Chapter Text
Peter awakes with a groan, his hand going to his head as he sits up. He looks around confused, before it all comes rushing back to him.
Dr strange and the spell. Ned, MJ, Tony and… May. Oh god. It only just happened but here he was, sitting on the dirty floor of some random place already feeling sorry for himself. It was his fault. Of course it was. If he hadn't been so stupid, if he had listened to Tony instead of arguing with him, then he wouldn't have been in that situation. Trusting Beck. If he hadn't been so stubborn, he's sure Tony and Miss Potts would've sorted it out, hidden his identity away. But instead he acted irrationally, and now look at where that got him. In some dingy old alleyway.
Nonetheless, Peter picks himself up off the ground and stalks towards the exit slowly. None of it feels real yet. But even so, he doesn't know where he is.
Focus Peter. Rhodey always told you to find the basic survival tools necessary first. Water, food and shelter. But.. he figures he should probably find out where he is first and what this universe is about before he gets too ahead of himself. The best place for that would most likely be a library so he should probably look for one. He pulls off his mask and stuffs it into the pocket of his trousers. He doesn't even remember putting these clothes on over his suit, it must have been something to do with Strange's spell.
As Peter walks out of the alleyway he sees a man walking past, he thinks it wouldn't hurt to ask where he was, even if the man looks.. shady to say the least.
He shrugs to himself as he walks over to the guy, opening his mouth to speak.
Before he can get a word out, the man looks at him with an annoyed and wary expression, “What do you want, kid?”
Peter blinks in confusion. He hadn't even said anything yet?
“Uh.. I just wanted to ask where the nearest library is?”
“Don’t know, don’t care, get lost,” The man responds to him before walking off in the opposite direction. Peter blanches as he sees something shiny in the man's waistband. A gun?! How bad is this place? He sighs and starts walking around, looking for any sign or information as to where he is.
“It can't be that hard to find a library…” Peter mutters to himself, before jumping as an unexpected voice speaks.
“I can tell you the directions of the closest library, Peter.”
“Karen?”
“Yes Peter?”
“I didn't know if you were still there..” Peter replied, shock evident in his voice.
“Of course I am. Would you like the directions to the library?” Karen replies, before giving the directions.
“Thanks Karen.”
Peter made his way to the library, looking around as he did. Wherever he was, it was gloomy, and not just the atmosphere but the people too. They all looked tired and they were all armed somehow, whether with a knife, or a gun. He was sure if he tried to talk to one of them he would get shot or something. He shakes his head and carries on walking, before stopping right in front of the massive building. Looking up he reads the sign, “Gotham library, huh.” That must be where he was.
Peter’s never heard of it before, so it must be something specific to this universe. Even the name sounded gloomy and shady. He stepped up the stairs and opened the door to the library walking in. Walking over to the counter he saw a ginger haired woman on the computer.
“Um hello?” Peter said questioningly.
The woman looked up with a smile as her eyes set on Peter's face, before turning into shock.
“Hey, have we met before? You look familiar,” The woman settles on saying.
“No, we definitely haven't, sorry. Uh, I'm Peter,” He smiles at the woman.
The woman pauses before replying, “I'm Barbara. Is there anything you need?” Peter can tell she's skeptical of him but for what? Maybe it's just a normal thing here in Gotham.
“Do you have any computers here that I can use?”
“Well… we do but you’ll need a library card for them. I'm guessing you don't have one?” The woman - Barbara - asks.
“Oh, no I don't, I’m new in Gotham”
“Yeah I can tell by your accent, New York?
“Yeah actually, I didn't think it was that obvious,” Peter says awkwardly.
Barbara sighs but smiles kindly, “You can use the computer this one time okay? If you want to again, you'll have to get a library card. They're in that room over there.” She points at a room and Peter thanks her before going into it, missing when she pulls her phone out to start messaging.
Peter looks around the room, looking at the electronics. They look old. He supposes the technology isn't as advanced as it is- was in his universe, probably thanks to Tony.
He sits down at one of the desks and goes onto the computer. It would probably be smart to look up Gotham, so he does just that, finding out it's one of the most crime ridden places.
At least there are heroes and vigilantes, like Batman and Nightwing. They must be pretty dedicated to keep going.
For a moment, Peter feels an ache in his chest, he's really never going to see any of the people he cares about again. He's never going to be his New York's spider-man again. A thought fills his head. He can still help. Just the people who clearly need it more.
But first he's got to get a stable start. He needs a way to get food and water, resources, and a place to live. He needs a job. And for that he'll need his personal information like ID and birth certificate.
Good thing he knows how to hack.
For the next 20 minutes he spends his time creating a past and a story for himself. He's 17 and he lives alone due to not having any more family to live with. Peter could put that he already finished school to make it easier on himself, but.. school has always been something he's enjoyed, not to mention he needs a way to get resources for his webshooters.
The best school here is Gotham academy, but the term has already started. He’ll have to do a test to get in, luckily there's one soon.
The next thing he needs is a way to make money. A job. Hopefully something legal. There's actually job adverts online, but most of them don't pay well. Unfortunately he'll have to take what he gets. An advert catches his eye. A job involving taking pictures for the newspaper.
He freezes.
He's pretty good at taking pictures, but he hasn't been able to do it recently as his camera broke. The camera he got as a birthday present from Uncle Ben and Aunt May. He clicks on the post and looks at the address, keeping it in mind.
He stands up, logging off the computer and leaving the room.