Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Let’s set the mark straight, Peter was having a good day. He woke up early, got his morning coffee at one of his favorite cafes down the street, worked a bit on his suit, and he had plans to stop a new trafficking ring on patrol.

So by all means when that “had plans” turned into being thrown though an inter-dimensional portal…

He wanted to scream; actually that was an understatement. He wanted to drown in the depths of hell and curse his Parker luck to the worst universe possible.(He didn’t mean for him to go with it to)

Because he himself knew the day was to good when it reached 1:30PM 10:00AM without any liquid stains on his shirt.

It started with his patrol, he had stopped 5 muggings, a bank robbery, helped a few cats out of some trees, and helped Daredevil with one of Fisks hostage situations.

So, overall an easy day.

Actually, that last one is a funny story.

Ever since he found Matt in a back alley dumpster with a bullet wound in his leg, a banged up face, and helped drag his ass back to an old looking apartment complex… There had been a lot more sightings of Spider-Man with Daredevil on the news.

Peter had been Spider-maning for 2-ish years when he found Matt. So when he saw what at the time was “The Man in Black” he couldn’t help but show him how to do the whole “vigilante” thing. -even if Daredevil was basically a decade older then him and Peter was a scrawny 15 year old then- Over the process they got to know each other, it also provided him with much needed company from his lonely life.

He had been helping Daredevil with his “Fisk” problem for a while. Wilson Fisk gave Peter a LOT of trouble, trying to murder him at least once a month. But he had a lot of tabs on the guy, and if Daredevil was going after him, then who was he not to help?

Anyway, He was on his way to deal with the trafficking ring at a suspicious storage unit when he swung into a portal that appeared out of nowhere -actually ran into it- and sucked him in.

It was Nauseating, and Peter dropped hard on the ground when the portal decided to spew him out.

—————————*—————————

Which is how he got to where he is now…

Sitting up, Peter quickly became alert. Turning his head to check his surroundings.

“What the fuck” Peter mumbled under his breath.

Slowly standing up, he noticed three things. One, he is sore as hell. His body aches from falling on concrete, and he feels like he took 5 patrol shifts in a row; and his patrols are long.

This patrol routes are at minimum 7 hours. Starting at around 4:00PM and letting his patrol take over when it ends sometime at 3:00AM.

Two, he has no idea where he is. Well actually, from the worn down, abandoned looking sign on the fence in-front of him he is somewhere in… Park Row? He can’t really tell, with the words “Crime Alley” being sprayed on top of the original sign. So, not anywhere he knows.

Peter knows he’s somewhere abandoned, his hearing helping him know civilization is AT LEAST half a mile from where he is. With the yell of a shop owner yelling

“Get back here, your worthless thug!”

The building in front of him has rusted pipes and some broken bricks form the view he’s facing. He has no doubt in his mind the other sides must also be destroyed.

It’s also sometime late in the afternoon, information provided by the slow-moving sunset in the distance.

Three, he still had his spider suit on; the one he used for night patrol. Actually, great observation! That could be very useful.

“Karen! Are you functioning?” Peter spoke, desperation in his voice to get some bearing of where he is.

He is somewhat relieved when he hears a familiar robotic voice reply,

“Data tracking… please hold Peter.”

Well, it’s something

While waiting, Peter comes to a conclusive theory. That is, he is probably not in his own universe (he can tell because of the stupid ass portal that brought him here) he is not somewhere safe, or at-least the area is dangerous. Because somebody had the audacity to vandalize a government street sign. Or maybe it’s because he can hear dozens of gun shots in the distance, +multiple crimes going on and drug dealings… Can’t tell you which. And that he is inevitably lost.

“Data restored, hello Peter. It seems that we have changed satellite signals. We also seem to be in a different universe. The internet is very different now. Would you like to have an update?”

Well that clears some of my theory’s up , Peter thought.

“Yes please, Karen. And if you would, change the suit back into a hearing aid.”(Fake hearing aid, it’s so Karen can talk to him without him wearing his weird fucking suit in public)

Ever since working with Stark, his suits material quality has gone up. He was even able to produce something not unlike the Nano-technology used in the Ironman suits. Stark did not like that, he basically turned his technology into something more advanced and helpful. Too bad Stark can’t sue him for his smarts.

As the suit compressed into a small black and dark red hearing aid; curtesy of his night suit colors. He was left in a black T-shirt that was a bit to big for himself, and some dark jeans with his  black converse. -Don’t ask how there is cloths under his skintight suit lol- If anything, he looked like a homeless teenager… which he kinda was at the moment (despite almost being 19 -.- aka more of a young adult instead of a teenager)

“From my data search, I can conclude we are in another universe. New city’s have been constructed such and Metropolis and Gotham. It seems we are in Gotham, a city in New Jersey and home to an alarming crime rate. You are in an abandoned part of Park row, also known as “Crime Alley” home to a multitude of vigilantes and villains. It is also known for their anti-meta rule. Or people with un-human ability’s; like yourself.

