such a thing would be asked. “While I did go to talk, that ass clown decided to be stubborn. But to answer your question, yes.”

Honestly he got the feeling that neither woman would want him to kill for Harley. “I will admit that it was kind of fun. I don’t really get to let go like that. I made it clear that if he even thinks about trying anything I’d come back and finish the job. Want to see how things went?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harley had been going out of her mind while her nephew was out avenging her. Sure Peter said he had protection but in his universe had he ever dealt with someone like the Joker? She certainly hoped not! She didn’t think there was anyone more dangerous than her ex in all of Gotham. Maybe even the world. When you were that crazy no one was ever safe. The revolving door in Arkham Asylum didn’t help but was probably the reason.

“Want to see how it went?”

Harley gave him a puzzled look. “What?”

“I can use my suit to show you guys the view from my perspective.”

Harley sat down on the couch with Ivy as Peter’s suit formed around him. The next thing she knew a sort of movie was playing out. (Think of the hologram technology you see in Endgame and other movies) She watched opened mouth at Spider-Man quickly and effortly put Joker in his place. When Peter put his suit away Harley could see he looked anxious. Neither Ivy or herself had ever seen that side of him or even knew he had it in him. But she was upset, she was touched that Peter cared so much about her to take on such a dangerous criminal just for her, even though they hadn’t known one another that long.

“Oh Sweet Potato Coconut with Marshmallow Meringue!” she squealed before jumping up to hug him. “I love you SO much. I don’t think anyone has ever done something so sweet for me!”

Ivy soon joined the hug. “I know you said you would be okay but we were still worried. We can see now that those worries were unfounded. I think it might be wise for Spider-Man to lay low for a bit.”

Harley pulled back and nodded. “That’s right mister. Spider-Man is grounded for scaring his aunties! Let the bats handle the city for a few days and take a few nights off. Only day patrolling for a bit okay?” Even though everything had turned out well she was still scared about the other shoe dropping. Spider-Man had changed his dynamic by going after the Joker.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tim was honestly feeling really conflicted. He still couldn’t fully describe how he felt about what had happened the night before. Spider-Man had always been very clear about staying away from the Rogue Gallery. He said he had met Harley when he first came to this universe and clearly she had made an impression for her to care so much.

He had watched Spider-Man deal with petty crime through clips Oracle got from security and street cameras. He was always very quick though often had a little bit of fun. What happened with Joker had been methodical and well planned out. He didn’t waste much time though there had been a little banter. Joker had no way of preparing for what was to come. It wasn’t like the Joker didn’t deserve to get his ass kicked. After Jason’s death both Batman and Nightwing had been brutal when dealing with the Joker or any of his men. Then there was the time that Nightwing had thought history was repeating itself after there was a report that Joker had killed him back when he was Robin. Nightwing beat the Joker to death after the clown taunted him about a second Robin being killed. He had shown up with Batman showing that he was alive.

At the time Nightwing had been horrified that he had killed. Meanwhile Batman stepped in and managed to revive Joker. But what Batman didn’t know was later on Dick had told him that killing that clown had felt good, that he had felt at peace, and maybe if Batman hadn’t shown up at all in time he would have come to terms with what he had done and moved on. Privately Tim was sure everyone thought the world would be a better place if the Joker was dead. But thinking those things and doing something about it were two different things for them all. Except Spider-Man. Joker had threatened someone he cared about and Spider-Man had let it be known that if he pulled that stunt again it wouldn’t be tolerated.

Tim needed some sunshine in his life.

“Hi, welcome to, hey Tim, long time no see!”
Tim couldn’t help but smile at the well welcomed sight of Peter greeting him as he walked into the Rusty Spoon. “Hey Peter, how’s it going?” he asked as he sat down.

“Pretty good. I had some family drama happen recently but all that’s taken care of.”

Tim pretended that this was the first time he was hearing about this. He didn’t want to pry or give anything away. Red Robin knew Harley Quinn called Peter Parker her nephew but Tim Drake did not. “Oh really? Well I’m glad everything is okay now.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter set a cup of coffee down in front of Tim without him needing to ask. After being a protege of Tony Stark for so many years Peter could make any type of coffee taste decent. Even coffee from a crappy little diner in the most crime ridden city in the universe. “Only one cup of coffee this time.” he said in a firm tone.

“What? Why??” Tim asked with a whine.

“I know what it looks like when someone isn’t sleeping!” Peter insisted. “You probably need this cup to function but after that I’m cutting you off!”

Tim opened his mouth to protest but the door opened and they were both cut off.

“Drake! There you are!” A young voice shouted. “I can’t believe I had to follow you all the way to this breeding factory for salmonella!!” In march a boy that couldn’t be more than twelve.

Hearing Tim groan and let his head hit the table Peter couldn’t help but make light of the situation. “Tim, I think someone is here to see you.”

Tim lifted his head and sighed. “That’s not someone….that’s my little brother Damian. He had been bugging me and I thought I gave him the slip before coming here.”

“Awww that’s so cute! Your little bro-bro wants to spend time with you.” Peter squealed. Tim's look of horror had Peter second guessing his use of the word bro-bro. He then turned to get a good look at Damian and to his surprise his spider-sense went off. It was the same feeling he had gotten from Cass. His senses weren’t telling him that Damian was a threat but that if the kid wanted to be one he could. What the hell was going on with this family?!

Chapter Text

Tony was…not doing well. He had been an absolute mess since the day Peter disappeared. No matter what he did or tried he was still hitting a dead end. He had watched FRIDAY’s footage of that afternoon over and over but he was still at a loss. Peter was smart, there was no denying that, but at the moment that fact was really biting him in the ass. He had watched other footage and the kid was clearly working on something. But he knew how to angle himself so FRIDAY couldn’t get him a good enough look to see the process. Whatever it was had been a big secret but one that he needed Stark Tech for. Tony was both proud and very frustrated and wondered if that was how all parents felt at some point.

Yes…he was acknowledging himself as the parental figure to Peter Parker. To be honest it was a long time coming and sure he joked about it but there was nothing funny about your kid being missing. He loved that kid and was going absolutely out of his mind with worry. He knew Peter had not been doing well after losing May. Not that he had expected him to. Losing his parents hadn’t been that much of a big deal but Tony remembered the heartbreak he felt when Jarvis, the man not the AI, died. It had been devastating

“Boss Spooky Girl and Nedward wish to see you but the new temporary head of security is making things difficult.”

Tony groaned, this was not what he needed right now. Not that he was trying to hide anything, it was more like he hadn’t thought about Peter’s friends. Happy had tried to keep it together after May’s death but was now on a leave of absence as he got help and was trying to heal. Tony may not care about his own well being but he certainly cared about the well being of people he cared about!

“I’m on it.” He would change really quickly because he didn’t know how long he had been in the clothes he had on, and knew Spooky Girl would not let it go if he came down a disheveled mess.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Michelle Jones had been called many things in her life. Stupid was very rarely one of those things. Even though she would probably not ever say this out loud, Peter Parker was one of her best friends. The other was Ned Leeds. And, no she did not care that technically a person could only have one best friend. She had two, end of story. Right now neither she or Ned had heard from Peter in a while when normally they heard from him every day. Ned had told her that he was probably dealing with Avengers business. But she was done with that excuse.

