Chapter Text
Peter had never been more alone in his own pitiful life, and that was saying something given his life's track history. He wanted to go home, and wanted to see his friends. Not like he had many after everything was said and done. But he couldn't. Because right now, Peter had zero fucking clue where the hell he was. All Peter knew was that it was an awful part of town given the scents and the sounds.
Blood and gunpowder lingered in the air mixing with the stench of, well, Gotham. Something wet, mildew and musty, the scent of pollution and too many past uses of bio-weapons and something deeper, desperation. Screams and the sounds of gunshots blending with the crashing waves and mixing with the sounds of muted city fare. Though, from what Peter could tell, a majority preferred riding motorcycles to and fro.
It was raining as it does perpetually in Gotham, well more drizzling right now, and Peter's clothes were starting to grow uncomfortably damp. He found a newspaper display and read it with a sinking feeling. That wasn't right! He was just in New York! And Peter had never heard of a place called Gotham. What was happening?
So how did one Peter Benjamin Parker, friendly neighborhood Spider-man, end up in the miserable city of Gotham, New Jersey?
That one was relatively easy to answer. Peter fucked up. Big time. Even better than fucking up that spell Dr. Strange had cast. He was stupid enough to touch a weird floating light show in an abandoned building and wow. Peter had only felt pain like that once before and that was on Titan when he was being ripped apart subatomic particle by subatomic particle, which, not a fun death. It had felt the exact same and Peter was still reeling from that. He could barely walk, let alone understand what happened beyond the few facts he had.
Fact one: Peter was alone and in so much pain it qualifies as agony as he tried to function.
Fact two: Peter was not in New York anymore.
Fact three: He was in a dangerous neighborhood with absolutely nowhere to go or stay.
Fact four: Peter had not slept in more than forty-eight hours, already felt strung out before he had touched that light, yet somehow felt more strung out than before. He needed somewhere to crash for a few hours.
Fact five: Peter already had little on him, and definitely did not want to lose what he had.
Peter looked around, his Spidey-Sense like a buzzing fluorescent light. Peter was sick and tired and just wanted to sleep. He looked around before just climbing up a building using nothing but his stickiness to cling to the porous bricks. He found a little awning on the roof, blissfully dry, just curled up, hurting and not caring. He felt his eyes close and saw someone on a nearby roof moving before they did.
Jason doesn't know what the fuck he was doing out there. Maybe it was because he was bored? Or to piss off Bruce with the chatter of Red Hood being out. Either way, Jason was just hanging out in the drizzling rain when he saw it in the alleyway across from him begin to flash in a multi-colored light show. Huh.
It soon spat out a guy who stumbled and fumbled to keep himself upright on the wall next to him, looking worse for wear. Okay, now this was getting really interesting. Jason watched as the guy looked around with not quite misty eyes, then watched him stumble forward like every single movement was agony and cost him something. He stumbled to the newspaper stand and stared at it. Jason watched as his shoulders slumped inwards, then he looked around before just… climbing up the goddamned brick wall like it was nothing.
It looked like he stuck to the wall before he climbed too. Jason watched in fascination as the guy climbed up and looked at the blissfully dry awning that Jason had considered making his post for tonight. Then he curled up under it, and Jason could spot that bone deep tiredness from a mile away. Jason was up and moving before the guy was asleep, panic gripping him. It was clear to Jason that this was a meta in his territory, but ultimately and unfortunately Bruce had a final say on what meta stayed in Gotham, especially ones that used their powers overtly, not caring who would see.
And god, if Bruce didn't get to him first, then Gotham would. Jason had to do something, fuck. Jason didn't know why he wanted to protect this guy aside from the interesting circumstances and powers. Either way, Jason was on that rooftop in a matter of moments, and checking on the guy. And now that he was closer, Jason thought the guy looked pretty cute. Fuckin’ focus. Now was not the time to be making those observations. Jason checked for a pulse and good, still alive, if the pulse was a little fast, Jason didn't care.
God, he was cold too. Sighing, Jason scooped up the guy and wow, pretty light too. Jason knew that the guy probably didn’t want to be taken to a safe house but where could Jason put him that wasn't awful? The thought of taking him to his apartment flickered across his mind but he quickly shut that idea down. There was this building that he was looking to sell off.. it would be safe and clean, it wasn't much but it would keep the guy safe.
For all intensive purposes, Jason didn't get the feeling that the asleep person in his arms was dangerous or a threat to anyone in the neighborhood the building was located in. He would still want the guy to buy the building eventually, if he was sticking around. Jason took him to the building and got him placed on the bed on the second floor. Jason was going to leave but before he did he sighed and took off his jacket and wrote a note for the guy about it.
“Dick, the fuck are you doing here?” Jason snapped after opening the door and seeing that idiot on his couch. “Oh hey Ja- Where's your jacket?” Dick said, both mildly alarmed and interested. “None of your fuckin’ business, Dickwad. Again, the fuck you doing here?” Jason said, crossing his arms. Dick looked Jason up and down, assessing. “Was it a girl?” He asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Jason groaned and rolled his eyes. He moved to the kitchen and began making tea. “Was it?” Dick insisted. Jason sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before turning around. “It was not a girl, Dick.” He stated through gritted teeth. Jason watched the gears turning in his brother's head and internally groaned. Dick smiled, the smile that never made it onto the magazines, one with mischievous intent.
“So it was a guy then?” He asked. “You're fuckin’ impossible, Grayson.” Jason groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. “It was a guy! Who was it?” Dick exclaimed, entirely too energetic for… three forty-two am. Jason scoffed, “Look, I don't know who he was, I just… had to help him okay? Don't go blabbering about this to fuckin’ Bruce or Tim or the rest of the family for the matter excluding Alfred and Damian.” Dick looked at him, really looked then, and it seemed to Jason that he didn't like what he found.
“LittleWing, do you want to talk about it?” Dick asked, sitting down at the counter. “I think he might be a meta. He was clearly having a rough go of things. And look, he doesn't feel like a Gothamite, honestly he felt too good for the neighborhood in the good way, he clearly hadn't slept in over forty-eight hours and I couldn't just… leave him on a rooftop out in the rain. Besides, there's been a big problem with trafficking in Crime Alley lately, mostly metas and children, and he would just be the perfect target had I left him there. I'm working on the trafficking problem, but it's taking longer than I want. It calmed down almost as instantly as I got a good lead.” Jason told Dick tiredly.
And fuck ain't it the truth? He had told Duke to lay relatively low for a while, but didn't specify why. “Christ. Is that why you've been out almost every night?” Dick said, and he looked so concerned. “Yeah, I had been meaning to talk to you and Timbit about it, need some fresh eyes on the whole clusterfuck.” He rubbed his eyes and grabbed the kettle before making two mugs of tea. “I don't believe that they have left Gotham though. But it's only a matter of time.” Jason told Dick, his hands wrapped around the warm mug.
“Huh. Okay. So, you think you'll ever get your jacket back?” Dick asked, slightly teasing. “I fucking hope so.” Jason huffed.