Gotham also has new structure figures. Such and Bruce Wayne, who has many similarities to Tony Stark.” Karen provides,

Welp, best to lay low. It seems this city already has its hero’s.

“Thanks, Karen”

Peter constructs his first steps of action, he needed to find somewhere to stay for the night. More considerably somewhere closer to life to make his job tomorrow easier. But first things first, raid the apartment building in front of him to see if it has any money.

Peter would stay near here for the night, but the air smells heavily toxic. And although he is immune, he would rather not breathe in dangerous chemicals all night; it’s a personal thing.

With that, he places his hands on the old brick wall and starts scaling up the building.

—————————*—————————

When finished, he ended up with a light grey sweater and $54.83. A pretty good hall, and he snatched a bag of Lay’s from the staff room of the apartment building. Glad some things haven’t changed. As he munches on his new found (probably toxic) food, he starts walking towards the next sign of life.

While walking, he figures out civilization is actually much closer than he thought. It was really only a block or three that was abandoned. Sue him for saying the shop vendor was like half a mile away, it was an at the moment thing to say, and he deserved pity, having been dropped form who knows how high!!

So as he got closer he realized a few more things. More noticeably that it’s dark out now, and that it’s still active in the city. Not the walking around going to the movies type though; no, everywhere he looked it seemed like somebody was getting mugged, threatened, or kidnapped.

I guess Karen wasn’t kidding when she said this place was known for its crime.

Some part of him wants to help, but he knows it just apart of this universe. And it’s better to ignore it. That’s a problem for this world’s vigilantes.

Speaking of them… He could swear he spotted a little black dot hopping across buildings a few roads down.

I guess this worlds hero’s have started patrol.

Thinking it’s getting too dark for his liking, Peter starts searching for a good building. Preferably one without a top door, but enough mechanical parts at the top that it could be used as an awning in case it rains.

At first he finds one he thought was good, he made his way up near the fire escape just in case an onlooker spotted him. However as soon as a got up he spotted a hatch in the floor that was used as a way up.

And just as he was about to climb back down, he made eye contact with a frightened Janitor cleaning one of the air vents.

The poor guy looked horrified, Peter had made a high pitched scream and accidentally lost his grip on the ledge. Thankfully he was able to stick to the edge and scurry to the side before the janitor looked down to see what happened to him.

He probably expected the body of some teenager looking kid, in a pile of blood, dead on the ground. It was a pretty high building. He wanted it high so no normal person would climb up it and see him.

The rest of the buildings he checked, he was careful that nobody was already on top of it.  Or at least a poor janitor just trying to do their job.

After an hour search he found a pretty decent building. One of the vents on top came outwards acting as a rain cover. And there was no way to get on top of the building, except for a very rusty, and broken down fire escape on the backside of the building.

So he was pretty confident he would be the only one up here.

Not to mention; It was also 6 stories tall, and had a small boarder surrounding the top so nobody could see him if he was close to it.

With that he bundles with his grey goodie he found (stole) and asks Karen to give him more information on where he is until he falls asleep.

—————————*—————————

The next morning, the first thing he feels is hungry. It’s not desperate hunger  though, ever since being alone he has trained his body to stay healthy without a constant source of food.

But still, with his metabolism he stills needs substance within the next few days.

He also knows it’s around 6:30AM, another thing he has trained his body to do. Like clockwork he now wakes up at that time every morning.

The things a guy can do in his free time is unbelievable. Ok- to be fair most people don’t go actively seeking out military strategies to use in everyday life.

And most people can’t create web fluid with a higher tensile strength than vibranium grade products.

Last night he was lucky no uninvited vigilantes of this world spotted him. It would have been tough to explain.

Especially with how Karen described the vigilantes of this world last night.

Apparently one of the vigilantes is a guy named Bat-man. And he dosent even have bat powers?!? Like, if you’re gonna get a superhero name, at least make it on theme. Peter earned his name. What did this guy do? Go viral for making bat jokes… smh

He also learned more about that Bruce Wayne guy. Apparently he takes orphaned kids off the street and just… takes them in.

He dosent know what he would do if he ran into this dude. His twice orphaned ass is not for sale.

Or is that called adoption..?

But Peter still has a more pressing matter at hand. Getting a job and a place to live.

He knows he just got here, but if he is unable to find his way out of where ever he is. He might as well make a life out of it.

So that’s what he does, he sets out to go look for a job.

Right after he finds out how to get off this building without looking suspicious.