She had spent the morning talking Ned into going to talk to Tony Stark and now some asshole in a security uniform was trying to put a stop to that. That was not going to work for her. “Look we have badges so what’s your problem?”

“You are two kids in college.” The head of security glared. Clearly he thought Happy’s leave of absence was his chance to step up and was trying way too hard. “How could you possibly have such high level badges?!”

“Um, because we know people?” she said in a bored tone. “What? Do you think a couple of college kids made a couple of badges that are able to fool the smartest A.I. ever created.” Okay to be fair Ned had hacked Peter’s suit but that was not the point.

“I too would like to know why you think that.” A voice called out.

The security guard went pale at the sound of his boss’ voice. It was honestly rather satisfying and made her wish she had her sketchbook so she could capture that look of dawning horror she had just witnessed. Slowly he turned around to face his doom. “M-Mr. Stark I was just…”

“You were just what? Harassing some young people in MY building?”

“Th-they said that they needed to see you but they didn’t have an appointment. They said they’d just go up and wait!”

“And?” Mr. Stark asked, sounding impatient. “I pay you to be my head of security. My TEMPORARY head of security. But if in some shocking twist of fate you screw up your very simple job I have created a state of the art never has there been a rival to it A.I. You’ve heard of FRIDAY right?”

MJ kept her face neutral and just a little bored. The Head of Security opened his mouth to open but got cut off.

“FRIDAY do Miss Jones and Mister Leeds have their badges?”

“They sure do Boss.” the A.I. answered in a pleasant tone.

“So what’s the problem?” Stark asked, raising a brow.

“Th-there’s no problem Mr. Stark.”

“Good, great. Kids, let's go.”

MJ was not okay with being called a kid, but she looked at Ned who shrugged and followed. She reminded herself of the point of all this, which was finding out what happened to Peter. She glanced back just in time to see the look of relief drain away after Tony Stark told the security guard they were going to talk later. Huh…she was really going to have to start carrying around her sketchbook again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Ned Leeds had led a pretty normal life, but then he accidentally found out his best friend was Spider-Man and his life had never been the same! Together they made awkward friends with Michelle Jones who quickly became MJ to them.

MJ had figured out Peter was Spider-Man on her own and even got Peter to confirm it to be sure. Ned had been a little worried she might change the dynamic of Spider-Man and his Guy In A Chair but she preferred to stand back, watch, and give sarcastic yet helpful advice. When Peter hadn’t checked in for a little while Ned had been worried but figured Peter was doing something Avenger related. You know…since he was an official Avenger now.

But then MJ had come to him with her own concerns. They had agreed to wait a little while but then a little while became too long. He had been super nervous about going to see Tony Stark but MJ said if they wanted answers it was best to go to the source. Mr. Stark had taken Peter in after May’s death and practically became Peter’s dad.

The two of them got badges after Peter moved into the tower. Mr. Stark said that since they were Peter’s friends they should be able to come see him whenever Peter and them wanted without the hassle of security stopping them. Though that was exactly what had happened. When that new security guy stopped them Ned was ready to confess to having fake badges. He couldn’t help it! He had been nervous and worried about Peter.

“Where is Peter?” MJ asked as they stepped out of the elevator and walked into the living room of the top floor. This was where Tony and Peter lived. Even the Avengers needed permission to come onto this floor. And even though he had already been here countless times Ned still felt strange to just be able to walk into such a sacred private space.

He tugged on Mj’s sleeve. “I thought we were going to work up to that!” he half whispered.

“I decided this would be faster.” MJ replied. Which honestly wasn’t surprising at all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tony was quickly remembering all the reasons he did not want Spooky Girl and Natasha to ever be in the same room together. “I don’t know where Peter is.” he admitted quietly.

“Look if this is Avenger business like Ned thinks then just tell us.” MJ demanded. “I however think something else is going on.”

“What makes you say that?” Tony asked curiously.

“Peter has been acting weird for weeks. I know he’s grieving and that can do different things to different people but something has been different.”

Tony was now on high alert. “Different how?”

Before she could elaborate a small gold circle appeared behind her and grew larger until Dr. Strange stepped through. He stopped when he saw that Tony wasn’t alone.

“Tony…I know you miss Peter but acquiring more wards is not the way.”

Tony shook his head. “Now is not the time Merlin!” he snapped. He finally had hope that he was onto something concerning finding Peter. Why hadn’t he thought about approaching his friends?! If Peter was planning something he might have asked his friends for help or told them something about what he was planning. He turned to Peter’s friends. “Tell me everything you know!”

Chapter Text

Peter had to admit that Tim had a pretty big family. Though up until now everyone had been older, but for all he knew there were still others he hadn’t met yet.

“Drake you will come with me post haste!” the kid exclaimed.

Tim looked like he needed a save so Peter decided to step in and put the attention on him. “Hi Tim. So who’s this young man who talks like he’s a background character in a Jane Austen novel?”

“I beg your pardon?!” Tim’s younger brother exclaimed.

“Peter, this is my little brother Damian.” Tim said, trying not to laugh. “Damian, this is my friend Peter Parker.”

Damian looked at him and seemed to be appraising him. Somehow Peter felt like he had been found wanting. “So this is the reason you and the others keep coming to this den of squalor and disease.”

Peter held up a hand. “Woah stop right there kid. You need to pull back on that attitude because it does not pass the vibe check.”

Peter was glad he was used to covering up when his spidey-sense went off in public because it was alerting him like crazy. But oddly enough it was the same feeling he had gotten the first time with Cass. He looked over at Damian who looked a little confused. Peter was once again wondering what the hell was up with Tim and some of his family members! Why were there two individuals who set off his “I could be deadly if I wanted to,but I don’t feel like it right this second” ?!

Maybe this was normal. After all now, that he thought about it, Tim had a faint buzz to him and so did Jason. Though Jason’s was a little louder. Peter didn’t know if he was ever going to get used to this weirdly dangerous city.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tim was absolutely mortified. He had not been planning to have Damian being inflicted on Peter until….well maybe never. The kid was a lot to take in.

“Drake, what nonsense is he spouting?” Damian whispered to him. “I know I am not up to date on common youthful slang but…what is a vibe check?”

“Well, it’s….” Tim paused before he realized something. He had never heard that phrase before. “Actually I don’t know either.”

Peter gave them both a disbelieving look. “You guys haven’t heard of a vibe check?”

Tim shook his head. He was getting an off but familiar feeling. Yes it was normal for Damian not to know popular references. But every now and then Peter would say something that was commonplace to him but Tim had no idea what the meaning was. Sure he was no Steph who binge watched reality TV and lived on the internet but he knew plenty of things. So it was strange to not get the reference.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So what brought you crashing into my diner like a bull in a china shop?"

Damian stared at Parker. There was something…different about this person. He had noticed how upon walking up to Drake and himself that the other had tensed. It was very subtle and if not for his League training Damian knew he would have missed it.

Nervousness bubbled up inside him, he knew how different he was from other children. Some days he felt like he was putting on a show for the world to watch and judge. It was honestly exhausting. Of course it didn't help when he met others who seemed to subconsciously see the cracks in his mask, even if they didn't know what they were seeing.