Peter curled up tighter and sighed. He didn't want to get up yet, he was warm and the bed was comfortable. Wait. What? Peter lurched up suddenly, tense. He didn't go to sleep anywhere remotely comfortable or warm. Peter looked around, before noticing the jacket that was in his lap. It was nice, way too nice for someone like him to ever be able to afford. It was made of dark, almost black leather, and the lining was soft warm material, probably cotton, which was also dyed the same dark hue.
It was also far too large for him. Peter looked at it curiously. Who would just leave this with him? Peter studied the room more carefully, pale beige walls that was a staple of landlords, wood flooring, a bedframe with a mattress on it. The mattress didn't have any sheets on it, which was odd but Peter couldn't have cared less. There was a window on the wall across from the one the bed was pressed against, and a note stuck near it. Peter got up, and yep, still felt like everything was agony.
Push through it like you always have, Peter, Peter thought to himself, going over to read the note and also grab whatever held it there on the wall. Turns out what held it was a combat knife, but it was unique, customized. I should know what customized weapons look like after spending that much time around Wade, Peter thought, huffing out an amused breath. That thought caused a different kind of pain, an ache so deep that it hurt. Right. Peter wasn't in New York, and he doubted he was even in the same universe anymore.
Peter ripped the knife out of the drywall and ran his finger against the edge while holding the note. Sharpened to a fine edge, well cared for, customized, whoever left this weapon must have also left the jacket and had moved him. Peter returned to the bed and where he left the jacket. Peter, for the hell of it, checked the jacket pockets and found the sheath for the knife in the left pocket. It was also one of those thigh holsters, and made of the same dark leather as the jacket.
It was also customized too, like the knife. The sheath had a little circle pressed into it on both sides, the grooves of it showing a face icon of sorts. Two small parallelogram eyes, lines going through them, and a frowning mouth of sorts, and it was dyed red. A black and red guard and handle made out of high quality red tigers eye on the knife. Huh. That wasn't something you see everyday. It was nice, really nice. The knife was made of high quality damascus steel. Damn, whoever these items belong to must have serious cash to throw around.
Peter sighed and turned to read the note, putting the knife away.
Hey, so, I found you on that rooftop and couldn't fucking leave you there. Not with the state of Gotham right now. Keep the knife and jacket for now, you can give them back when you find me. Stay safe, and lay low. You can stay in that building as long as you need, but, please eventually buy it, okay? That is if you're staying in Gotham.
-Red Hood
Oh. “Huh. That's oddly nice.” Peter remarked quietly. Peter checked his pockets, yeah nothing was gone. Peter put the knife on his right thigh, grateful now for the training Wade had insisted upon. He felt more comfortable with the weapon on than without it. He looked down at his wrists and yep, his nanobot suit was still there in its compact form. “Hey, Karen?” Peter asked, and the AI quickly responded, “Yes, Peter?”
“Can you pull up information on Red Hood? Are you even connected to any servers here?” Peter asked, putting the jacket on. He would need to go out soon, if for nothing else, food. “Yes, I am connected to the servers here Peter. I had time to do such things while you were sleeping. Pulling up information on Red Hood…” She chimed in before projecting a hologram of news articles focused on Red Hood. Oh, he was a crime lord vigilante type thing.
Peter had gone down the rabbit hole and now had acquired new and helpful information. Do not get on any Bat or Bird themed hero's radar, especially as a civilian and especially not Batman's radar. As Spider-man that would be unavoidable, but he could work with it, just don't get caught. Red Hood seemed to be part of their clan, technically. It was more like he was on the black sheep and on very rough terms with Batman and by proxy, the rest of them.
“Peter, Mr. Stark had set up contingency plans in case anything of this nature occurred. Would you like me to put Plan One into action?” Karen asked helpfully. “What is Plan One?” Peter responded, curious, but also trying to ignore the sting that came from knowing that Tony cared enough to worry about the possibility of this happening to him. Still, it was arguably pathetic that Peter wasn't exactly over his death. Peter shook his head, it was fine.
He listened to Karen telling him all about it, and confirmed that it was good to go ahead with. He felt guilty at the amount of money he was going to be taking from Wayne Enterprises, but he desperately needed the cash and it would give him more options. Peter began to wander the building as Karen began executing the plan. She would doctor up his records, get him money and then they would discuss his next moves.
There were only two main floors, the second floor was a nice, yet empty apartment, and the first was a shop floor. But there was a nice, extensive basement and possibly a sub-basement but Peter didn't get to it before Karen came back. “The funds have been acquired, Peter. Sixty thousand into your new account at Gotham City Bank. Have you thought about your next steps?” She asked, spurring him to get out of the basement.
Peter thought back to the note, that he had haphazardly stuck it in the jacket pocket. “Karen, how much is this building going for?” He asked, looking around the shop floor, envisioning how he would set it up. “Given the rest of the buildings in the immediate area with a similar state and preexisting functioning furnishings, this one is going for a reasonable sixteen thousand. Shall I purchase it for you, Peter?” She offered up easily.
Even though she had started out as an AI from Tony Stark, much like FRIDAY or Jarvis, Peter had been improving and making changes to the AIs he had been given by Tony. Peter checked his jean pockets and yes, there were his glasses with Edith on them. “Yes Karen, go ahead and purchase the building. Where is the nearest Walmart adjacent store?” Peter asked.
Peter had memorized the directions and began moving through the store looking for some things he would need.
Jason got the notification that the building had been purchased by one Peter Benjamin Parker. “So that's his name..” Jason murmured, turning his computer back on. Time for some in depth research.
“Okay, what the fuck?!” Jason asked, pulling slightly on his hair. This made zero sense, how the hell did Peter just… well, that was easy. Jason literally watched Peter appear out of thin air. The thing is how did Peter manage to doctor up the documents and get that much money so fast? The documents looked professional too, Jason wouldn't have known they were fake if he hadn't watched Peter just… show up out of nowhere.
The money was easy to figure out too, the motherfucker stole from Wayne Enterprises. It was so subtle and professionally done as well. Fuck. He really didn't know what Peter was capable of, but his gut feeling had told him Peter was harmless. Well, mostly harmless. And Jason trusted his gut feelings, not quite as much as he used to, but, still. He should probably watch the building. So, Jason suited up, feeling out of place without his knife and jacket, but went to go watch the building.
He watched as Peter returned home with groceries in his hands, but it looked like he was stewing on something. Jason waited a while, arguably longer than necessary but it paid off when Peter left the flat again, this time sans jacket, but Jason could see his knife strapped on Peter. Jason followed Peter, it was clear he was upset, and upset people make bad dangerous decisions. He trailed after Peter as he walked far from the building, onto the neighboring block when Jason saw him looking for something.
He settled in and waited as he saw Peter approach a dumpster of all things.
Peter wanted to hit something, hit something hard and not have to worry about the consequences. That's why he was all the way out here this late or early, Peter genuinely couldn't tell, his body's internal clock being fucked up. He couldn't do this. Not again. Peter was done, he was done.
“I am done. I am so fucking done.” Peter snarled at the dumpster punching holes into the metal from the force of his swings. “I. Can't. Do. This. Not. Fucking. Again.” Peter hissed at the dumpster each word punctuated with the sound and feel of metal shearing under his blows. “I JUST REBUILT MY FUCKING LIFE. AND NOW I HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN!” Peter screamed, beating the daylights out of the dumpster like it was his own punching bag. And in a way it was.