—————————*—————————

After a bit of walking he’s finds a bar that serves villains and vigilantes called Noonans’s bar with a “help wanted” on the front (if you get this reference your my friend… but no it’s not the same thing, just stole the name)

Although he doesn’t want to get involved in vigilanteism, a bit of gossip doesn’t hurt anybody.

And it would give his like a bit of excitement.

It wouldn’t be that different from when he was back home.

He worked a year at Sister Margret’s and he really enjoyed it. He heard the funniest shit there.

And he enjoyed the face of rowdy customers  when a 18 year old teenager that looked practically 13 picked them up and threw them out.

Of course he can’t do that more often because of the No-meta rule Karen told him about. But that can’t stop him from having a bit of fun.

With that set in mind, he walked into the bar.

It smelt hard of whiskey and beer. But Peter at this point was used to it. So walking up to the counter with the most nonchalant look he could put on he went to the bartender.

“Hey, could I get a job?”

The guy in the back counter gave him a dumbfounded look. Peter could practically hear him thinking what the fuck is this 14 yr old doing in a mercenary bar but instead of pointing that out he instead lets out a sigh.

“Hello?”

That seems to snap the guy out of his confusion.

“Why would we hire a fuckin’ kid, don’t ya know this place fucking dangerous as fuck. Ain’t no place for som on’ like you.”

Ok- that is a lot of fucks. But Peter doesn’t give a fuck. He has a goal in mind.

“The sign in front says ya need help. You gonna take it or not? I can manage myself, why wouldn’t you hire me?”

The guy seemed to think for a moment before replying,

“You’re hired, start tomorrow night. Come 9:00PM we stay open till’ 3:00AM. First week ya’ get paid half, but you can keep any tips ya get. I’ll have a uniform ready for you. Don’t die, cause trouble, get into trouble, or leak private information. And call me C, we don’t use real names here, but go with whateva’ the customers wanna call ya! Now get a move on”

That was easier than he thought it would be-

With his new found job Peter leaves the dangy bar.

First step complete, Karen had already implanted fake documents of him into this universe. But he’s board and it never hurt anybody to go pick up a book- And get to know the area. So Peter starts walking and sets in search of the library.

—————————*—————————

With the help of Karen he eventually found the Gotham public library. It was an old building, with high support beams and wide stairs up to the door.

It had a dark overcasting shadow in the back that made it look more gloomy than intended. And the lights inside looked dim.

Nobody seemed to be entering the big building. Only people lurking around. Probably waiting for some innocent bystander like him to walk into their paths. Just so they can snatch a few bucks.

I guess Gotham has a style

Peter enters the old styled building to be met with a nice looking ginger woman at the front desk.

She was wearing a nice green sweater and a pair of light skinny  jeans. As he got closer he realized she was sat in a wheelchair. And she seemed to be intently texting somebody on her phone.

His spider sense rings a bit in the back of his head. And he knows immediately there is more to her than she seems.

“Hello ma’am! How’s your day?”

Peter asks, putting on his best “yes I am an innocent teenager” act.

“I’m very well, thank you for asking!”

She responds, her eyes lighting up a bit at his tone.

“Are you looking for anything sweetie?”

“Not particularly, but thank you. I’ll just be looking at some books.” Peter responds, glad that she isn’t mean and dark like the rest of the city seems.

“Alright! Let me know if ya’ need anything, my names Barbara.”

“Thank you, Miss” and with that, he disappears behind the shelves of books.

As he scanned the shelves, Peter ended up with a book on Gotham rouges. The book was titled “Rouge Gallery” and it gave insight of all Gotham’s villains. Or as they called them, “Rouges”

After a bit, Peter concluded this world’s villains are pretty dumb.

I mean, who the hell themes their entire gang clown themed?? Like, who is supervising these outfits. One of the pictures shown (there are literally only two though) shows a guy in a fucking purple suit?! And he has green hair!! What the hell…

Apparently the guys name is “The Joker” but he doesn’t seem that great. Compared to what Peter has had to deal with, this guy seems pretty tame. Just crazy and psychotic.

Peter also read about recovering rouges. Such as Harley Quinn, apparently she was crazy clown guys girlfriend. But after they broke up, she decided to become good just to piss him’ off. And honestly slay queen!! Is what Peter would say to her.

After a while, Peter puts away the books and makes his away to the door.

biding farewell to…Barbara? That was her name right? Yes

He then leaves to go back to his original roof. 

—————————*—————————

When he makes it back, it’s night again. He climbs up the back and gives himself a pat on the shoulder for his successful day.

And as he curls up in the corner again he dozed off the the * Thwip* of grappling hooks in the distance.

Chapter Text

The next morning Peter feels 10x better than yesterday. He isn’t sore anymore, he has a job,
and it didn’t rain last night.

He is still on his building,(yes he claimed it) yet to get back down. He doesn’t actually want to leave,

he’s still stretching and the little warmth from the sun is refreshing as he cracks his back.

