Chapter Text
"Happy birthday Peter!" Cheers could be hears from all around May's apartment.
Oh yes, it was his birthday. He was now 19 years old.
Wait what?
Why did the cake in front of Peter say 'Happy 2nd Birthday!' if he was 19? He certainly wasn't a baby, his knowledge was beyond that of even a college student.
--
"What if everyone forgot Peter Parker? What if they all forgot... me?" Peter asked Doctor Strange a question that would change the world forever.
"Yes maybe, but that's not enough." The Doctor replied, "your presence in this universe is tied to how all these villains are coming into our world. If we wanted to be thorough..." The sorcerer trailed off, it almost looked like tears were forming in his eyes.
Peter noticed the tight expression on Strange's face. He hesitated for a second and asked, "if we wanted to be thorough then what?"
Strange took a deep breath. "Then you wouldn't be able to exist in this universe."
"Okay so kill me. This is the price I pay for what I've done to the world. I deserve it."
The genuine acceptance of Peter's voice was what made everything worse. The kid thought he deserved to die after doing so much for the whole planet. After the short amount of time they'd spent together in space, Strange knew that the kid did not deserve anything that had happened to him. He deserved another shot, but they were running out of time. There had to be another way.
"Kid, you've done so many amazing things for this earth, you have always taken care of the little guy, you helped defeat Thanos, you defeated Beck, and you found it in yourself to try to cure all of these villains just so that they wouldn't die. You're a good person."
A tear fell from Peter's right eye as the sky became a darker shade of red. "Just do it. There's no other way we can save the multiverse, we're running out of time."
Strange knew this, but he couldn't help but feel sympathetic for the kid after all that they went through together, during the war and now. There had to be something he could do.
That's it! The Doctor started conjuring the spell as he told Peter the plan. "I'm going to cast a spell which will make everyone forget you and send you to another dimension; one without a Peter Parker. Go live your life out, kid"
Peter let out a half smile. At least he wouldn't die. Without even asking about the time it would take for Strange to cast the spell, he quickly jumped down to Ned and MJ.
With tears already streaming down his face, Peter informed his friends of the final decision. "You guys are going to forget me," Peter's breath hitched, "and I'm going to be sent to another dimension."
Safe to say his best friend and girlfriend did not take the news very well. However, his two friends knew that it was necessary. They just wished there was another way. Ned opened and closed his mouth a few times before tugging Peter into a bear hug, which MJ, who had started sobbing, joined. "I love you, good luck."
Their group hug lasted a few seconds before Peter's vision was taken over by darkness.
-
When he woke up again, the first thing Peter noticed was that he was in a room that he had never seen before. The second thing that he noticed was the voice of a man on the phone.
"I don't know. I got home and he was just there in a baby carrier sitting in the middle of my living room." That was the person inside the house.
Peter stopped paying attention, and observed his surroundings more. It seemed like an apartment; judging by the singular long hallway which had two doors, and the kitchen that was just barley in sight.
For some reason, the apartment gave off the same vibes as Steve's room did back at the Avengers compound, he had been in it once when Steve was showing him a gun from- speaking of guns, there were quite a few weapons in Peter's sight, scattered around the home. Shit. This guy was most likely either a criminal or a vigilante. Peter was going to be optimistic go with the later of the two.
It felt like he was laying down on a.. sofa? Had this man found him on the street after he landed in the universe? But wait, what about his phone conversation. He mentioned a baby- wait a baby?!
Peter looked down, and rather than finding his own small yet toned figure, he found chubby hands and feet. What was going on?? Strange never said that he would turn into a baby!
"He looks exactly like me too. Do you think..?" Peter heard from the man. Huh.
Peter blinked, and tiredness overcame him. Maybe a quick nap would help his thinking.
Within a second of his eyes being closed, memories flowed through Peter's eyes. Mr Stark dying, Beck revealing his identity, May dying, everything. Every single bad thing in his life came crashing down.
He felt a nudge, another one, his eyes finally snapped open, and he realized he must have been crying based off his wet eyes.
"Shh it's okay, you're okay" Peter looked up to the voice and saw a figure, one nearly identical to his dad.