“THIS IS SUCH FUCKING BULLSHIT. I CAN'T KEEP DOING THIS!” Peter screamed, letting all his anger flow into the words. “I HAVE GIVEN EVERYTHING I HAD AND IT STILL WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH! I WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH!” Tears were flowing now as he beat the ever loving shit out of this poor dumpster. “I GIVE AND GIVE AND GIVE, WHEN ALL YOU DO IS TAKE AND TAKE AND TAKE! I AM DONE!” Peter sobbed.
“EVERY GOOD THING YOU TAKE FROM ME! HAVE I NOT GIVEN ENOUGH?! WHAT DID I EVER DO TO DESERVE THIS?!” Peter screamed out. “WHAT AM I?! JUST YOUR PLAYTHING UNTIL YOU GET BORED AND SEND ME TO THE NEXT UNIVERSE TO RESTART AGAIN?!” Peter shouted, unaware of the silent onlooker. “IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT, MULTIVERSE?! HUH?! GOT NOTHING TO SAY NOW?!” Peter said, growing tired, the sobs growing more and more.
Eventually he curled up next to the ruined dumpster, sobbing. When did he start bleeding? The cuts looked deep too. “..i'm sorry. You didn't deserve that, dumpster. I- I just needed something to hit and break. I'm sure you understand.” Peter told the dumpster between gut wrenching sobs.
Jason stared down with wide eyes. Multiverse? Peter has had to restart before? When? How? What universe is he on then? Was Peter destroying universes? But… look at him. That isn't someone who destroys universes. Jason thought, looking at the sobbing form of Peter. That dumpster was fucking destroyed, and some of the holes seemed to be bloody, what strength he had. Alright, time to go talk to the man.
Jason started down the fire escape and noticed how Peter flinched and squeezed himself next to the shredded dumpster. The fire escape was loud so he couldn't blame Peter. “Hey, I'm here to help.” Jason said, holding his hands out, and away from the guns on his hips. “..go away.” Peter mumbled, and Jesus Christ, he sounded worse for wear. “Are you okay? I noticed blood on the dumpster.” Jason told Peter, and Peter let out a slight huff.
“How much did you see?” What did you hear? went unspoken. “Everything.” Jason responded quietly. He didn't respond, just moved out of his hiding spot. “Can I?” Jason asked, gesturing to Peter's arms. Peter looked surprised, “Oh, yeah.. I heal fast though.” Jason clucked disapprovingly, looking at Peter's arms, “These are bad, do you want stitches?” Peter shook his head violently, “Seriously, I'll be fine. Just wrap them, they will heal.” Jason sighed, “Not my fault if they get infected.”
Jason wrapped Peter's arms in gauze with a professional hand. “Do you want to talk about it?” Jason asked, and there was something in his eyes that said yes. “Not here.” He whispered, and Jason nodded. “I'll walk you home.” He told Peter, helping him up. They walked in silence to Peter's new building. Peter unlocked the door with shaking hands, and let them inside. “I'll be back in a few moments.” Peter said, before he almost positively ran upstairs. Jason silently winced, that was fair, he had been listening to Peter have a breakdown.
“Fuck fuck fuck.” Peter said pacing, he had Red Hood downstairs and he had heard everything Peter said while beating up a dumpster. It's okay, you can deal with this. Peter went to the bathroom and undid the gauze, and then, with a good amount of pain, washed out the gashes with soap and water. He rewrapped them and grabbed Red Hood's jacket before going back downstairs.
“Here, let me unstrap the knife to give it back.” Peter said, passing the jacket back, and turning to work on the holster straps once again thanking Wade for drilling this into him. Peter felt cold, but he shrugged it off, he never held heat well after the spider bite. He had gone into in depth research and well, spiders can't thermoregulate so, that sucked. But like everything else, he deals.
“Who trained you?” Red Hood asked, the voice gruff, especially with the modulator in the mask. It sounded a little broken, and like there was something wrong with the helmet in general. “In what?” Peter asked, passing the knife over. “How to wear and handle knife holsters.” He responded, not a question but Peter lit up immediately before shrinking back down.
Right. He couldn't go back. “A friend. Well, the friend is a mercenary. He forced me to learn. He's a little, okay, very abrasive personality wise, but a decent man.” Peter told Red Hood, the information coming easily. “Want to come upstairs so we can sit down and talk?” Peter offered, and well, he wanted to ask to see Red Hood's helmet and tinker on it. He huffed out an affirmative and followed Peter upstairs. They sat down at the newly built dining table and chairs.
Peter paused before getting up and grabbing his tools before coming back. Red Hood tilted his head, not that unlike a dog, before asking, “What do you need those for?” “To fix your helmet, if you'll let me.” Peter responded easily. “How did you know it's broken?” He asked, guarded. “I can hear it. Enhanced hearing. Can I fix it?” Peter could see Red Hood weighing his choices before asking, “How good are you with tech?” “Extremely good.” Peter said, and he watched as Red Hood began to fiddle with the helmet.
There was a hiss of air then it was coming off. He passed it to Peter, “Don't break it.” “I won't. Wanna ask me shit while I work?” Peter said not looking up now that he had his hands on something to work on. “So, the multiverse? That shit is real?” Red Hood asked, he sounded different without the modulator on, a little gruff, deep, but Peter didn't mind. “Yeah. Word to the wise, do not fuck with it. It's delicate as is. I should know.” Peter told him.
“Huh. So, you're a meta?” Hood asked, more curious this time. “Oh, is that what they're called here? But yeah, I am.” Peter said, working on disassembling the helmet. He'll be able to put it back together easily. Wait. Was that a bomb? “Hood, why is there a bomb in your helmet?” Peter asked sharply, looking up. Peter really took in the face under the helmet now.
Black hair, he could smell hair wax though so maybe not black hair, slightly curly. Pale skin, paler than Peter's, and littered with scars, the most prominent being one on his left cheek. It was deep, and shaped almost like a T but there was some curvature to it as well. Peter couldn't tell what color or shape his eyes were due to the domino mask he was wearing. He looked good in Peter's opinion. He seemed hesitant to answer, before he just sighed, resigned, “It's a precaution, to prevent anyone from taking it off forcefully.”
“You do know that I will be taking it out right? Do you want to be able to hack shit with this as well?” Peter asked, studying Hood's reaction. Red Hood looked surprised. “I will need to work on your gloves too, if I'm allowed to add that in.” Peter added quickly. “Shit, you can do that?” He asked, and the surprise was even stronger in his voice. Peter scoffed, “Yeah, it's come in handy so many times when I'm out patrolling honestly. It's untraceable too. I'm good at what I do.”
“You patrol? What are you? A vigilante?” Red Hood scoffed. Peter laughed, “Fuck yeah. I go by Spider-Man, with a hyphen between Spider and Man. Though I will have to remake a name for myself here.” Red Hood tilted his head at Peter. “I'll be right back, I'll need more parts if I'm adding hacking capabilities to your stuff.” Peter told him before darting off once more.
Jason was both confused and interested. There was no way in hell Jason would be telling any of his family about Peter. Peter was interesting. And shit, the multiverse was real. Peter ran back in with a bag of stuff and sat down, he seemed excited. He began tinkering anew on his helmet, before looking up with a raised brow. Oh right! He said he needed Jason's gloves to add the hacking capabilities.