Contrary to popular belief Damian was both aware of how different he was and felt self-conscious over the fact. He knew the way he spoke and acted was not normal. But to try and act against his nature left him feeling not himself. It reminded him too much of going on the missions Mother and Grandfather sent him on. Where it was crucial to blend in with the locals.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Damian was surprised but didn’t let his face give it away. His eyes narrowed just a bit as he wondered what had prompted Parker to say such a thing. He looked up into those friendly brown eyes and for once Damian found himself at a loss for words. He had heard about this diner from members of his family, that they visited both in and out of uniform. While he had been curious he had been more focused on hunting Drake down since he had intel on a case he was working on. Drake said they would “talk later”. Damian disliked vague phrases such as that. Later was not a definitive time.

“Do you want anything?” Parker asked.

Damian would normally say something about how he doubted such an establishment would have anything he’d want to put in his body. But while he did not know what a vibe check was he did not want to fail it. He was the son of the bat and did not fail! “Chai tea?”

Parker looked regretful. “Sorry I have earl gray and peppermint. But I’ll be sure to get some for next time okay?”

Damian opened his mouth to say he doubted there would be a next time. Instead he nodded. “This is acceptable.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tim was honestly surprised at how well Damian was behaving when he had come tearing into the diner like a bat out of hell. He had forgotten that he was supposed to help Damian with a case. He had wanted to go see Peter after all that craziness with Spider-Man and the Joker. That was still a lot to unpack. But he was glad Peter seemed fine and didn’t seem to know that much about the Joker. He guessed that Harley and Ivy were trying to keep him out of that stuff. Thankfully Gothamites were a superstitious lot and firmly believed that talking about the Joker could somehow summon him.

The bell on the door jingled and two men in long black coats and black bowler hats walked in. Tim heard alarm bells go off. There were men who worked for Penguin. But these were guys from the Iceberg Lounge, so they weren’t goons when Penguin did things that were….less than legal. Oswald Cobblepot was a mostly legal Gotham citizen who ran the Iceberg lounge. But what the hell did Penguin want with Peter?? He was pretty sure word had gotten out about what happened to Joker.

Peter noticed the two men and to Tim’s surprise gave an exasperated sigh. His mood did not improve when, of all things, a large gift basket was placed on the counter.

“Mr. Coblepot sends his regards.” one said.

Peter groaned. “Dude I told Mr. Cobblepot I’m happy where I am.”

“All the same. Our boss just wants you to know you have…options.” the second smiled before the two left.

“What was that all about?!” Damian demanded after a small pause.

Peter had been looking over the gift basket but hadn’t moved to open it. “Oh, Mr. Cobblepot wants me to work at his club…the Iceberg Lounge? I keep telling them no but he hasn’t listened so far.”

“Why is he so insistent on employing you?” Damian asked. Yes this was what Tim wanted to know as well.

“I dunno…I mean you take care of a few armed robbers a couple of times, word gets out that you're the adopted nephew of some ex top tier rouges and boom….everybody wants you I guess.” Peter shrugged before his eyes lit up as he saw something he liked. “Oh! This one has cat treats…I guess he listened when the last time I said I didn’t want to leave because I’m taking care of a pregnant stray that lives in the back alley.” Tim wondered if there had been other robberies. Probably, this was Gotham after all. Of course it didn’t hurt that word had probably gotten out that Peter Parker, and by extensions the place he worked, was off limits after what went down with Spider-Man and Joke

Tim could see the exact moment that Damian Wayne officially fell under Peter Parker’s charm.

“A stray cat you say?” Damian questioned.

Peter smiled. “Yeah! I call her Domino because she’s white with some black spots. I’m THIS close to getting her to let me take her to a shelter. I’ve done a lot of research and I think Hearts And Homes will be a good place for her.”

“That is an excellent establishment.” Damian praised. “I make sure Father donates to it regularly and often goes to volunteer there.”

“That’s awesome!” Peter exclaimed. “Want to go meet her? She usually comes for food around this time.”

Tim couldn’t help but be amused. “Didn’t you need me for something Damian?” he teased “Plus I was already talking to Peter before you got here!

“Drake I don’t have time for your nonsense.” Damian replied in an impatient tone. “Parker will be back to suffer through your deplorable attempts at flirting some other time. I must see Domino and make sure she gets the best care possible!”

Tim blushed as Peter laughed and led Damian through the kitchen. “We’ll be right back.” he promised over his shoulder. “Stay away from the coffee pot!”

Chapter Text

GothamSpider@NewYorkOrBust
I have this thing where I get older but never wiser. Midnight’s become my afternoon

ILivedBitches@ReddestHood
Okay?

GothamSpider@NewYorkOrBust
When my depression works the graveyard shift, all of the people I’ve ghosted stand there in the room

ILivedBitches@ReddestHood
Are you okay??

GothamSpider@NewYorkOrBust
I should not be left to my own devices, they come with prices and vices, I end up in crises. Tale as old as time.

Yum@RedRobin
I know we’re not friends but I second Red Hood’s question.

GothamSpider@NewYorkorBust
I wake up screaming from dreaming. One day I’ll watch as you’re leaving ‘cause you got tired of my scheming. For the last time

Robin@TheOneAndOnly
I knew it! You are plotting something!!

GothamSpider@NewYorkOrBust
It’s me. Hi! I’m the problem, it’s me. At Tea time everyone agrees. I’ll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror.

IAmTheNightwing@OGRobin
If you need help you can tell us.

ILivedBitches@ReddestHood
Oh that’s rich coming from your lot

GothamSpider@NewYorkorBust
It must be exhausting, always rooting for the antihero

HahaHarley@MadeYouLaugh
Naw, I never get tired of it.

GothamSpider@NewYorkorBust
Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby, and I’m just the monster on the hill.

IamtheNightwing@OGRobin
I can honestly say I have never felt like that.

GothamSpider@NewYorkorBust
Too big to hang out, slowly lurching for your favorite city. Pieced through the heart but never killed.

ILivedBitches@ReddestHood
Mood.

GothamSpider@NewYorkorBust
Are none of you listening to Taylor Swift’s Midnight album?! Like seriously.

ILivedBitches@RedestHood
Taylor Who?

IamtheNightwing@OGRobin
Those were song lyrics??

GothamSpider@NewYorkorBust
Are you for real?! That’s it I give up! You all are cultureless heathens!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Twitter was absolutely a buzz after Spider-Man got an account. At first it seemed like a fake account. But then the verified accounts of some of the Bat Clan interacted with it, as well as Harley Quinn

Mary@Notthatcontrary
Did anyone see the back and forth between Spiderman and some members of Batman’s team?

JumpingJimmy@Jimmymathews
Yeah I thought it was fake until Red Hood replied.

It’sMe@RebeccaWinter
I’m so excited. Spider-Man is so cool. He saved my sister last night from being mugged then walked her home.

Layla@Seeyoulayla
My dog got away from me and he brought it back then played with him.

GothamSpider@NewYorkorBust
@Notthatcontrary Spider-Man…there’s a hyphen

Mary@Notthatcontrary
Ohmigod Spider-Man replied to me!! This is now a Spider-Man stan account
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I can’t believe Spider-Man has twitter!” Nightwing exclaimed. He was out patrolling with Red Robin. Which meant it was safe to talk about the spider themed vigilante without someone going on a rant, Robin, or someone getting extra broody, Batman. “I wonder who Taylor Swift is.”

“No one from our universe.” Red Robin replied. “I looked into it and there’s no singer with that name or an album called Midnight that was recently released by anyone.”