The tears came down harder. "Dah?" Oh yeah, he was a baby. Obviously his speech wouldn't be fully developed. Hopefully he will be able to quickly regain his speech.
The man, whoever he was, looked shocked, but let out a soft smile. "Yeah that's me. You're safe kid."
The tears stopped pouring out a bit, and Peter snuggled into the warmth of...the man? His dad? Whoever he was.
He felt safe, and that's all that matters.
--
A quick DNA test later, and turns out the guy really was his dad. Richard Grayson. He must be his real dad's counterpart in this universe. Speaking of, how was he going to tell him that he was from another universe? Obviously, Peter couldn't say much due to his lack of teeth, and he couldn't write because of his loss of mobility when he de-aged.
Even if he did say something when he finally grew and was able to speak and write, would anyone believe him? Nobody would believe a child who said they were from an alternate dimension. It just didn't make sense.
So, Peter did the only thing he could do. He let his father believe that the reason why he appeared in the middle of his apartment was because somebody had snuck into the apartment and left Peter there, probably his mom. Believing this was the case, Dick's first thoughts were that they needed to move to somewhere that would be safer for the kid.
So, he got to work. He found a decently priced apartment in a slightly better part of Gotham, and bought the best security systems he could and set them up in the apartment. Maybe he nearly went bankrupt, but it was worth it for his son. Despite his dad being Bruce Wayne, Dick was by no means rich. He depended on his own money, rather than taking his adoptive father's.
Now, he needed to find someone who would watch Peter while he was either working or being Nightwing. Somebody trustworthy. Maybe Alfred?
--
Back at the Wayne Manor so that the whole family could meet Peter, Dick assumed it would be the best time to ask the butler if he would be willing to be Peter's caregiver in his absence.
The two stood off to the side as Tim, Damian, Jason, Cass, Steph, and even Bruce were all cooing over Peter. It was evident that Peter had Bruce wrapped around his finger the second he said "Pah!!"
"I would love to take care of Master Peter should you not be able to accompany him." The man in question replied when Dick asked if he would be up to the job.
"That is perfect! I can try to bring him here so you can continue with your duties as Butler as you watch him if you would like."
"There is no need," Alfred said as he looked to his left towards the group around Peter. "It seems as though Master Bruce loves Master Peter, I am sure he will not mind."
Dick smiled. Of course that man had a soft spot for his first grandchild. He would go on to spoil the kid so much, but not to the point that Peter forgot what it was like to have almost nothing.
Peter got lucky with the universe he had been thrown into. Sure, there were a ton of things that triggered his bad memories, but he was lucky to have a huge family to take care of him. It reminded him of the Avengers and how loving everyone was with Peter, even if he wasn't an official Avenger himself.
So, Peter went on for over a year, living the life of one of the luckiest babies alive. There were ups and downs, but he always had people to fall back onto.
But he never forgot those who had loved him back home. He never forgot his aunt and uncle who went through hell and back to support him. He never forgot his best friend who was always there as his friend and guy in the chair. He never forgot his girlfriend who spent every night praying he would stay safe. He never forgot his mentor who ensured his safety and was always there to guide him. He never forgot about his team, who loved him to pieces.
He still found himself wondering about what could've been.
Peter was grateful for the life he had in Gotham, but he still missed his old life. Yes, it's an ungrateful thought, but living the same life for 17 years just to be put into a new one all of a sudden tended to make a person miss their past. Who wouldn't miss their sense of repetitive normalcy, even if their life was nothing but normal?
When he was removed from everyone's memories and transported to another universe, he lost so much. He lost his aunt, his best friends, Spider-Man, his ability to walk and talk, practically everything. The only things that he still had as a reminder of the life he once lived were his spider powers and his memories. Even then, his powers were dampened, and his mind was all jumbled up from being a baby.
He couldn't even do anything but cry about his losses, and even if he wanted to talk to someone once his speech was fully developed/restored, nobody would believe him about anything. He was stuck.
Sometimes, he wishes he could go back and have the chance to have proper closure with everyone and everything. If he could go back just for a day, maybe all that pain sitting inside his little two year body would go away.
Somewhere, that desire was heard.