“And right, forgot to say, my name is Peter. Peter Parker.” Peter said, and Jason responded, “Well, nice to meet you Peter.” Peter hummed. “Can I use your bathroom?” Jason asked. Peter nodded and said, “It's down the hall, to your left.” Jason was impressed with Peter's mental map of the place. He hadn't been here for a day yet and had the place cased pretty well.
Jason felt that Peter could keep a secret, and it might be a more pivotal conversation if Jason told Peter who he was. Jason got to the bathroom and closed the door. He leaned over the sink and washed his hair wax out. He squeezed his hair as dry as he could then took off his domino mask. Okay, let's not fuck this up now. Jason thought heading out of the bathroom. He came out and found the table covered in parts of his helmet and Peter playing music.
“..What's going on?” Jason asked, confused, and a little concerned. Peter looked up, mouth open before pausing. Then, “Oh.” “Hi, I figured that since I know your name and soon to be re-established vigilante identity, it seemed fair for you to know my civilian identity. I'm Jason Todd.” Jason said, sitting down. He honestly didn't think his helmet could be disassembled this far. Peter shook his head, “Well, nice to meet you, Jason.” “Can I ask what you're doing?” He asked, looking at the parts.
Peter smiled, “Improving. I mean seriously, this is so… bad. Wait until I'm done with this bad boy.” Jason couldn't help but laugh. Peter smiled wider. Jason noticed how sharp his canines were, the upper ones were longer than the bottom was. They look like fangs… Jason thought. Jason asked, “So, what are your powers as a meta?” Jason watched as Peter's face scrunched as he heard the word meta.
“Still never gonna get used to that. Being called a meta. Either way! My powers are, as far as I'm aware, extra flexibility, enhanced hearing, enhanced strength, a whole lot of other enhanced things like agility, reflexes, endurance, metabolism, and healing. I also stick to things, like really stick to things when I want to. I also have this sixth sense of sorts, I call it my Spidey-Sense. It lets me know of incoming danger and other important things.” Peter told Jason, not looking up. His lower lip was in between his canines.
“That's quite the list. What are metas called in your universe?” Jason asked, and watched as Peter wired up his helmet. Peter answered mindlessly, hands moving nimbly around the parts, “We are called superhumans, mutants or mutuante. Although, mutant or mutuante were the more used versions. Metas feels weird.” Jason blinked, before exclaiming, “They called you a slur?” “Eh, wasn't a slur. Most times. Well. Maybe half the time. Depends on who you were talking to.” Peter responded, having moved onto the gloves, cutting into them to wire them up.
Peter laughed, a bitter thing, “It was used heavily as a slur when talking to me after my identity got out against my will. Had to hire a lawyer, he ended up becoming my friend later, after I fucked up big time. Got death threats, and beat up a lot because I wasn't allowed to fight back and they knew it.” Jason didn't say anything, it seemed like this had been something Peter had been sitting on for a while.
“My rogues got worse about things too. Everything was getting more fucked up until I decided to fuck with magic. It went badly, really badly. Got a good look at the fabric of the multiverse. It was.. beautiful. Purple and starry, the edges bright with white dancing multi-colored light. Then everything was somehow better and worse once everything was said and done. It- To fix everything, everyone had to forget about me. Forget about my existence. No documents, no photos. Nothing left. Nothing except two AIs, several boxes of stuff, and my suit. I had to forge my documents, dropped out of school because I couldn't afford it and had lost my scholarship due to no one remembering that I even existed.”
“I- I met people, made friends, mostly vigilante crowd friends. Had an apprentice, he had gotten the same powers and extra ones. Rebuilt my life from the ground up. At least, all of the adults I considered parental figures died before the erasure. Ha, the lawyer I had hired to help before I erased myself turned out to be a vigilante and we ended up as friends. Then my stupid ass went and touched a portal that now, in retrospect, was clearly a hole in the multiverse and ended up here. Having to rebuild my life. Again.” Peter snapped, glaring at the parts in his hands. Yet his hands didn't stop moving, movements precise and careful.
But Jason could see the silent tears rolling down his face. Jason didn't let his expression change, but said, “Hey, if you need friends, I'm always available.” Peter's head snapped up so fast that Jason would've been concerned if he didn't know that Peter had powers. Peter blinked at Jason, setting the work down. “Are you sure? I come with a lot of weirdness and fucked up.” Jason looped an arm around the back of his chair, “Yep, got my own amount of weirdness and fucked up.” Peter gave a bright smile.
It felt good to see that. Jason's phone vibrated. Peter locked in on it. Yeah, those enhanced senses were razor sharp. Jason sighed and pulled it out. A text from Damian.
Demonspawn: Are you coming to family dinner this Sunday, Ahki? (4:53pm)
Green Machine: Dunno. Maybe? (4:53pm)
Demonspawn: That's more of a yes that I've heard in a while. Is it a yes or no, I want to let Alfred know. (4:54pm)
Jason looked up, saw Peter back to work on his helmet and gloves, humming to the song playing. “Hey, Pete?” Jason asked, conflicted. “Yeah?” Peter asked, not looking up. “Would you go to a family dinner even if you were kind of estranged?” Peter didn't exactly sighed, he just huffed a breath, before speaking, “Even if you are partially estranged, I think it is good to go, could help repair things. You don't know how long you have left with them. Shit happens.” Jason hummed thoughtfully, “Thanks for the advice.” Peter laughed, “That's what friends do.”
Green Machine: Actually, yeah, I'm coming. What time? (5:02pm)
Demonspawn: Alright, Ahki. I shall let Alfred know. I am interested in seeing you this Sunday. At 7:30pm as always. Any preference changes I should inform Alfred of? (5:05pm)
Green Machine: Nah, everything is still the same, brat. (5:05pm)
“Alright. I'm going. It's Sunday at 7:30pm.” Jason informed, and it did sound like an offer for Peter to join, even to him. Peter laughed, “Thanks for the offer, but nah. Should probably be on better terms before inviting people to join the family dinners.” Jason laughed too, “You're probably right.” Peter snorted but didn't remark on it.
They chatted about nothing and everything, never going to anything heavy. Eventually Peter finished up with the helmet and gloves, stitching perfect and even, parts seamlessly seated together. “Come on, try it! Peter exclaimed, passing him the gloves and helmet. Peter smiled as Jason put on the gloves and listened very carefully. “Woah… this is incredible.” Jason whispered, voice too quiet for the modulator to pick up and project.
Peter watched as he navigated the HUD and the features, and could feel Jason's amazement. “This is phenomenal, Peter!” Jason said, and the modulator worked perfectly. Peter had improved on it in more ways than just technological, more padding, it was more comfortable, the latches improved. Peter smiled, “Thanks, it's the basics.” Jason paused. Then took the helmet off. “The basics?” Jason asked, the helmet hitting the table.
Peter shrugged, “I mean, yeah? I've worked on things like robotic octopus-like arms controlled by a neural chip, fought people modified with similar technology and a whole slew of other things.” Jason laughed and shook his head, “My god, you are certainly something, Parker.” Then Jason's phone rang, and Jason looked at the screen before giving a long suffering sigh, “Gotta take this.”
