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It's been a month since Peter has seen the Wayne family, a month since Peter was kidnapped by the clown.
He isn’t going to lie, that was scary.
But it wasn't Bruce's or his kids' fault.
Peter was running around in his Spider-Man suit, in a city that had never seen Spidey before. So of course the villains would be interested in who he was, and what he was doing. Not to mention the fact that obviously the bats cared about him, that would make anyone a target, suit or no suit.
He should have known better.
Mr Stark became much more protective over Peter after this happened. The spidey suit now has a tracker, and Peter has one in a watch that Mr Stark gave to him for when he isn’t in the suit.
Peter is laying on his bed in Stark Tower when his phone screen lights up with a text.
Birds and a Spider
Big Bird: I miss my Spiderling
Little Wing: Uncle Tony isn't cool anymore
Baby Bat: Joker is dead. It's safe for Parker again.
Baby Bird: plus not seeing his nephew is making B pout more than normal
Spiderling: Mr Stark has become a helicopter parent. I have a tracker. A TRACKER?! IN A WATCH?!
Big Bird: We all have one of those
Little Wing: Alfred even made B have one
Baby Bird: He thought it was prudent considering how much time he wasted trying to find where Brucie Wayne was being held captive.
Spiderling: I wanna see you guys 😭
Little Wing: run away. Don’t let a rich playboy tell you what to do
Baby Bat: I heard that didn't end well with you.
Little Bird: Stop being a spoiled baby brat Damian
Baby Bat: 🗡🩸
Baby Bird: At least it won't be me getting stabbed this time.
Big Bird: Jay is onto something. Ditch the tracker and come and hang out with us!
Spiderling: Alright!!
Peter rips off the watch and throws it onto the bed. Mr Stark should believe he is sulking or sleeping in his room, and not even consider that he might be in Gotham.
He puts on his original homemade suit. He isn’t stupid enough to wear his Stark Spidey suit. Not with Karen and the tracker in it.
He’s about to walk out his window when he hears a voice.
“Where do you think you are going, young sir?” JARVIS asks.
“Uhhh. I umm, I’m just going out for a stroll!” Peter tries to make an excuse.
“In your old Spider-Man suit, without any trackers, after texting the Bat children?”
“Ummm. It’s not what it looks like?” If JARVIS had eyebrows, he’d raised them.
“How about a compromise?” JARVIS asks. “If you put on the suit that has trackers, and better armour, then I won’t let Sir access the trackers unless you are in immediate danger.”
“Fine.” Peter sighs, but secretly he’s not that upset. He’s still a little anxious about leaving the tower, he has been ever since he was kidnapped, and having a way for someone to know if he is in danger takes away some of the anxiety.
He puts on his other Spider suit, says hello to Karen, goodbye to JARVIS, and walks out the window.
He swings around the city for a bit, enjoying the fresh air, and helping those who need help, then texts the bats again. They arrange to meet up at an abandoned amusement park about halfway between their cities.
Peter swings till he runs out of buildings, then hitches a ride on a truck going in the right direction.
The truck turns off the highway a little bit before it reaches the turn-off that would go to the amusement park, so Peter jumps off and hikes the rest of the way.
It’s a nice hike, he doesn’t get this far away from the city often.
Before long, he hears distant laughter and whoops of joy.
It’s kinda creepy to be honest, if he didn’t know it was his friends, he’d probably hightail it out of there. Spidey powers or no Spidey powers, some things you just don’t mess with.
He reaches the top of a hill and sees the park. It’s in disrepair, having been abandoned for a few years, but not so bad it’s falling apart.
He can see the bats swinging around the rides, playing chicken with the rides they somehow turned on.
Most of the lights are on, but not all, and some are flickering like they can’t decide whether to stay on or not.
It’s a little bit eerie.
The incoming darkness doesn’t help matters.
He continues walking, and suddenly, as one, all the bats stop what they are doing, and look at him. There is not even half a second pause before they rush at him, and when they reach him, he’s enveloped in hugs.
They all talk excitedly over each other, and he soaks in the feeling of being surrounded by friends. He missed this feeling.
"Come on, let's go!" Dick cheers as he runs towards the rides.
They ride on roller coasters, eat very stale popcorn, and make up little games with the items in leftover stalls.
They can’t figure out how to turn on a few of the rides, so Peter uses a combination of his super strength and his Spidey webs to make the rides go.
He also uses those things to give a few of the slower rides a speed boost.
Between the rides, his webs, and the bat’s grappling hooks, they spend most of their time flying through the air.
They take turns having Jarro cling to each of their backs, and he shows them some of the magical abilities he has.
It’s the most fun Peter has had in the month since that fateful visit to Gotham. It’s worth it, even though Peter knows Mr Stark will be upset.
They hang out long into the night, and Peter actually remembers to ask the bats for the autographs Ned wants, and to give Hood MJ’s phone number. She insisted on it. She wants to start a book club with him.
Tony calls Bruce as soon as he sees Peter isn’t in his room.
"Where is Peter?" Tony asks, with an edge of fear in his voice.
"Where are my kids?" Bruce asks at the same time.
There is silence.
Each can feel the glare the other is sending over the phone.
Both are unimpressed with the other's parenting skills.
But to find the kids they have to work together.
It’s a long night, made even longer by the fact that both Alfred and JARVIS are most definitely secretly laughing at their respective charges, but eventually they find the kids.
Or the kids find them. The kids return to their homes with bright, large smiles, and sparkles in their eyes.
Bruce and Tony sigh, in unison, but can’t bring themselves to do anything worse than lightly scold them for not letting them know where they had gone.
Over text, the kids are already planning their next outing. Alfred and JARVIS laugh, and Bruce and Tony can feel grey hairs start to appear.
THE END