Work Text:
Título: Gotham
Nueva York, Queens - 10/07/2024
Todo se había ido por el desagüe, no sabía cómo, pero sabía por qué, y fue su culpa.
Fue su exceso de confianza, ingenuidad, tolerancia y siempre querer sacar lo mejor de los demás lo que lo llevó a esto.
Perder todo y, en consecuencia, terminar solo.
Su familia estaba muerta y todo el universo no recordaba quién era.
Pero no lo malinterpreten, no se arrepintió de lo que hizo, salvando vidas. Si alguien le hubiera dicho que para salvar a los villanos de sí mismo tendría que perderlo todo, lo volvería a hacer sin importar cuán doloroso fuera.
Solo habían pasado 6 meses desde que comenzó a vivir solo, sin embargo, todavía no podía acostumbrarse a volver a casa en su nuevo departamento (, que era diez veces más pequeño que el que May alquiló ) solo para encontrarlo tan vacío y solitario.
The first days had been unbearable (they still were), locking himself in his room for hours, crying and forgetting (ignoring) the fact that he needed to eat to survive. The lack of food wreaked havoc on his metabolism and prevented the healing of the wounds caused during his nighttime patrols, because even though Peter Parker might be in mourning, the city still needed Spider-Man, even if they mostly saw him as a nuisance or even a villain.
School and work were the main reasons for his unbearable migraines. Going to the institution to request his certificate of studies was more difficult than he had thought. Even though his records were still there (which was a relief), the secretary was so lost by the fact that she didn't recognize him. Even his teachers denied having seen him in their classrooms even once. He was aware that "this" would happen, but it hurt because he held onto the tiniest hope that someone would recognize him.
Getting a job was easier than he thought, after all, he was intelligent and capable. However, it was quite challenging to keep it considering his boss forgot him every two days. The same thing happened with his apartment; if it weren't for the fact that he had signed a contract with the landlord, he would have been out on the street.
Loneliness was something he wasn't used to. It was painful and suffocating, a pain that wasn't physical or mental. It was something that seeped into the deepest part of your being, consuming you slowly and painfully. And before you knew it, you were already a part of it, and interacting with other people became such a huge challenge that it seemed impossible. A challenge he was unable to accomplish.
Just like other nights, he put on his suit and went out to defend the innocent from any threats. He took lost children back home (the word "home" hurt too much to say), stopped petty thefts, and helped the elderly with their shopping.
While checking the little technological equipment he had left, he discovered that his AI Karen was still operational. Even though she didn't recognize him in the database, his name was still there, which helped him a lot. Karen told him that even though she didn't remember him, her creator wouldn't have created her for just anyone, so she would help him.
That really helped him to be Spider-Man. At an undefined moment, he found himself fighting Vulture, who had found new alien merchandise combined with magical artifacts, which was very dangerous. Both of those things had led to this moment. Still, Peter ignored the "twinge" that was telling him to get out of there and flee as far as he could. The next thing he knew, some kind of portal-collider appeared, and after that, everything was darkness for a good while.
New Jersey, Gotham - 04/16/2016
Peter woke up disoriented, alone, and confused. He felt like he had no control over his enhanced senses or his emotions. He began to feel like his body was suffocating; it hurt, and the sounds were so loud that they only reached him as painful and irritating buzzing. Tears didn't take long to come along with nausea.
"Karen!! Deactivate the suit, take it off, take it off!"
Peter struggled to stay calm as he shouted at Karen. Fortunately, she was able to react quickly and deactivate the suit, freeing him from that distressing experience. Breathing heavily, Peter sat down, still trying to regain control of his senses. Karen apologized, explaining that the suit was experiencing an unexpected malfunction, and they would investigate the issue. Peter thanked her for her help, though he felt uneasy about what had just happened. He decided to take a break to calm down and reflect on the situation.
Recapping, had he been shot by an alien magical weapon? If that had happened, along with the fact that he was in a place he didn't recognize, because he didn't remember any city with a Gothic appearance in New York? Actually, there wasn't even a city like that in the whole country. The few cities he could think of were outside of the country or even the continent, which was ruled out because he heard people speaking English, quite fluently to be foreigners. But, if he wasn't in a city in New York, where was he? Oh, crap, he's going to have another panic attack. No, he can't allow that. Alright, better count to ten.