Jason walked several feet away before answering, “The fuck do you want, Dick?” The other person, probably Dick, responded easily, “I wanted to know where you've been, LittleWing.” “You couldn't just wait and jump me at my apartment, like you're known to do. God, it got so bad with you and the rest of the family that I had to set up goddamned silent alarms.” Jason snapped into the phone. Ah, a sibling then.
“Yeaaaaaah, you know that's not going to stop us. So, stop evading, where you been?” Dick said casually. Peter nodded, Weirdness included. He climbed up the wall and began walking around on the ceiling. “Out.” Was all Jason said. “I know you aren't patrolling. So what have you been doing for the past few hours?” Has it really been a few hours? Peter thought, shocked. Jason muted himself and turned around. “I- Y'know what, not gonna ask, you did say that you were sticky. Can I say it was a date? I want to fuck with my brother.”
Peter laughed, “Oh hell yes! I am so down to be the fake boyfriend!” Jason smiled before un-muting and put the phone on speaker, gesturing Peter to be quiet, “On a date.” They both heard Dick's squawk of surprise. “A date?!” Dick spluttered, shocked. “Yeah, he's a really nice guy.” Jason said and Peter couldn't help but have his shoulders shaking in silent laughter. Dick didn't respond for a while so Jason asked, “Did I break ya?”
“I- uh- didn't think you went on many dates. Least of all with guys.” Dick stammered out. Peter had to force a hand over his mouth to stay quiet. “Oh? What are you? Homophobic?” Jason asked, playing up the scandalized tone. Peter couldn't take it anymore and crawled off into his room, so he could burst out laughing. “THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT, ASSHOLE!” Dick yelled, upset, and Peter just laughed harder.
“Sorry, not sorry. Look, it was just a first date, but I think I'll be going out with him again soon.” Jason said, and Peter was wheezing and laughing. “Anyway, talk to you soon, and do not tell the family about this.” Jason told his brother menacingly before hanging up. Peter got it together and came back out, tears still in his eyes from laughing so hard. “Oh my god. That was perfect.” Peter said, still on the ceiling. Peter paused and tilted his head, studying Jason. “What?” Jason asked amused and curious. “Do you want to go on a date with me?” Peter asked suddenly. Jason blinked before asking, “Like a real date?” Peter nodded, flipping down from the ceiling without a sound.
Jason raised his eyebrow in a silent question of why, and Peter answered easily, a laugh bubbling out, “Well, you've been nothing but kind to me, and well, you are super attractive and a literature nerd. An attractive book nerd.” Jason blinked hard, and Peter could see him turning beet red. “What? Not used to compliments?” Peter teased. Jason looked around the room before answering, “Not really, no.” Peter laughed again.
They said their goodbyes and exchanged numbers. Peter got down to tearing apart the walls, wanting to rewire the place, especially with conduit, a Faraday cage of its own on the building. It wouldn't be cheap, but it would be worth it considering the rogues that infested Gotham. And he did have forty-four thousand dollars to play with. Still, he would stick to the bargain bin.
Jason watched as Peter transformed the building, with Peter waving at him occasionally when Jason watched him. Still a little uncanny how easily Peter was able to find him. Eventually Jason strolled inside, with coffees in his hands, he had gotten Peter's order earlier during one of their late night texting sessions.
“So, Pete, what are you doing?” Jason asked, passing him his coffee. He was covered in dust, probably from the drywall. “Redoing some things.” Peter said before taking a sip of his coffee. Jason walked up to the exposed guts of the wall, and gently poked around in it, “This is heavy duty, what are you planning on doing with the space?” There was everything in the walls, heat, power, pipes. Peter shrugged. He started to speak but then he paused.
“Someone is watching us.” Peter told him quietly. He looked around before settling on a rooftop across from his house and shop. He walked up to the window and studied the rooftop. “Jason?” Peter asked, and Jason noticed his voice was deadly calm. “Yeah?” Jason asked, walking up next to Peter, instinctively putting his hand around Peter's waist. Peter looked over, a light blush on his face, slightly surprised, but schooled his features back into cold calmness.
“Do you know anyone who can go invisible?” Peter asked, staring at a specific spot on that rooftop. Jason cursed quietly. “I'll take that as a yes. What's their name and how do you know them?” Peter asked, slightly turning towards Jason. Jason didn't know what was going on in Peter's head, but Peter settled his head on Jason's shoulder. Keep it cool. Jason thought before speaking, voice low, “My brother, Duke Thomas. A meta the ability to turn invisible, and some other things. Are we fake dating to fuck with my family?”
“Yep. Good to know. Your family dinner is later, right?” Peter asked sweetly, a small smile that didn't show his teeth graced his face. “Yeah, why?” Jason asked, leaning down slightly and seeing the mischievous glint in Peter's eyes. Peter waved at the roof, before walking back to what he was already working on. Jason glared at the spot Peter looked at before flipping Duke off and then turned to follow Peter.
“We need to get our story straight if you're gonna have to deal with your family being menaces about it. Given Duke was on the roof, and what his powers are, he must be Signal, right?” Peter asked, assessing his walls. “Yeah. Have you researched me?” “Nope.” Peter said, popping the p. Jason blinked. Really? No research? “All I did was basic research about the vigilantes and rogues in the area. Clearly the Bats are a family unit. A unit you're a part of, technically or however you see it. Other than that? Nope, I don't care, if you wanted to tell me about things, you would.” Peter continued and he grabbed a drywall panel.
“So, what do we want our story to be?” Peter asked, grabbing the nail gun before moving to add the panel to his walls. Like he was asking what paint he should do. “How are you this okay with catching my brother stalking us?”Jason asked, confused, helping Peter with the panel. “I've seen some weird shit. Another invisible kid trying to sneak around on me is nothing. Besides, between my apprentice, my peculiar friends, and before the erasure with my other makeshift family, I am used to weird familial sort of bullshit.” Peter responded, moving onto the next panel.
Jason hummed before saying, “Maybe our story should be we met in a coffee shop after you moved here a week ago?” Peter hummed, “Do you have any coffee shop and book store combination like places? We could spin it to where you saw the book I was reading and wanted to talk about the book with me and it spiralled from there.” “That could work, my family knows I am a nerd about literature.” Jason remarked, and Peter laughed, “An attractive book nerd.”
Jason didn't comment on that. “How did you know Duke was there?” He asked instead. “The feelings of eyes and a heartbeat. I have practice finding invisible kids, given my spiderling can and will go invisible on me. But Duke is probably shitting himself at the fact I saw him, so I'm sure almost all of your siblings know about it. Although I had to pick out the heartbeat from the rest, it was easier because he was freaked out.” Peter told Jason easily.
Jason laughed and asked, “Spiderling? Is that your nickname for your apprentice?” “I mean, we have the exact same powers excluding his ability to go invisible and that he's got some bio-electric shit going on, almost like an electric eel. It makes sense since he's my apprentice.” Peter told him easily. Jason checked the time after chatting and helping Peter for a while. “I gotta go. See you soon?” Jason asked without meaning to.
Peter nodded and smiled, “This was nice, I'll see you later. I hope the dinner goes well.” Jason nodded, leaving to go get ready.