This could be bad. Spider-Man might think he was just having a bit of fun. But if the wrong person realized he was from another universe that could lead to trouble. Red Robin had let him know before this that Red Hood was on good terms with Spider-Man. Though that was pretty obvious now. Of course he would befriend someone the family was against. Still it seemed a little unfair that Batman didn’t seem to want to help someone who obviously needed it. Nightwing knew the no metas in Gotham rule was important. But did B really have to be so black and white about it all?

“You would think so many of us who have gotten stuck in other versions of Earth we’d be more accommodating.”he sighed.

“I don’t know if Spider-Man would trust us even if we tried to reach out to him.” Red Robin frowned.

“Maybe we can talk to him through someone else?” Nightwing suggested

“Hood would never pass a message.”

“What about Superboy? He had fun talking to Spider-Man that one time.”

“And that is why Robin has been suffering through Super Sons patrols in Metropolis lately. He says it’s too dangerous in Gotham with “ the arachnid themed menace running around.’.”

“He does realize that Superboy is almost indestructible right?”

“Kid’s got a crush.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter was getting a little concerned. It wasn’t that he could ever really forget that he was from another universe. But sometimes it slipped his mind. Gotham was similar to New York enough for it. Though Gotham was much darker. Did the sun never fully shine in this place?! Aunt Ivy said if he wanted sunshine he could go to some place called Metropolis. But warned him that was the territory of Superman. Aunt Harley said it wouldn’t matter since Metropolis was so boring it was unlikely that he would need to suit up.

This led to him asking about Superboy and explaining that he had met him. He was then promptly advised to never set foot in Metropolis because there was a chance Superboy might remember his heartbeat. That…was an unsettling fact.

Was he getting too comfortable in this universe? Sure Gotham was the absolute worst and the fact that so many people were so okay with the craziness that went on daily was insane. But was he getting used to the craziness? Oh god what if he was part of it now?! He was friends with Red Hood and was pretty much family with two ex super villainesses. He had a job now and even made a twitter account. Sure it was out of boredom and he had to use Karen to get around some things but he still had it.

He had done what he could with what was left of his attempt at a time machine. That just left the magic aspect. However the problem with this was he knew absolutely no magic uses in this universe.

GothamSpider@NewYorkOrBust
Anyone know how to fix a broken time machine that uses magic? I’m asking for a friend.

Chapter Text

ILivedBitches@ReddestHood
I have been listening to Taylor Swift for less than a day, but if anything happened to these files Spider-Man shared with me I would kill everyone around me and then myself.

GothamSpider@NewYorkOrBust
That is a serious mood. I stan.

Bruce frowned at the Twitter feed on the Bat Computer. Normally he didn’t pay attention to such things. Though a lot of that had to do with him not completely getting Twitter. Plus Oracle said he wasn’t allowed unsupervised on the platform after a small incident. Some one had tweeted that he was a DILF and no one wanted to explain it to him.

He had been working for weeks trying to solve the Spider-Man problem but nothing was working. At first he had thought this was a case of some new super hero trying to step up to Batman. It didn’t happen too often these days. But in his early years there were people who either thought anyone could do what Batman did or they thought he could do it better. But at this point it was well known that Gotham was off limits.

Though now he knew that the situation was so much worse. Spider-Man was not some would-be hero hoping to make a name for themselves, he was from another universe. This was very new information and if they had known this sooner they might have gone about this a bit differently.

“Master Bruce breakfast is ready….please do not make me cut off the power to the Bat Computer.”

Bruce one hundred percent knew Alfred would follow through on this. He didn’t know how he would do it but he just knew it would happen. Though to be fair if Alfred didn’t want him in the cave in the morning he would lift the ban about not working on cases upstairs. So no less than five minutes later he found himself at the breakfast table. It was the weekend so pretty much everyone was there.

There was still so much troubling him. And of course it didn’t help that of all people the one person who was close to Spider-Man was Jason. Worst of all he had gone into protection mode. It was something he had seen Jason do in his days as Robin when it came to cases involving street kids in Crime Alley. Once Jason felt he had to protect something or someone that was that. He hadn’t seen this side of Jason in a long time.

“So then I asked Peter if I could try a sip of his smoothie. Guy always looks like he just came from a runway!” Stephanie was telling the others. “I almost spit it out!”

“What was wrong with it?” Dick asked.

“He said it was strawberry banana and some protein powder. I asked how many scoops and he said eight!”

“What’s wrong with that?” Bruce asked. He tried to take part in conversations instead of hiding behind his paper, Alfred often accused him of this.

“Most people just do one scoop.” Dick replied.

“Peter just shrugged and said he had a high metabolism so he needs more.” Stephanie finished the story.

“I thought Miss Ivy was going to make him a special plant based protein powder.” Damian spoke up.

Bruce was surprised. Not only was there a calm morning discussion going on but it seemed like everyone but him knew who this Peter person was. Even Damian! As far as he knew his son hated talking to new people and while he no longer purposely chased people off he still wasn’t exactly friendly. Finally he had to give in. “Who is Peter?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dick exchanged a quick look with the others. They hadn’t expected Bruce to be interested in their conversation. Usually he just liked to listen. He supposed it was Damian’s lack of venom in his tone that caught his attention the most.

“Peter works at a little diner called the Rusty Spoon. Steph and Cass stumbled upon it and now a lot of us go.” he explained hoping that Bruce wouldn’t think to ask if they went in uniform or out.

“You all go?” Bruce asked, looking surprised.

Dick didn’t blame him, there wasn’t much that they all agreed on so completely. “Well we all got curious and eventually went to check it out.” He did not want to be the one to tell Bruce that Peter was the emotionally adopted nephew of Ivy and Harley!

“That’s nice.” Bruce commented as Alfred set a plate in front of him.

“ Peter still working this afternoon?” Cass asked

“Yes but he said he can’t hang out after his shift because he’s still in trouble for letting Harley talk him into trying to upgrade their toaster oven.” Steph complained. A second too late her eyes widened as she realized her mistake and all eyes went to Bruce.

Bruce looked puzzled. “Why would someone try to upgrade their own….I’m sorry did you say Harley? And I’m sure Damian mentioned an Ivy earlier!”

Dick sighed. Bruce hadn’t even finished his first cup of coffee. He should be as dead to the world as Tim was without his third cup! Though now that he thought about it Tim was doing remarkably well. Wait! He was getting distracted.

“How does this person know both Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn?!”

And there it was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I have to go feed Bat Cow!”

“Dami needs help feeding Bat Cow!”

“I’m late for a W.E. meeting.”

“Ballet class.”

“Alfred left the oven on!”

Alfred watched as all at once all the children had a reason to leave the table. He wasn’t about to point out that half of them were nonsensical for one reason or another. “Master Bruce just because the children have made a new friend who happens to have ties to Miss Pamela and Miss Harleen does not mean raise the alarm.” he scolded his oldest charge as he started to clean up the mess that had been left in the wake of everyone’s desperate attempt to avoid questions. As if that was possible. Still he would be having a stern talk about table manners with all of them in the near future.

“You know who this Peter person is?!” Master Bruce demanded.

“Of course I do.” he said with a shake of his head. Master Bruce really should know better. “From what I hear, Mister Parker is a delightful young man. Anyone who can charm Master Damian is a gift from the heavens! So I suggest you do not get up in arms about this! Or as Dick would say ‘Don’t make it weird.’”