But, he has to get something to eat. So albeit reluctantly, he starts dragging himself down the disintegrating ladder.

Last night he listed to Karen describe more about this place. He learned about the plentiful bunch of Batman’s sidekicks, one of which was Red Hood; the vigilante of crime alley.

Apparently this is where Red Hood does patrol. And if Peter has to be honest, he kinda wants to meet him.

Apparently he’s a “Crime Lord” and deals drugs. He also doesn’t seem to see

-eye to eye- with good ol’ Mr. Bat.

So Peter is naturally intrigued, maybe he’ll spot him someday.

After a bit of walking around a bit, he finds himself in-front of a drowsy looking convenience store. So, he heads in.

Looking around a bit, Peter is refreshed by the amount of cheap food they have there.

Walking in, the cashier gives him a suspicious look, watching him the whole while he’s in there.

When he heads out, he is stashed with 2 loafs of bread, a jar of peanut butter, 8 cans of alphabet soup, and a a hammer.

And it was only $13.43 total!! Leaving him with $41.40 total. Which in his opinion, is not bad.

And you might be wondering what the hammer is for, but he just has a feeling he will need it for work later down the line…

Speaking of work, he has practically the whole day before 9:00PM. So he takes it to walk around and get familiar with the area.

He ended up eating a peanut butter sandwich while walking down the road. Familiarizing himself  with the streets.

He was just about to take another bite, but as he turned the corner he ran into something, tripping him and the other person.

He was quick to spring into action,

“I am so sorry sir!” He states, reaching out a hand to help the other person up.

The other a man seemed to be in his late 50’s at the least. He has gray hair and blue eyes.

The man seems shocked, not as if he was hurt. But maybe because of Peter’s politeness, after all he recognizes this isn’t a place for formalities.

“No problem at all, Mr., It was actually I who wasn’t paying attention. Would you let me buy you a cup of coffee?” The man responds.

And personally, Peter finds himself a little shell socked. Although masking it over from the outside view. Who knows who this man is, after all…

“Ah, I still wasn’t looking myself. But I would enjoy a cup of coffee.” And that was the truth. Coffee actually sounded amazing at the moment. And if this guy was willing to pay, no way he would refuse him! Peter couldn’t afford to waste money on pleasantries such as coffee.

So with that they head in the direction of a coffee store the man pointed out.

Along the way they make small side chat. Peter learned his name was Alfred, a butler for some rich family. He didn’t catch which. To busy realizing he left his sandwich on the sidewalk.

Just as he finished mourning the loss of his breakfast, they rounded the corner to a small cafe snug between two tall buildings surrounding it.

The inside was pleasant, it had a warm lighting. And the atmosphere was clean, unlike the suffocating darkness outside.

“What would you like Peter?” Yes, he told Alfred his name, he had documents anyway because of Karen. And he was busy playing the role of innocent teenager.

“Could I get a mocha Frapaccino?” Peter said after a moment. He wasn’t gonna comment on the raised eyebrow Alfred gave him. He put in their orders, Alfred just getting some tea.

After their drinks were finished, they found themselves sat at a small table at the front.

“So, Peter. What does a young man such as yourself do?” The man, Alfred, asks. And if Peter was honest… He didn’t really want to lie. Just change the trust a bit.

“Oh, I just work as a waiter at a bar&diner, I actually just started.” He says with a smile. It wasn’t a lie, he just left some details out.

“I see, I am not familiar with people such as yourself around here.”

“You mean my attitude, don’t you. I guess I just haven’t let this city suck me up quite yet.” He states calmly, the man has an unreadable expression. And they finish the rest of their drinks with side conversation and comfortable silence.

At the end they bid farewell, going their separate ways.

A few topics mentioned included hints of him being the butler for the Wayne family. Which honestly, he was not expecting.

What’s a guy like Alfred doing in a place called “Crime Alley”? Actually, what was anybody doing here? Never mind… everybody has their reasons.

It’s 12:30 at the moment. So he reasons he should go raid the rest of The apartments in the abandoned blocks.

So Peter starts walking his way over there.

—————————*—————————

He found his way over to the abandoned blocks, hopping over a fence that warned people of radioactive activity in the area.

Peter did not notice that sign on his way out of there the other day. Good to know his senses still work.

He ended up starting with a wooden and brick apartment complex. The wood was painted a beige, or it used to be beige. Now it’s a darker tan color with spots of moss. The woodwork framed the taller black brick building. Making the old piece stand out as more modern than the rest.

Entering the building he began his search on the lower floor. The reception desk had a few stranded newspapers as well as an old phone and pens and pencils scattered on.

The walls inside were white, with an oak wood trim on the bottom. The room didn’t have any lights on; likely due to the electricity being cut off of this block a while ago. And the natural light from outside streamed in though a few windows.