“Ahki. Is it true you have begun courting someone?” Damian asked, watching as Olive and Titus played in the yard. Jason laughed, “And where did you hear this?” “From Thomas. He also said your partner saw him even though he was invisible.” Damian said quietly. Jason scoffed, though it was of amusement rather than annoyed or offended, “Well, it's new and my partner is perceptive. Maybe I'll bring you around them once it gets more serious.”
Damian seemed satisfied with the answer before asking, “Do they make you happy?” Jason paused, thinking. Does Peter make him happy? They weren't dating, not really. But Peter had asked him out, and Jason accepted. Peter was nice, and good. They got along well. Jason wouldn't say happy, not yet. But he did bring a lightness that wasn't there before. “Mmm yeah. Yeah, they do.” Jason said, ruffling Damian's hair.
“Ahki!” Damian squawked indignantly, but Jason knew he was fond of it. “Time for dinner, pipsqueak. Olive!” Jason called and his dog came over, happy and panting. Olive was a Belgian Malinois, she had a unique fur pattern too. She had a dark fawn color with black sable and mask, though she had this adorable white patch on her chest and her front paws were white too. Damian called Titus over and they went inside for dinner.
Peter stretched in his room, he really needed to go out for some more things. Peter couldn't have been fucked to put his binder back on after showering everything off. Peter's wrists have been itching for a bit, but he wasn't going to inspect it, he had better things to do. Peter put Karen's bracelets on before going out. His hand hovered over Edith's glasses before deciding against taking them.
Peter had a gut feeling that he shouldn't. Peter left, closed up shop and went on his route to go checking second hand stores looking for books and other little things that made a house a home. Peter sighed, it was getting pretty fruitless. He decided to return to the shop, but as he was walking away from the store his Spidey-Sense went off.
Being followed. Danger.
Fuck. Peter turned down the street trying to keep his cool. He could feel them getting closer. They were circling him, subtle but he knew what to look for. “Hey girl, you're looking a little lonely.” A rough male voice said, putting a hand on Peter's lower back. Right, no binder right now. Peter moved away, trying to be nice, “No thanks, I'm good.” The man wrapped his hand around Peter's upper arm, grip tight enough to bruise, “I insist.” Peter assessed his options.
There was really only one choice. Run. Peter wrenched his arm out and took off running. He heard the group of people take off running after him. He couldn't get caught, that's all he knew.
Turn left!
Peter followed his Spidey-Sense like his life depended on it, and to be fair, it did. Peter poured on the speed, yet he heard the men behind him get more excited, not less. “She's a meta! This is great!” The one that had him before exclaimed, and Peter could tell that he was excited about the prospect. Shit.
Right. Now!
Cross the street now!
Peter pulled evasive maneuvers as best as he could, but they were on him like a pack of wolves on a caribou calf. Inescapable, always there, patient. Peter knew he couldn’t keep this up forever, especially if he didn't want to enter the Bats territory. Peter slowed to a stop, and looked around at the men closing in on him in the alleyway. His options were to fight. Flight was out. His chest heaved and he looked around at them, eyes wild like a cornered animal.
“Now, now, doll. This doesn't have to get ugly.” The man said, and Peter studied his face. Dirty blond hair, dark eyes, tall ish, and a hungry look in his thin frame. “I think it does have to get ugly.” Peter snarled, raising his fists. He watched as they all got out guns. They're tranquilizer guns. Peter thought, eyes widening. It wouldn't do much to him as his high metabolism would burn it off almost instantly, but it was clear, they wanted him alive. The man clucked his tongue, not quite in disapproval, “That's a shame.. at least it's fun to break the fiesty ones spirits. Boys.”
Darts flew in his direction and he tried to dodge them but had gotten stuck with four darts.
Danger! His Spidey-Sense screamed, and Peter wobbled on his feet. What? Peter doesn't wobble. His head started to feel fuzzy, and he was getting dizzy. “What did you just give me?” Peter growled, vision spinning. “Just a little something for metas only.” He responded, and Peter felt more darts strike him. Fuck. Peter wobbled before stumbling and falling over, eyes fluttering, struggling to keep them open.
Peter shuddered in and out of consciousness, too dizzy and weak to do anything. They were moving him, taking him somewhere. They left him alone in the back of a van before another bout of unconsciousness hit him. Peter woke again in an unfamiliar room, feeling cold. But he wasn't up long before going back out again. It was a pattern, conscious and too dizzy to function, the feeling of being too cold and sick, then back to unconsciousness.
Peter eventually woke up enough after they got complacent with how out of it he was and could kind of fudge ideas together. He needs to get out of here, but Peter was almost certain he couldn't stand up, too heavily drugged to function. Which given his metabolism was impressive, but also scary. He was also freezing. Peter croaked out barely, “Karen?” He felt the nanites crawl up his skin and turn into earbuds in his ears. “Yes, Peter?”
Peter needed help that much was true. He only had one phone number to call in this universe and croaked out, “..Call Jason.” Karen hummed and the ringing of a phone buzzed in his ears but it sounded far away. Peter didn't want to interrupt his dinner, but he needed help.
Jason and his siblings were playing a game, Jason wasn't too focused on it. This was nice, Peter was right. Speaking of Peter, his phone began ringing, and it was him calling. Dick, Duke and Damian looked over, but Jason just held up his hand before bringing his phone up to his ear to answer Peter's call.
“Hey, what's up?” Jason asked lightly. His phone buzzed with a text but Jason didn't check. Peter wasn't answering, but he could hear Peter breathing on the other end, it sounded off, different. “...I need your help.” Peter croaked out, and Jason could tell he was heavily drugged and lethargic. “Please.” He whimpered out. Jason could feel the green closing in but he didn't care. He stood up so fast that the chair scraped loudly against the floor.
Jason checked his texts. One from Peter, his location. “I'm on my way.” Jason growled, he heard Peter sigh in relief. Jason hung up on Peter, and he saw his family staring. “I have to go.” Jason stated turning to leave, “Damian, keep Olive for now, I'll be back for her.” Dick followed him out of the room, worried, “What happened?” Jason sighed, “You know that probable meta I found earlier this week?” Dick nodded. “That's kinda who I've been dating. And those ASSHOLES in the trafficking ring got him. Luckily, he sent me their location but he is so fucked up right now. Heads are going to roll.” Jason snarled, heading out of the Manor onto the driveway.
Dick winced, “Do you need help?” “Nah. Besides, I really don't want him meeting any family in that state. And don't you dare say anything to the family.” Jason growled. Dick nodded, “I know better, LittleWing. Be safe.” Jason scoffed, peeling out of the driveway on his bike. Jason stopped at the last safe house he used and suited up quickly, pulling up the location Peter sent on his new and improved HUD.
Man, did Peter know how to engineer. Not the time. Jason tore out on the bike he used as Red Hood and raced to the location. Someone got onto comms, and a pop up appeared. It was Oracle. “What.” He snapped, answering. “Hood, you need to be careful. The area you're going.. there's a lot of people coming and going. They're armed too.” Oracle informed and Jason rolled his eyes, “I know. What have you and the Bats been watching them for?”