“I am not going to make anything weird!” Master Bruce exclaimed.

Alfred just shook his head and sighed as he continued to clear the table. Master Bruce was going to make this weird.

Chapter Text

I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm creating a deleted scenes type story for this series. You can make suggestions for me to write about. Things that got mentioned but not written about. Or I can expand on something you wish for more details on or the event from another character's perspective. Or just more on what that character was thinking/what happened with them after that part of the story. You can make suggestions here or in the deleted scenes story.

Chapter Text

Peter had been feeling off lately. Not like in a getting sick way, he didn’t get sick anymore thanks to the bite. It felt like someone was watching him. It had been going on the last couple of days and it was driving him insane. His spidey sense helped him out a lot but it wasn’t perfect. He had a feeling someone was watching him but couldn’t figure out who it was or where they were. He didn’t want to put his aunties on alert so he had been keeping this to himself. Unfortunately this was Gotham and not New York so going Spider and jumping up to a rooftop to see who was following him. There were way too many weirdos in this stupid city. It was not okay to be caught being a meta in this city. What if word got back to Batman? It was bad enough he was out to get Spider-Man. He didn’t think he could handle having Gotham’s number one vigilante on Peter Parker’s ass. He had enough problems. Like how he still had no idea about how to fix his broken universe jumping machine. He couldn’t call it his broken time machine in good conscience since he had no proof that it was a time machine working or broken.

He had been having fun on twitter but that could only be so distracting. People seemed to really like Spider-Man. Which was great because it had taken him a while to get popular in New York. Probably helped that there was no Daily Bugle or Jonah Jameson constantly telling anyone who would listen what a menace he was. Not that Batman was loved by everyone even though it seemed like pretty much everyone accepted his being there.

When the bell to the diner jingle he looked up and smiled. “Tim!”
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Tim couldn’t help but feel much happier after stepping into the diner and seeing that bright happy smile. He knew Gotham was a dreary place but after meeting Peter he was starting to notice things he had gotten used to. Honestly he was sometimes surprised Peter didn’t want to go somewhere like Metropolis. He’d probably do very well in that bright city. Not that Tim wanted him to go away.

“I didn’t think you’d be the one picking me up.” Peter said. “I’m almost done with my shift. Want some coffee?”

Tim couldn’t help but be confused. “Pick you up?”

“Damian’s art gallery thing is today.” Peter said as he set a cup of coffee on the counter even though he hadn’t gotten an answer. It was always safe to assume that Tim wanted coffee. “Dick said someone is going to pick me up.”

Tim’s mind raced as he tried to figure out what his crush was talking about.

“I am here to pick up Mr. Peter Parker.” A very familiar voice announced after the bell over the door jingled.
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Alfred Pennyworth was manythings. But one of those things was not one who overstepped. While he was very curious about the infamous Peter Parker who had charmed so many of his unofficial grandchildren, there was no reason for him to find himself going to such an establishment as a hole in the wall diner in downtown Gotham. But he was a patient man and sure enough an opportunity had presented itself. Young Master Damian’s school was having an art exhibit and Mr. Parker had been invited. Alfred was only too happy to volunteer to pick him up. “Master Timothy?” He had known that many of his grandchildren frequented this establishment but finding one this afternoon was a surprise.

“Uh….I changed my mind about Damian’s….thing. So I wanted to see if I could catch a ride with you guys.”

Whether or not Alfred believed this or not he still smiled and nodded. “Very good sir.” he said before turning to the other young man. The man of the hour it seemed. “Hello Mister Parker. I am Alfred Pennyworth, the butler to the Wayne family.”

“A butler? For real?” Mister Parker asked with wide eyes.

Alfred was used to this kind of reaction. There were many rich people in Gotham but not all families had butlers it seemed. Very impractical.

“I was just finishing up. I’ll just be ten minutes.”

“Very good Mister Parker.” Alfred nodded. He looked to Master Tim and raised a brow. It was quite clear that Master Tim was quite taken with Mister Parker. But that was not his business at the moment. But should his advice be needed he would be quite happy to offer assistance.

When a cup of tea was set on the counter Alfred was a little surprised.

“Here’s some earl gray while you’re waiting.”

The butler couldn’t help but smile, clearly someone had told him a tale or two about him. And while he certainly had his reservations about drinking tea anywhere but from the pantry at the Manor no one could ever accuse Alfred Pennyworth of being rude. He would take exactly two sips as proper etiquette would see fit. Though after the first sip his eyes widened.
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Tim knew at once that Alfred had probably figured out that he liked Peter. He had been so careful but that man knew everything! He was surprised when Peter was able to offer the Englishman a cup of tea.

“This is an excellent cup of tea, Mister Parker.”

Tim was even more surprised by such a compliment. Alfred Pennyworth was the perfect picture of proper behavior but when it came to tea he didn’t play around. He couldn’t help but smile at Peter’s bashful chuckle and smile.

“I learned from someone who’s very particular about how he takes his tea.”
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Damian was feeling anxious. He hated feeling anxious! He was standing in front of his submission for the school’s art gallery. Really it was a stupid event but Richard often encouraged him to join in on school activities. He would win first place of course. That wasn’t what he was worried about. He once again gave a little huff as he scanned the crowd.

“Don’t worry Dami,you know Alfred wouldn’t forget anything.” Richard encouraged.

Damian nodded. Of course he knew that! It was why he had enlisted Pennyworth aid in making sure Peter got the exhibit.

“Damian!”

He would never admit it but when he heard Peter’s voice in the crowd some of the tenseness left his body. He couldn’t help but smile as he caught sight of Peter Parker hurrying through the crowd. Close behind him was Pennyworth and….Drake?!

“What are you doing here?!” he hissed when Drake got closer. And then it clicked. Was Drake here because of Peter?!

“Don’t say a word and I will not tell Bruce about the baby squirrel you are nursing back to health in the shoe box in your closet.” Drake said quietly. “Or your plans for the squirrel army.”

Damian let his words die in his throat. It was very important that Father not find out about his plans before he was ready.Peter was of course too good for Tim but that was a matter for another time.

Chapter Text

Bruce had learned that when it came to Gotham there there were ups and there were downs. He had been trying to get information on Peter Parker. It was strange that there was one person that so many of his children were friends with yet he had never heard anything about him. Then there was the fact that he was the nephew of Harleen Quinzel and Pamela Isley, aka Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. But to be fair they hadn’t gone by those names officially for sometime. He was happy that there were some Rogues that wanted to turn their lives around. Things weren’t perfect but life rarely was.

He had been called the world’s greatest detective but he wasn’t really feeling that title. There was absolutely no information on Peter Parker. He knew that he wasn’t actually related to either Harley or Ivy. It seemed so strange that they would take in a random person with no family ties, especially Ivy. She had never been much of a people person. But he understood that people changed. He had run out of normal avenues and couldn’t do much more unless he wanted to bring Batman into things. Though to be honest that probably wouldn’t help much since it was unlikely that the two ex Rouges would see why Batman needed such information.