Peter also noticed a backpack on the side of the desk that probably belonged to the old receptionist. It was a navy blue bag with a black pouch on the front. And Peter snatched it. Putting his food he had been caring around in a paper bag all in the backpack. As well as snatching a ball-point pen and a pencil from the desk and shoving it in the front pouch.

Once done, he made his way up some creaky wooden stairs that were to the right of the counter. The boards looked abused, And messy footprints littered the steps.

At the top was a small side table to the left, and a hallway of doors. The first room was pretty empty, however there were a few quarters under the bed. And some leftover cloths in the closet. He shuffled through the clothing, snatching a few T-shirts, Jeans, as well as some socks and underwear.

It mostly fit him, and the ones that didn’t were oversized. So everything worked out.

In the second room he hit pretty lucky. finding a wallet with $25 in cash. He pockets the cash, not stupid enough to put it in the backpack somebody would steal from. (Although with his senses it would never happen in is pocket or the backpack)

The rest of the rooms went well, on that floor alone he found $50, a lot more cloths, and some phones. He pocketed the phones, although we wouldn’t be able to use them yet, he could take them apart and force his way in. Then at least he would have a way of messaging new people he meets. Using Karen all the time would be to weird.

What’s more concerning to him, is what could have happened so suddenly that everybody just dropped what they were doing and left. It’s not like there is massive destruction. So it must’ve been indirect radiation. Or some sort of chemical leak.

Pushing that aside, he finished off the building. Ending with $178.54 total with the money he already had.

And if Peter squealed because he saw a dead rat… nobody saw it.

He sped through the rest of the buildings. And he ended up with a full wardrobe and $646.24 which, oh my god. Peter is so glad people left money in their apartments when they left.

Because now he can probably afford a month of rent in an apartment if he searches for a cheap one.

Setting that aside he is suprised when Karen says the time is 8:00PM. Because, did he really spend the whole afternoon there? Oh well.

Thank god for Karen though, because now he’s rushing to get back so he can get to work at his new job.

—————————*—————————

He makes it 10 minutes early. But C said he would have a uniform for him, so he tried the door. To his surprise, it’s unlocked.

He steps through, to the familiar smell of alcohol. And to no surprise, C is at the same place Peter saw him yesterday.

“Hey,” he starts off with. He Dosent know this guys intentions. Better to play it cool.

“Thought ya’ wouldn’t show! Happens’a lot.” The guy said, with unhidden amusement and shock.

“Here, try this on, there’s a room in the back yar can use.” Jabbing his finger behind him to a shallow hallway with a few doors.

“Yeah, thanks”

When peter gets back there he noticed C handed him a white button up with a black vest, some black trousers, and a pair of dark brown dress shoes.

This seems like too much for a shabby bar.

But he can’t deny that he looks good when he looked into a big mirror on the side of the room.

As he walked exits out C looks up from his newspaper he seemed to be reading.

“Ya know how ta’ mix a drink?” He starts,

“Sure, anything a customer asks.” Is all he responds with.

“Alright, if ya do good as a waiter we might put ya behind the bar. But for today’ ya stay a waiter. Take orders from tables. If ya’ don’t know what something is, take the order anyway. I’ll know, just bring it back anywho. You’re also controlin’ the customers. This ain’t no ordinary bar, we serve people like Harley Quinn and Red Hood. This week is a test to see if you can really ’ handle yourself.” Alright then…

Peter doesn’t reply, just starts wiping down tables until it reaches 9:00PM and C turns the sign to open. Despite the door being unlocked before.

The first person to enter doesn’t seem out of the ordinary. But Peter would be a fool to trust that.

He sits down at a lonely table and Peter decides to approach.

Instead of the friendly teenager voice he’s been using, he instead goes for an emotionless harsh void.

“What can I get you.” He coldly asks. Not mean, just possibly frightening.

The guy inspects him, looking him up and down.

“3 shots, 2 blood drops with a head.” The guy’s voice was deep, but he wasn’t doing it on purpose. If you get rid of the gravely tone, the dude might actually sound friendly.

Peter also now knows what C meant when he said he might not know what some of these are.

So he just nods and walks to the bar.

“Hey C, guy over there in the red vest asked for 3 shots, 2 blood drops with a head.”

C, in response. Gave Peter a gruff grunt.

“He askin’ for a Blood & Sand cocktail. Just also wants a’ cherry in it and prefers more blood orange.”

Huh. Weird

Peter just waits till the drinks done to pass to the guy. In response he pays for the drink and slides a $20 to Peter and continues drinking.

That’s the moment Peter knew he would like it here. Nothing like a well paying job.