“We thought they were dealing drugs. Now though? Based on what N told me, meta and human trafficking.” Oracle responded. “And why didn't you bother to inform me that you were watching this place, it's in my territory.” Jason asked, and technically it was true, although it was on the edge of his territory. “I don't know. You'll have to take that up with B.” She answered honestly, and she sounded tired of his shit, get in line.
“Alright. Tell you how this goes later, mainly for your records.” Jason told her. He could be civil with her, his main issue was with Bruce, not her. Besides, she also got fucked sideways by the Joker. He parked nearby and walked up to the building. He didn't know how fucked up he wanted them. They saw him and started scrambling to get out of there, but a few well placed shots took them down. He wanted them to pay, so he didn't kill them. Not yet.
Like a cat playing with his food. Jason kicked the door open and looked around. More people milling about that aimed at him. He took them down with brutal efficiency, and grabbed the nearest one. “Where. Is. Your. Boss.” Jason snarled at the man. He spilled the information easily once Jason started agitating his wounds. Weak. He kicked open that door too. Taking in the appearance of the person, Jason scoffed. Dirty blond hair past his ears, dark eyes, tall, and thin. “So, you're the big boss of this operation?” Jason asked, voice almost casual. But danger lurked in those words, promised bloodshed yet to come.
His eyes were wide with fear and he slowly nodded. “Made any shipments out of Gotham yet?” He asked, looking around the ‘office’. “I- No! What do you want?!” He asked, but there was fear in those words. Jason clucked his tongue disapprovingly, and watched as his HUD rapidly did facial analysis and comparison. Gotcha. “Now, Wilson, tell me the truth, and maybe this only ends with you in Blackgate.” Jason said, not that unlike a disappointed parent. “How do you know who I am? I was so careful!” He squeaked, and Jason couldn't help but laugh.
“Oh, Wilson Reed, I have everything here. Your record is anything but squeaky clean. Arrested for dealing drugs at 14, arrested for assault with a deadly weapon at 17, oh and here's a nasty one, arrested at 20 for sexual assault. Yikes, that's bad. And this was the next logical choice of crime for you? Meta and human trafficking? And no doubt sex trafficking too. I know you were a kid from The Narrows, and what would mother dearest think now of her baby boy being the boss of this trafficking ring?” Jason said, reading the files his HUD had pulled up. Man, Peter doesn't do anything by halves, does he?
He watched as Wilson grew paler and paler as he listed the crimes off. Then he turned a sickly shade of green when Jason mentioned his mother. Screw it, Jason wanted him to squirm a little. But he was done, Peter and other innocent people were out somewhere in this building. Jason squeezed off a shot into Wilson's leg and he looked on dispassionately to his pain and wailing. “Look, Wilson, this is only gonna go one way. Tell me where you keep the people you grab and your injuries don't have to get more severe.” Jason said, crouching down and staring at this pathetic waste of oxygen.
He nodded, crying, and spilled his guts out about where they were being held so fast that Jason almost felt pity. Almost being the key word there. Jason had lied to him about how severe his injuries would be, but then again, he didn't get to be one of the most feared crime lords of Gotham by being soft and letting people off easily. Jason continued on his path of carnage, not actually killing anyone, yet. Just severely maiming them. When he got to what Wilson referred to as the ‘merchandise’ room, that's when he had to start killing.
He didn't mind, as long as it got him through those doors faster. He opened the doors and felt sick to his stomach, cages everywhere full of heavily drugged metas and normal people. The room was frigid too, something that made Jason glad for his jacket. He was glad he had gotten the keys off of the guards he killed. He called Oracle over comms, his helmet had been recording the entire time. “O, I- this is bad. Like really bad. How fast can you get some other Bats down here?” Jason asked, searching for Peter. Peter needed to be gone before other Bats outside of Duke and Dick got here.
“I can have RR, N, and Robin down there in maybe fifteen minutes. How bad?” Oracle asked. Could she not see his video feed? Did Peter's upgrades not let her see what he saw? Huh. “Bad enough that I am regretting not killing more of the people working the ring.” Jason told her, still looking for Peter. There! A small red and blue gleam. He knew Peter wore two blue and red bracelets that seemed to be metal. He heard Oracle wince on the other end, but he was tuning her out now.
He crouched down and quietly said, “Peter!” Jason watched as he barely even stirred before croaking out, “...Hood?” Oh thank god he still had the wherewithal to not use his civilian name. He was worried, he's never seen Peter like this in the short time he's known the man. Peter had an incredibly fast metabolism so why did he still sound so lethargic? Jason got the cage unlocked and pulled him out, and oh my god he was freezing. It also seemed like he just didn’t have the energy to even shiver which concerned Jason.
From the light he could see Peter's lips were turning blue and his fingers were turning blue too. Shit, shit, shit. Jason had to leave now. Peter leaned into the warmth slightly, sighing. “Jason?” Oracle asked, concerned. “Yeah, yeah. How far out are they?” Jason asked scooping Peter up bridal style, keys looped around his fingers. “Maybe five minutes. Why?” She asked and Jason sighed as Peter tried to get closer to him for his warmth. “I have to get going, but I'll stick around to be giving them the keys to the cages that they're keeping the people in.” Jason told her, making his way back to his bike.
“Hey, Pete, do you think you can stay awake for me? I have to go, but I'll be right back.” Jason told him softly, helping him stand up. Peter swayed on his feet before slowly nodding, leaning heavily against the wall. “Who's Peter, Jason?” Oracle asked, both interested but concerned. “Look, O, not right now, I'll tell you about him over lunch soon. Sushi?” Jason stated meeting Dick, Tim, and Damian at the warehouse door.
“Everyone has been taken down, dead or otherwise. The boss for this is Wilson Reed. He's alive. Here's the keys for the cages they've been keeping the people in.” Jason informed them. Dick pulled him to the side as he sent in Tim and Damian with the keys, “Peter?” “I got him, I've got to get going though because he is freezing and entirely too lethargic. His fingers and lips are turning blue, so I gotta go get him warmed up.” Jason told him, turning to leave. “Alright. Stay safe.” Dick called out. At some point Oracle had hung up on Jason. He couldn't care less.
Peter was swaying when Jason got back and he sighed. “Alright. Come here.” Jason said, hugging Peter. He leaned into the contact and mumbled, “Are we going now?” Jason confirmed and they got situated on his bike, Peter facing him and hugging him, desperate for the warmth. Jason drove fast but carefully, trying not to make Peter too uncomfortable. But Peter was so out of it, that Jason didn't think it mattered. Jason just drove to his apartment not bothering to try and hide that he was Red Hood. “Peter, can you tell me what's wrong?” Jason said, helping him get into his house.
“Mmm, can't really thermoregulate. And the drugs.” He mumbled, not focused on much. Then he shook his head, getting some sort of clarity, before saying, “Jason, I need you to take blood samples from me now. Before I get warm and my metabolism starts working again. Then again the drugs seem to go around my metabolism.” Jason nodded and let him sit on his couch, going to get the first aid kit. Thank god Bruce had trained all of them to be paranoid bastards so he had the equipment to take blood samples. Peter was back to mostly out of it by the time he got back and started taking blood for blood tests.