On the upside he hadn’t needed Alfred’s reminder about Damian’s art fair, in fact he had already planned for it and was on his way. He was sure Damian would do well, art had always been a passion of his. Though it took a lot of time to help him realize that art could be for pleasure. It was yet another thing started as part of Talia wanting a well rounded Alexander. Bruce took a few deep calming breaths, thinking about how that witch raised their child still infuriated him. Damian had come a long way in a short amount of time and he was very VERY proud of his son. He had also made it clear to Talia that she would never have Damian back with the support of the rest of his children. Not even Talia wanted to deal with the full wrath of the Bat Clan.

He pulled into the school parking lot and got out.
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Peter was having a lot of fun. He had never been around younger kids. Heck even when he had been a young kid he hadn’t wanted to spend time around other kids. But part of that had been because he had always felt so different. In middle school he had been bored. His peers thought he was weird. But then he had met Ned and nothing else mattered. When Damian started to explain his painting he was pleasantly surprised to find that thanks to MJ he was able to understand some things. He was even to voice some opinions. Though he was quick to cite his source.

“This…MJ sounds like a very talented person.” Damian replied.

High praise indeed. Since they would never ever meet he didn’t bother with telling Damian that she only let friends call her MJ. Though to be fair Damian Wayne was like no other little kid he had ever met before. He was very formal in his speech. There were times when he seemed very unsure of himself. It was fun to see him and his family interact with one another and he loved it when they came into the diner. They were all so different but it was clear they cared about one another.

“Peter, did you want to come to the Manor for dinner?” Dick asked.

Peter looked up. “Uh…sure,” he replied. “But um…the manor?”

Dick gave him a slightly puzzled looked that made Peter feel that normal nervous tug. He got it when he realized he had said something strange. He did his best to not sound like an outsider but every now and then he slipped up. “Yeah Wayne Manor. Did we not tell you we all kind of live there?”

Peter wanted to kick himself. Of course! Damian’s last name was Wayne after all. He had read that Bruce Wayne was a pretty big deal. He came from old family money but did a lot of charity work to help repair the city. He wondered if he was Tony Stark rich. Seemed like it. “What do you mean you all live there?” he asked. He then listened wide eyed as Dick gave him a quick rundown of how their family unity worked. And he thought some of the Avengers had complicated relationships!

“Look there’s Father!” Damian said, sounding surprised.

“Well he did say he would come to Damian.” Dick smiled.

Peter started to look around and couldn’t help feel a small spark of excitement. After hearing so much about Bruce Wayne it kind of felt like randomly spotting someone famous. But when he saw the older man approaching his eyes went wide as he felt a familiar tingle. “You!” he exclaimed pointing.

He blurted the word out without thinking about it. The mystery feeling of being watched was solved. But now all eyes were on him and he needed to think of an explanation. But for the life of him nothing seemed plausible. He guessed he would just have to gamble on the truth. Blurting things out had started this issue so maybe it would get him out of trouble. “I’ve seen you around a lot.” This wasn’t true but he had already rolled the dice. “Have you been following me?!”
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Dick’s eyes went wide when Peter suddenly shouted ‘You’. He was confused but when Peter asked if Bruce had been following him he felt his stomach sink. He should have known it was too much to hope for after B asked who Peter was. “Really Bruce?” he asked while raising a brow.

Bruce held up his hands. “I-it’s not what it sees!” he exclaimed. “I’ve only….walked by the diner you kids were talking about once or twice….”

“Once or twice?” Tim asked, raising a brow.

“Maybe a few more times than that.”

“Oh Master Bruce.” Alfred sighed.

“I just wanted to see who my kids were so excited to talk about together.” Bruce said in his defense. “It’s so rare for you all to get along with someone!”

“You guys talk about me?” Peter asked.

“O-oh um just a few stories here or there.” Dick shrugged.
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Bruce wasn’t sure how he had been spotted. He had been so careful when trying to look into Peter Parker. He had only followed him a little bit! And it wasn’t like he had brought Batman into this. Sure maybe it had been a little more than watching the diner but no one else had to know that if he could pull this off. This was going to be his greatest mission yet.

He gave Peter an apologetic look. “Forgive me for the misunderstanding,” he began. “As my kids will tell you…gladly…I’m not really the most socially graceful person. It’s so rare for them all to agree on something that I didn’t go about things the right way. Please come to dinner so we can show you how normal we can be.”

“Uh…I think normal might be a bit of a stretch.” Tim pointed out while smiling at Peter. “But at least you’ll get some good food. Alfred is an amazing cook. Plus it will take a while to explain our family dynamic. It’s a bit….complicated.”

Bruce held his breath.

“Sure, sounds like fun.” Peter agreed

Bruce let out the breath he was holding. Mission complete.

Chapter Text

It was official, the Wayne family group had to be the strangest Peter had ever come across. With his personal life and line of work that was saying a lot. He had thought it was strange that so many of his regulars knew one another. It had all started with Steph and Cass. But what was truly strange was that in one way or another each person from this group set off his Spidey sense in one way or another. It had taken a long time for him to figure out the different feelings his Spidey sense could give off. Not every alert meant he was about to die if he didn’t act soon. Sometimes it just let him know to be aware of people, and some people he needed to be more aware of than others.

Out of everyone the two that set his Spidey sense off the most were Cass and Damian, which was extremely confusing at first. But on closer examination Peter noticed that both were very careful about everything they said and did. Not that Cass spoke that much. Still every word was thought about and weighed. Peter was pretty sure if they wanted to throw down he would be hard pressed to get away without serious effort.

Maybe it was just the side effect of living long term in Gotham. With all the big time and small time crime that happened, not knowing how to defend yourself was not a good idea. He had read that Bruce Wayne started and funded a lot of self defense programs for people of all ages and after school programs to help keep kids off the street. What he got from Stephanie was she would rather have fun than fight. Dick made him feel most at ease but the faint buzzing in the back of his mind reminded him that there was more to Dick than met the eye. Tim gave him the impression of someone who played the long game. Bruce was that weird feeling of being watched even when he couldn’t tell where the feeling was coming from. Even Alfred gave him vibes!! What the hell was going on with this family?!

The ride back was a little packed with him and Tim being added to the car with everyone else. He thought it was a little strange that no one wanted to ride with Mr. Wayne. He guessed that they were just excited to have a guest with them. He really did like hanging out with everyone and it was going to be nice not doing it while he was working. “Wow you guys really live out in the middle of nowhere.” he joked.

“Well not all of us live in the Manor full time.” Dick explained. “I actually live in the neighboring city Bludhaven but I visit when I can.”

“Only myself, Duke, Cassandra, Pennyworth, and of course Father live at the Manor full time.” Damian explained. “Drake and Brown have apartments in the city.”
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Damian was quite pleased with how the afternoon had gone. He had shared his artwork with others once again. Not only had Peter come to see him but Father had remembered his event as well. He remembered a time when art was nothing but another task given to him by Mother. Just another accomplishment to add to the list. It wasn’t until after he came to Gotham, though not right away of course, that he learned art could also be something to enjoy. Slowly he had learned that not everything needed to have a serious purpose. It was alright to do things simply because he wanted to.

Living in Gotham has not been easy. It was jarring to suddenly learn everything you knew and lived by was wrong. It was slow and hard to learn how to heal. Even harder to learn to accept. He had always believed the way he was raised was the way he had been was normal. That's just how life was when you were born into the world he had been. But then he came to Gotham and suddenly everything he knew to be normal was wrong. He had been thrown into a world of unspoken rules and regulations. Rules he wasn’t aware of until he had broken them. It had not been an easy adjustment.