The rest of the night/early morning went easily. Nobody terrific stopping by. The weirdest appearance being some of the Penguins goons. Information provided by Karen, and all they ordered were a few Brandy Daisy’s.

By the end of his shift he had earned $80 in tips. C said he would pay him at the end of the week.

He changed back into his normal cloths and picked up his bag he left in the changing room.

Apparently C said it was a really easy day; that hes lucky. And normally it lasts longer. According to Karen, it’s 1:30AM. Which sort of makes sense.

After closing up shop, he starts making his way back to his roof. Although he could probably afford an apartment… it’s 1:30AM and he doesn’t really want to deal with it at the moment.

—————————*—————————

He almost make it without incident, but he heard an unmistakable cry of help. He would have ignored it like the rest of them, he really would have!

But as he got closer he realized it was a middle aged man trying to feel up an 11 year old.

That got his blood boiling, he hated pedophiles. He always hit harder when he encountered them on patrol.

Deadpool once said he was being to violent when he almost killed a guy trying to rape a high school girl.

Yeah right

What did Deadpool know about not being violent? -ok that was kinda harsh.

But he got his point through, he hated those kinds of people. So without hesitation he yelled out.

“HEY!”

As the guy turned, Peter went full speed and socked him in the face. That brought him down, and the guy just laid there limply. But Peter’s attention wasn’t on the guy, but the little boy standing in front of him.

“Are you okay?” He tried to make his voice as soft as possible, with the anger still pooling inside of him.

“Yeah, thank you so much!” The kid responded. If anything the kid looked up at Peter with starry eyes, like him punching that man was the greeting thing he had soon.

Peter was kind of surprised, the kid was taking this pretty well. Thats sad, the children here have to live in these conditions.

“Do you need me to walk you home?” He responds, still talking a bit roughly.

“No thanks, I can take it from here!” And with that, the kid runs off around the corner.

Peter hopes he gets back safely, he has no idea why that kid was out at a time like this. But he’s glad he was there to help the dude out.

With that, Peter makes his way back to his roof. Scurrying up the ladder and to his corner. Placing a blanket he also picked up from the abandoned hotels on top of him and closed his eyes.

And Peter is willing to go to bed content with the hall he made today.

Chapter Text

Peter had a bit of a problem…

When he woke up, he woke to the sound of muttering and thumps along the rooftop.

He was in the back corner, two white blocky things in-front of him covering him from whoever invaded on this space. (He was also invading, but the other person didn’t need to know that)

When he peered his head around the mechanical part blocking his view. He found himself looking at a man dressed in a tight black outfit with a blue logo on the front.

He has black hair, and was sporting a black domino mask with white lenses.

This disguise was not hiding anything-. Peter could literally scan his body type and figure out who he was. Or maybe just look at the face shape. I mean, that jaw is defined as hell.

Besides that, the guy seemed to be non-stop muttering.

And that was his fault, so Peter decided to listen in. Heck all privacy!

“No, I shouldn’t do that- that would be rude…

But I also can’t just NOT barge in. Jay won’t accept if I don’t drag him.

But he doesn’t like hanging with the us. Come on Dick, be sensible.

It’s normal, you’re the oldest. You can just bring him in. It’s just like every other night you bring Jason to family night… just with the inconvenience of B and him arguing the other day.”

Peter stopped there, because it wasn’t vigilante business. This was hella private. Now, he didn’t need to listen to this to know. But he found all of the Bat-family (or the people Karen had been lecturing him about at night) where related. Blood related or other, they were all connected. So if that’s true, he knows one of the other bats name is Jason…

And maybe the guy was calling himself a dick, but that was off placed. So now he knows his name is Dick.

So the real question is, who the hell decided to name their kid Dick?!? Ok- that’s not the real question.

The real question is, why can’t he fricken remember this guys name?? Karen probably described him last night or something.

“hey, Karen. Who is this guy?” Peter quietly whispered. He didn’t need black and blue spandex guy to know he was here.

“That is Nightwing, Peter. He was the first robin that Batman recruited, he is also known for being the nicest bat. His real name is-“

“Woah- nope I don’t need to know, but thank you Karen” Peter had no business holding Nightwings biggest secret. Even if he knew Nightwings first name, possibly a fake name. He didn’t need the whole thing, especially if Dick isn’t his real name.

“Alright, I am glad I could be of assistance, Peter.”

But then Peter realized something- if Peter was in crime alley. Then Jason was… RED HOOD??? GOD DAMN MY SMART BRAIN. Now Peter possibly knew two vigilantes names.

Just Great…

After a bit, Peter didn’t think Nightwing was gonna leave anytime soon. He was too busy in his own little world. But the problem was, Peter isn’t able to leave.

Because the spot Nightwing chose, was right on the ledge, staring at the only thing covering his view; like he knew Peter was there.

But Peter REALLY wanted to go. So without thinking about what he was doing he stood up.