He took four vials, put them in the fridge trying to ignore the other vials of blood he had taken from Peter when he had arrived, and then let Peter lay down, rooting around for blankets he could put over Peter. He couldn't thermoregulate? How come he didn't know sooner? Because you never asked, idiot. Jason thought, bringing out the blankets. He kinda just dumped them on Peter, but he didn't seem to care, just moving them a little until he was comfortable. He checked Peter's temperature with his hand, still freezing but getting better. Peter was back to sleep and well, Jason could do with some sleep too.
Jason got up several hours later, walking out to the living room, Peter wasn't on the couch. Huh. Then he heard humming in the kitchen, the sounds of cooking. “Peter?” Jason asked, walking into the kitchen. His movements were still sluggish but he seemed better. He hummed but didn't look over. “What are you making?” Jason asked, faintly amused. “Wheat cakes. My aunt's recipe.” Peter responded, clearly focused on the task. “Have the drugs worn off?” Jason asked, concerned. “Not entirely, but, I have functioned in worse states.” He responded, putting this set of wheat cakes on a plate before making the next set.
“Like how much worse?” Jason asked, amused. Peter made a noncommittal sound before saying, “Not telling you that.” Jason laughed at that then. Stubborn asshole. “Thanks for getting me last night. Sorry about interrupting your family dinner.” Peter told him, and Jason could tell that Peter was conflicted. Like he had been in tight spots before, yet had no one to call then. And also guilty from pulling Jason away. “Peter, it's fine, besides, I've been hunting for that ring for a while. And my family understands, work comes up at inconvenient times. Part of the vigilante lifestyle.” Jason told him easily, shrugging.
Peter seemed to be lost in thought. “I don't know if my other friends would've come so easily if I had called them if I was in a similar situation back in my universe, that bothers me. Maybe four, well technically five, would've come, the killers, and one non-killer as well. I think they would've been justifiably livid. Other than that? I dunno. The more hero leaning ones? Probably would've left me out to dry. Wouldn't be the first time heroes I was friendly with left me out to dry. I think my problem with that is if I ever told them how it went, they would act all concerned and shit, like that changes how they decided to act when it was happening.” Peter said quietly, introspective.
Yikes. But.. Jason knew what it looked like, how it felt to be left out to dry from people you thought you were good with. How fast they can just.. shift on you, attack you. “I get it. I'm familiar with that kind of.. betrayal. It stings, but after it happens for a while, it just becomes.. normal. You avoid topics that would make them concerned, and just quietly make arrangements for if you're ever in a tight spot and need help that doesn't involve them.” Jason told Peter, tired in a familiar way, resigned to the fact that he knows that if he calls his family when he's in trouble, there's a solid chance it goes so horribly that they stop talking again.
Peter let out a quiet little laugh, bitter and flat, “Yep. Sucks, but what else can you do? Just bury the hurt and pretend things are good when they aren't because you aren't allowed to rock the boat. But they're still surprised when you eventually snap, never recognizing until that point that you're a wounded animal they backed into a corner.” “They never expect it, do they? And then it's all eggshells afterwards, which is always somehow worse. Like, fuck, pick a lane, either just keep hurting or try to be better, either one is fine, but doing both? No. Unintentional hurt is fine. But swapping between the two like the tides? That's not okay.” Jason responded, actually surprised that he was talking to anyone about it, let alone someone who gets it.
Peter laughed again, that bitter laugh, “Exactly! There was this one issue that I was looking at getting put in a place called R.A.F.T., essentially a high security prison for metas, for something I didn't do after my identity got out. Anyone from my previous makeshift family, one from before I got erased and that had dissolved after a fucked battle, knew I didn't do it. They could've vouched for me. They didn't. I called them, texted them, looked for help from them fruitlessly. I didn't know what I expected. I guess I thought we were closer than we actually were.”
Peter finished up cooking and began cleaning up his mess. “I ended up in a similar situation, instead of getting put in prison, I got put in Arkham Asylum.” Jason remarked, and Peter made a choked noise. “You got put in Arkham?” He asked, alarmed. Jason laughed, it was a cold thing, “Yep. To make things worse, it was my family that put me there. After nearly killing me. Still a little touchy around them. I think the only three people I really trust out of my family are my brother who joined the family after I had a.. falling out, my youngest brother and our grandfather.”
Peter winced as he plated up the wheat cakes, “Yeeeeeeah, I can understand why you're kind of estranged with them. Anyhow. Tell me what you think of the wheat cakes.” They ate in oddly comfortable silence, and god the wheat cakes were great, Jason would have to get the recipe. “These are phenomenal. Your aunt is a great cook.” Jason told Peter, honestly impressed. Then he realized that he must have said something wrong. He watched as Peter's face fell slightly, before he rebounded, a small mournful smile on his face before he spoke, “Yeah. I'm gonna miss visiting her.”
Jason studied Peter much closer now. There was a tiredness and hungry look to him that was all too familiar. He knew the look, he saw it everyday in the mirror. The look of someone who is used to long time suffering, yet, someone who knows it won't change, no matter how hard they try. Now that he was looking closer, he could see how dark the circles were under his brown doe eyes, how his cheeks looked hollowed out, how he seemed so bare bones. Like he hadn't eaten much for months. A look he was familiar with, something he knew intimately, something he was barely managing to rebound from himself.
“Peter, how long have you been alone?” Jason asked mildly, watching him, assessing him like he was trained to assess people. He watched as Peter's eyes widened, then as he laughed, mildly unbelievable of the question, stretching, clothes shifting, his hand grazing the back of his neck nervously. Huh. He's trans. Noted. Peter spoke, his tone quick, trying to hide how the question got to him, the lie seemingly easy, “What? No, I haven't been alone. Sure, sometimes it was lonely, but I had friends, important people. I wasn't alone.”
Jason sighed, slightly disappointed, but he understood. Confessing to things like that was always hard. He just moved past it, “So, the wheat cakes recipe?” Peter grinned brightly and excitedly, his very sharp fangs glinting in the light.
AAAAA, so here we are at the end of this hella long chapter. Genuinely this is the longest chapter for anything that I have ever written. I plan on keeping this length for the following chapters so, only god knows how I'll do that. As always, here's my Kofi and Patreon. I really want to keep doing this for all of you but, I need to get a job or y'all can pay me so I can do this full time as I am more broke than Peter Parker. I think I have like 29 cents in my bank account, that's how broke I am :-:
But y'all don't have to pay me unless you really want to and can afford it. I am also working on some ideas for books, but I think I have one I really want to fully flush out, and unfortunately no, I will not be posting it anywhere as I want to actually get it published. I can give y'all snippets eventually but that's gonna just be me and a few friends who really get to see the google doc. Maybe I'll make some tumblr posts about it lmao. And yep, here's my Tumblr if you guys want to shout at me. I should hopefully have chapter 2 out soon as I'm about a third in of writing it, but I make no promises. Either way, this has been the end chapter one, and your Local Dragonfruit is going back to the mines.
Chapter Stats:
Word Count before the note: 11,520 Words
Characters left before the note: 430,104 Characters left
Characters used before the note: 69,896 Characters used
Word Count after the note: 11,822 Words
Characters left after the note: 428,273 Characters left
Characters used after the note: 71,727 Characters used