But slowly and with a dedicated support system he had learned how to cope and adjust. That not everything was a test secret or otherwise, that he was safe, and no matter what he would never be sent back to his Mother, not that she wanted him back once he made the choice to stay with Father. A hard truth to accept that what he had considered training was child abuse.

After they got back to the manor Damian slipped away from the group there was talk of a small tour started.
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Peter couldn’t help but be impressed with Wayne Manor. He had at first thought of Bruce Wayne as the Mr. Stark of this universe but he quickly learned he couldn’t have been more wrong. While Tony had been a casual billionaire Bruce Wayne’s picture would be next to the words old money in the dictionary. He had thought there was nowhere as impressive as Avenger’s Tower but now he had something to compare though in a different way. While Mr. Stark’s building had every modern advantage and then some Wayne Manor was full of history. Though he had no idea how Mr. Alfred kept the place in order all on his own.

He was enjoying the tour, it wasn’t a full one but just the others sharing their favorite places and telling the story behind it. “I can understand swinging from the chandelier and breaking it as a child but how does that happen twice?”

“I was curious about how sturdy the replacement was.” Dick pouted.

“Ask him how old he was.” Tim said with a sly smile.

“Betrayal!” Dick shouted while everyone laughed.

He couldn’t help but notice that Damian looked a little down. They were now in the family room. Everyone was trying to figure out a movie to watch. The debate was getting heated so he took advantage of the moment to go sit beside Damian. “Hey buddy what’s up? You looked bummed out.”

Damian looked up at him in slight surprise. “Oh…I was unaware ... .I apologize if I have brought the mood down.”

Peter blinked a couple of times as his mind translated what had just been said. He didn’t think he had ever heard a kid talk like Damian. Not that there was anything wrong with that. He could tell that Damian could sometimes get pretty self conscious. “I didn’t say that to scold you. I was just worried there was something wrong.” he said in a soothing tone. He waited patiently as Damian looked thoughtful and opened his mouth only to think again.

“Can you keep a secret?” he asked softly. Peter nodded and was surprised when Damian took hold of his hand. Peter didn’t ask questions about where they were going. While he hadn’t known what to expect he certainly wouldn’t have expected Damian to take him to a bedroom. Everything was in its place. It was very….Damian.

“Please sit.” Damian said motioning to the bed. Peter took a seat and watched as Damian went into the closet and came back with a little shoe box. “I do not know what is wrong with him.”

Peter’s eyes widened after Damian took the lid off the box to reveal a baby squirrel. It was so cute. But after a little observation he could tell something was wrong.

“He is not eating. I have done everything I can think of.” Damian said, looking worried.

Peter looked from the baby squirrel to Damian….finally all those lessons Squirrel Girl had given Spider-Man were about to pay off.
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Damian was starting to get discouraged about the baby squirrel he had been nursing back to health. He had found it abandoned while he was searching for the ball Titus had lost track of. He looked around for a mother or nest but found neither. He figured that some larger predator had killed the mother and knew if he didn’t step in it would only be a matter of time before the baby perished.

He heard a chittering sound and his head jerked up and he watched in amazement as Parker made a series of chitters and squeaks while watching the squirrel. Just as he was about to question what the other was doing he gasped as the baby squirrel seemed to make some returning noises in response. But that was impossible…right?

“What are you feeding him?” Parker asked.

Damian watched as the baby squirrel got to its feet and was looking up at the brown haired male. It hadn’t been moving around much these last couple of days. “I shelled some acorns I found in the back,” he replied.

Parker gave a small series of chittering sounds. “I think it might be slightly too young for that. You should try feeding it some kale, grapes or sweet potato. Maybe soak the acorns to help soften them up. Also you can help keep it warm by putting hot water in a bottle and then put that into a sock.”

“How do you know how to communicate with it?” Damian asked. He wanted to ask if Peter Parker was a meta but at the same time did not want to know since it would mean he’d have to report this to Father.

“Oh I have a friend back home who’s a mut….meta that can talk to squirrels and she taught me a few things.” Parker explained. Damian raised a brow and wondered what Parker had been about to say? He noticed that it seemed like where the older boy came from there was another word they used for metas. Parker was sometimes self conscious about things he said or would almost say. It was a strange curiosity. It aligned with him sometimes having strange sayings or when he made references that no one understood. Though Damian was used to not understanding slang or references so he didn’t think it was strange. But what was strange was no one else seemed to catch them either.

“I will take your advice. Thank you….Peter.” He had once thought that using someone’s last name until you got to know them well was how things were to be done. He didn’t know why but Peter Parker was very easy to feel comfortable with. “Do you think you can teach me some things your friend taught you?” He decided not to make a big deal about whatever slip of the tongue had happened earlier.

Chapter Text

“So Peter, tell me about yourself.”

They had moved to the dining room. Peter was glad to see that it was a normal one and not one with like….a really long table where you had to shout to hear one another. He looked to Mr. Wayne who seemed like an awkward but good dad. Which was not the vibe he had been envisioning when he thought of Bruce Wayne while doing research about life in Gotham. He was nothing like the flashy Tony Stark. He was ready for this question since he had gotten together with his aunts to come up with a cover story.

“Bruce don’t.” Dick groaned

Mr. Wayne gave a puzzled look. “What….I just want to get to know your friend better.”

“It’s okay Dick.” Peter reassured the older male. It had been awhile since he did the get to know you talk with a well meaning parent. The last time he had done that was after meeting Ned as a kid. After that there had been no need to try for other friends. He had met MJ’s mom but she had said she knew what she needed to know….whatever that meant.

“Uh well I grew up in Oceanside California. My parents unfortunately died when I was little and I went to live with my Aunt May and Uncle Ben.” They had picked a small town if anyone asked and Peter had done research on it. Though despite his world building he was starting to get a little nervous from the way Mr. Wayne was studying him. Oh god did he see through the lies?! Well…it wasn’t that much of a lie thus far.
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“Why did you come to Gotham?” Bruce asked. Things had started off awkward when Peter revealed that he had been looking into him. Bruce really just wanted to get to know this young man who had managed to befriend what seemed like all of his kids. He was pretty sure there was nothing that all of them could agree on. Their personalities were all so different that even the topic of garlic salt VS lemon pepper was a debate. And of course it didn’t hurt that now he might be able to succeed where he first failed in gathering information on Peter Parker. Bruce was fighting the urge not to go into Batman mode. He was not going to be that guy! Sure the Bat Computer could probably find something. But that seemed to be going a step too far. But these dead ends were driving his detective brain a little crazy.

“Oh ... .w-well my Aunt May recently died.” Peter replied.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Bruce quickly replied as he took another bite of pot roast and tried to ignore the dirty looks he was getting from some of his kids. He knew they wanted him to drop the subject. But wasn’t it normal for a father to try and get to know the friend(s) that their children had made?? Of course before this point he had pretty much already known the friends they made since they were heroes. He didn’t think anyone had made a serious friendship with a civilian.

“Oh no it’s okay.” Peter quickly reassured him. “Anyways I was going to be on my own when I remembered that Aunt May was very close friends with Harleen Quinzel, I think they went to school together? Well I emailed her and she invited me to come visit so I wouldn’t be alone. But I’ve decided to stay since….you know…there wasn’t really anything left but painful memories in California.”