“uh, hi” Peter states.

Nightwing took a moment to come to it. He stared at Peter for a second. Before shooting up.

“Oh my god- there is somebody up here. I am so sorry. Wait, kid, how did you get up here? No, forget that! How much did you hear?!” Nightwing was frantically waving his arms around in his rant. He looked very nervous, kind of disappointed in himself. Probably for having a partial breakdown in-front of a stranger.

“Uhm, not much… I just woke up and saw you sitting there.” Peter easily lied, finally walking out from behind the box cover.

That probably made Nightwing feel better, because his face turned less worried and sad. And went back to what was probably his iconic friendly hero smile for the public.

“I’m sorry, I just… didn’t know anybody would come up here. I just sleep up here and was going to get back down when I saw you.” Peter added.

Nightwing gave a look to Peter. Maybe one of contemplation and pity. Most likely forgetting about himself.

“You live up here? Would you let me take you to a homeless shelter? I know a lot of them are fake and trafficking places. But I also know a true one, it helps people out.” Is what Nightwing responds with. And wow- this guy really is nice.

“Oh, no thank you. I’m actually searching for apartments today. I won’t need it.” He decides with. Because he will definitely want to spend the $721.34 he has on an apartment.

“Alright then, now how did you get up here.” Now Nightwing sounded suspicious.

“I used the fire escape.”

“I saw the fire escape, that thing was busted. No way you climbed up it.”

“…But I did!” He complained. Making sure his voice sounded like an annoyed child.

“Alright! I believe you.” He finally said. Adding a chuckle at the end.

“Do you need help getting back down, kid?”

“First of all, not a kid. Second, I wouldn’t have climbed up if I didn’t think I could get down.” Peter sassed.

“Fine, fine! But I’m gonna watch you do it just to make sure you get down safely. You did say you wanted to get down right?” Nightwing settled on.

Fair, He is supposed to help people. I don’t think leaving a potentially stranded kid on a building what promote that.

Which was how he ended up pretending to struggle to get down the building. Nightwing was watching the whole time, now at the bottom of the building.

When he got to the bottom Nightwing had a somewhat suprised face.

“I’m impressed! I’ll get going now, but I’m going to give you my card in case you ever need help. Find a public phone and give me a ring.” Nightwing ended with. He handed Peter a white card with a number on it, he must have gotten it while Peter was climbing down.

After giving the card, Nightwing grappled away. Probably to deal with whatever he was mumbling on top of the roof.

Peter, himself started walking to an apartment building he glanced at on his way to work yesterday. It was $500 a month, which was REALLY CHEAP. Was this just crime alley? If it’s not then everybody might as well just be living in a mansion.

The building was another brick building. But instead of the normal red brick, it was a dark gray brick. And it used concrete as supports. If it didn’t have a “Lease” sign on the front and fit the theme of the rest of the buildings around, he might of mistaken it for a prison or dark boarding school.

Walking in he was met with an old lady at the front. The woman had a blue flower print blouse on with some black pants. Her hair was ashen white and she had oval glasses on.

“Hell ma’am I’m here to get a room.” He said to her, after he made sure she spotted him.

“Alright dear, I’ll need $500 upfront. It’s August 1st, so I won’t collect more rent till the end of the month on the 31st. I’ll get your room set up for you now, if you follow me.” She says, her voice is firm. Like a scolding grandma telling you not to eat something.

Peter digs through his backpack and pulls out $500, handing it to the lady.

Peter is glad everybody is upfront here. Or maybe he’s really lucky. Because his Parker luck has seemed to stop in this universe.

He followed the lady to room 106 and entered after her.

“This is your room, if anything breaks or you have a problem I’ll be in the front most days. If not, just be in your room sometime every end of month so I can collect rent. That’s it, thanks for renting.” And the lady leaves the room.

After Peter closes the door he looks around the small apartment. It was stuffy, but also comfortable.

The place had smooth wooden floors with white wallpaper lining the walls. The wallpaper obviously had a few stains on them. And the floor despite smooth had a lot of dents. But he wasn’t one to complain. For what it was worth, it was an amazing place.

The first room; or the one the door lead into, had a small Kitchenette with two wooden chairs around an island counter.

Behind the kitchenette was a brown couch with a very old Tv infront of it. The setup was conveniently placed next to a window, which he would definitely be using to hop out of.

A door to the left lead to a bedroom with a bathroom attached. The bed was queen sized. It only had one pillow and a sheet on it. But Peter had the blanket he stole, so it won’t be a problem. The bed was accompanied by one nightstand and there was a wardrobe on the wall in-front on the wall at the end of the bed.

The bathroom had a tiled floor, with a toilet, a counter sink, and a small curtain shower.