Peter closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing thoughts. He counted to ten slowly while focusing on his breath. When he opened his eyes, he noticed he was surrounded by dark and enigmatic buildings, but none seemed to match the ones he knew in New York. That only reinforced his hypothesis. Okay, he definitely wasn't in New York. He reminded himself to stay calm and find a way to gather more information about his current location. He decided to ask Karen.
"Karen, do you know where we are?"
"I'm afraid not, Peter. My systems are damaged due to the impact of the weapon. However, I'm already repairing myself. As soon as I'm back up and running, I'll connect to the networks and analyze our location."
"Oh... alright, let me know when you're okay."
Well, maybe it was time to make a list of pros and cons about his situation, just like Aunt May taught him.
First the cons:
He didn't know where he was.
He was injured.
He hadn't eaten well in months, and now the bill had come due.
He had at least 3 broken ribs.
He had lost a lot of blood.
His spider-sense was screaming danger everywhere.
Okay, not too many. Now the pros:
Thanks to the nanotechnology suit, he didn't have to remove his civilian clothes, and he still had them.
He had about 70 dollars in cash.
He wasn't dead (yet).
Karen was still operational, which was a relief.
Decidió caminar con cuidado, manteniendo sus sentidos alertas para evitar desencadenar otra situación incómoda con el traje. Mientras se movía por las calles góticas, se dio cuenta de que los transeúntes también usaban ropa que no parecía pertenecer a su tiempo, al menos no al presente.
Finalmente, encontró un quiosco de periódico y se acercó a él para obtener algunas pistas sobre dónde estaba. Para su sorpresa, notó varias cosas en los titulares. Hablaron de una familia y su compañía, Wayne se exhibió prominentemente en letras grandes. También hubo una gran diferencia enthe date from what he remembered and the one printed on the newspaper – 8 years to be exact. He didn't know if he was more terrified by the fact that it was eight years in the past or that it wasn't in the future. The third thing was that the city was called Gotham.
So absorbed was he in his thoughts that he didn't notice when someone approached and hit him on the head. It would have likely knocked him unconscious if not for his enhancements. Simultaneously, he was shoved into a dingy alley. His arachnid sense was yelling danger throughout the city, and he was injured.
Peter was dazed by the blow to his head, but his spider-sense was on high alert. Despite his injuries, his instincts put him on high alert to face the threat before him.
In the dark alley, three individuals surrounded him with hostile looks. They seemed to be the kind of troublemakers that apparently roamed the streets of Gotham.
"What do we have here? An outsider in our territory," one of them said with a malicious grin.
Peter knew he was at a disadvantage, but he couldn't allow himself to be taken by surprise again. He discreetly activated some functions of his suit to control his strength and agility, preparing to defend himself without causing harm.
"Sorry, there must have been a misunderstanding. I don't want trouble, I'm just looking for information about this city," Peter tried to explain, attempting to remain calm.
"I think we could get some reward for this outsider, don't you think?" another man said, holding a knife in his hand.
Peter knew he had to act quickly. Using his enhanced agility, he dodged the first punch one of the men aimed at him. With a quick movement, he disarmed the knife-wielding man and then blocked another attack.
The men were surprised by Peter's ability and by the fact that he seemed injured yet was still capable of defending himself. Peter seized the distraction to deliver a strong but controlled blow, sending the third individual staggering backwards.
"We don't want trouble, just information," Peter insisted, staying on guard.
The men, clearly taken aback by Peter's resistance, exchanged glances and eventually decided to back off.
"Well, you're more trouble than you seem. It's better you get out of here before we regret letting you go," one of them warned.
Peter nodded and quickly left the alley, maintaining his vigilance as he ventured back into the streets of Gotham. Although he had avoided immediate danger, he knew he had to be even more alert in this unfamiliar city.
He decided to find a safe place to hide and tend to his wounds before continuing his quest for answers. In the meantime, his mind was filled with questions about this strange situation and how he might find his way back home.