Bruce nodded along. It didn’t seem like a very strange story. It did explain how Peter had come to Gotham and how he was acquainted with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. Not that they really went by those names anymore. Bruce did talk to Pamela Isly from time to time. Both women were success stories for the criminal rehabilitation program he had started years ago. Miss Ivy had really earned the admiration of some of the people of Gotham when she revived a rare species of plant thought to be extinct. The Gotham Botany Society had some seed that looked dead and no one had wanted to risk trying to plant them. He had made the suggestion that they go to Miss Ivy. People had of course been skeptical but it had worked out in the end.
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Cass was watching everyone carefully as was her habit. Dinner was delicious as Alfred’s cooking always was but the atmosphere was tense. She wasn’t sure why. Then Bruce asked Peter about himself and the tension in the room grew and things clicked. The others seemed worried about Bruce becoming involved with Peter. Perhaps they worried he would do something embarrassing. That seemed to be a common feeling when it came to parents meeting friends according to the shows and movies Stephanie liked for them to watch. They were very entertaining even though she couldn’t imagine going through such things. Her parents had rather she become the perfect killing machine.

She had to admit she was curious about Peter but didn’t want to be intrusive. The people of Gotham weren’t really known for sharing details. Of course Peter was the exception to the rule. She had seen Peter get diner patrons to smile. Smiling Gothamites was a very alien concept and it was a fascinating thing to watch unfold. She had heard that Red Hood had met Peter as well. She wondered what would happen when he found out about this dinner.

She had been through many things and after coming to Gotham met so many different people. But not a single one was like Peter. Cass knew that everyone was different but Peter seemed….more? She couldn’t put it into words. Normally this would frustrated her because it would remind her of the social limitations she still had. But for some reason it didn’t. Maybe it was because she could tell she wasn’t alone.

Peter Parker was a mystery and held his secrets close to his heart. There were times when he just seemed to know things or would be extra careful. But these things literally happened in the span of a few moments. If she had to guess it was likely only herself and Damian would be able to pick up on them. Though she had never asked Damian about this because she didn’t want to draw attention to it on the slim off chance that he hadn’t noticed. Peter Parker was a mystery but he seemed to have the ability to charm everyone he met. She didn’t hold Bruce’s curiosity against him. Peter Parker was a rarity.
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Dick had to admit that this family dinner wasn’t as awkward as he had been worried about. Yes it was awkward because B didn’t know any other way to be outside of the bat suit. His heart went out to Peter when he said he had come to Gotham after his aunt died. He hadn’t mentioned his uncle so Dick assumed he was already dead. He was surprised that Peter’s Aunt May had spoken of her old college friend to her nephew. Dick was sure a lot of people would act like they never knew Harleen Quinzel after her years as the notorious Harley Quinn.

It was strange but not surprising that Peter wouldn’t hold someone’s past against them, even when that past involved multiple crimes and deaths. Maybe May hadn’t told Peter about that stuff and preferred to remember the friend she had once had. Living in Gotham for so long had desensitized Dick to a lot of stuff. But he guessed not everyone kept up with superhero and villain related matters. There were probably small towns all over who didn’t know that much about Batman, Superman, or any other Justice League members.

He had noticed that Peter and Damian had disappeared for a bit and wondered what that had been about. When they came back Damian looked happy. Which was always nice. A happy Damian was much preferred over a stabby Damian. Dick desperately wanted to ask Peter more about himself but it seemed like everyone agreed that they didn’t want Bruce to get any more curious than he already was. He was pretty sure Batman had not entered the chat and Tim knew they all wanted to keep it that way.

Thankfully they were able to move away from the topic of why Peter had come to Gotham and there was light chit chat on how Peter was adapting. Tim had to admit that he was impressed with how well Peter was doing. Transplants often went through quite a bit of culture shock as they learned the ropes of surviving living in Gotham.

“This chocolate cake is amazing!” Peter exclaimed after taking a bite. Dick couldn’t help but notice the pleasant gleam Alfred’s eyes when their guests insisted on helping take dirty dishes to the kitchen.

“Well if you insist Mr. Parker.” the butler smiled. This prompted the others to offer assistance as well, himself included.

He had been a few feet behind Peter when he heard the crash of breaking dishes and rushed forward to see Peter coughing and gasping for air. Dick scooped him up and took him to the livingroom and Cass soon appeared with a cup of water. It was safe to say everyone was very alarmed.

“What happened?!” a wide eyed Damian demanded looking ready to do battle.

“M-mint.” Peter managed to gasp. “A-allergic.”

Everyone was even more confused since there had been no mint in anything served and while Alfred did have an herb garden it was all the way outside.
“My word…I have started to use a natural pesticide with mint as an ingredient…..” Alfred explained. “But I sprayed that hours ago.”

“Wow, that is some allergy.” Stephanie whistled.
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Peter couldn’t remember the last time he had been exposed to mint. One of the negative side effects of the spider bite was that like real spiders his body could not handle mint in any form. Even artificial mint gave him issues but he wasn’t sure if that was real or psychological. Like his brain went into panic mode at the flavor even though it wasn’t real mint. After he had a reaction because Mr. Stark hadn’t let him know there was mint in the hot chocolate he had made. Peter had been so excited since Mr. Stark had told him it was a home made recipe that Jarvis the person had made for Mr Stark when he was young.

After he recovered all things that contained mint were banned from the entirety of Stark Tower. Even mint flavored gum was not allowed. Peter was usually very careful about being on the lookout for things with mint in them. Though bug spray residue was a new one. Even Dr. Strange kept spells that involved mint to a specific room after Mr. Stark had warned him. He carefully sipped his water while everyone fussed over him. Slowly he got his breathing under control. Man this had been a close one!

“Mr. Parker I do apologize.” a worried looking Alfred said in a fretful tone.

Peter was quick to stand up and ignored how the room spun a little. “Oh no Mr. Pennyworth! It’s not your fault at all. I know it’s a really extreme allergy. Honestly I don’t think I’ve ever reacted to it like this.” A small lie but he didn’t want anyone to feel bad. He should have been more careful!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tim couldn’t help but be relieved when the color finally started to come back to Peter’s face. It had been about thirty minutes since the mint incident. Everyone had done a good job of keeping Peter entertained as he recovered. Suddenly music filled the room.

‘And it was so nice, so peaceful and quiet. I forgot that you existed. It isn’t love, it isn’t hate, it’s just indifference.’

He watched as Peter’s eyes widened a little and he fished his phone out of his pocket to answer it. “Hi Aunt Harley….no I’ll be home soon. There was a little incident….no everything is fine I promise! Okay bye!”

Tim felt something tug at the back of his mind but couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

“Well that seems like a good cue to get Mr. Peter home.” Alfred smiled. “Master Timothy I packed up some leftovers for Mr. Parker, would you be so kind as to go get them?”

“No problem!” Tim said as what just happened slipped his hand. When he came back everyone was by the door saying their goodbyes.
He held out the glass tupperware to Peter and leaned in to whisper to him. “I put an extra slice of cake in since you liked it so much.” Peter opened his mouth but instead of words a soft purring sound came out which made both of them blush.

“Th-thank you for having me!” a red faced Peter exclaimed before rushing out the door Alfred had just happened.

Tim was left confused and blushing. What the heck had just happened??