Overall, Peter was very happy. And he immediately deposited his cloths into the closet and tossed the blanket onto the bed.

“Karen, what time is it?” He asks,

“It seems to be 2:30PM Peter.”

“Thanks,”

With that in mind, Peter decides to warm a few cans of alphabet soup on the stove. He thought he would have ended up eating them cold, but he’s glad he doesn’t need to.

When sufficiently warmed, he slurped it all up. It was the first time in a few days he felt “full” not literally, he could eat a lot more. But it filled him enough.

After, he decided he wanted to try and fix one of the phones he found.

The phones in this universe were really out of date. The newest one was a clunky thing, it wasn’t a flip phone, but it might as well be with the bad design.

In the end Peter decided to restore a flip phone to not drag any attention.

It was very easy, Peter only had to tinker with a few wires for it to start up again. The screen lit up with 3:40 in a chunky font.

He decided to keep it blank for now, and not add anything extra. He hacked in and changed the password, but after that he just pocketed it. Happy enough with just being able to check the time on his own without Karen.

Peter decided to tinker with the other phone parts until 8:20PM.

By the time he had to go he had made 2 custom trackers he could put on anything in the future. He could have made them in 20 minutes, but what was the fun with that? And instead he explored what else he could possibly make with the parts.

But he would do that another time, it was about time to leave to go to work.

Peter left the apartment and started walking to work.

—————————*—————————

He had put on his uniform and was ready for his shift. C had said he did well yesterday, and that next week he might go behind the bar some days.

The first group to come in when the open sign was turned looked like a cult group if he was honest. All of them were dressed in maroon robes with some sort of necklace on. They all sat at one of the middle circle tables.

Going around taking their orders was easy. He came back a few moments later with their drinks and was off.

The next person to enter was a big guy, he had brown boots on and a a black leather jacket. He sat down at a single table and Peter approached him.

“Hello, sir. What can I get you?” Peter says.

“Who the hell are you?” The guy responds, it was more like a spew. And his glare is cold.

But Peter doesn’t flinch. He won’t give it to him. He just stares back.

“I’m a waiter, who the hell are you?” Peter says without stuttering.

“You’ve got some nerve, kid.” The guy laughs and stands up, trying to size Peter up. Which he does easily, physically at least. Peters aura was at least 100x bigger than the guy though.

“I think you’re the one with the nerves.” Peter sneers.

“Alright, that’s it.” The guy try’s to punch Peter. But Peter grabs his hand and flips him over. The guy shouts in pain, now on the floor. Peter takes him by the forearm and flips him over his back. Dragging him out of the bar and throwing him on the sidewalk. When he gets back into the bar some people there are staring. But he doesn’t stop, just walks over to a table where new people are sitting.

“OMG! That was so awesome!! You’re so cuteee, look at your little baby face! Pammy look at his face!” Now that caught Peter by surprise. As he looked up there was a blond girl with two pigtails; one blue and one pink. She was wearing a white and red T-shirt. And had short fingerless gloves on. As well as a choker.

The girl next to her had deep red hair. As well as a cropped black tank top with green cargo pants.

“Yes, Harley. I see his face.” The red haired girl; “Pammy” responds.

That’s when it hit him! It’s Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy!!

“I was just doing my job, what can I get you?” Peter decides to respond with. Tilting his head to the side a bit in questioning.

“Oooohhh! I’ll take a big chug of beer!!! And Pammy here will have an Amaretto sour! Thanks cutie!” She says, her smile wide and face cheerful.

“Alright” Peter has no idea what kind of beer Harley wants, but it will have to be up to C.

When he comes back with their drinks Harley is talking at like 1000 words per minute to Poison Ivy, who seems unbothered.

“Here you go, ladies.” Peter places their drinks at the table with a smile.

“His smile is also so cute!!! I’m gonna faint! Here ya go’ this is for you puddin’” Harley slides him a $50 and a card with a number,

“If ya ever need any help, just give a call!” and Peter is kinda surprised.  Was this just for being cute?

“Thanks” was all Poison Ivy says.

“Thank you Mrs. Quinn.” And he turned away hearing Harley loudly whisper,

“He’s polite too!! Ahhh!” To “Pammy”

They stay for a while, getting a few more drinks. But eventually leaving, they were an interesting pair.

By the end of his shift, he was a bit tired. It was a lot more today. And when he ended it was 3:00AM this time.

He bid C farewell and heads out. This time he gets back to his place without incident. But now, he actually had a place.

When he gets back, he takes a shower for the first time in forever. He lets out a sigh of relief as warm water rolls down his back.

When he gets out of the shower, clean and refreshed he plops down on his bed and basically passes out.

In total, Peter had made $100 in tips today. Half of it provided by Harley, but non of the less he was very happy. At this rate, he would be in a very good position. He won’t have to worry about rent money any time soon.