Chapter Text
Consciousness came slowly to Peter. The first thing he noticed was the pain. So much pain. Like every muscle was strained to failure. He tried opening his eyes only to immediately slam them closed again. It was too bright.
“Uuugh,” he groaned out as he rubbed his eyes with both hands. Great. I definitely have a concussion too.
He tried slowly opening his eyes again, using his hands to try and block some of the light out. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust but once they did he realized he was in a dumpster. Blinking a few more times, he looked around in confusion. How the hell did I get in a dumpster?
He slowly forced his aching muscles to help him sit up letting out a sharp hiss of pain. It seems his back took the brunt of the damage and the movement only made the pain worse. Leaning himself against the wall of the dumpster, he reached around to the small of his back. The touch stung and after pulling his hand away he noticed blood. Shit! That’s not just sore muscles.
Taking a few deep breaths to manage the pain he tried to remember how he got there. What happened that left him so injured? Thinking only made his head hurt more though. He reached up to rub his temples only to realize his hair was wet on his right side. Sticking his hand further into his hair he found a cut at his hairline. Well that’s probably the source of my concussion, he thought forlornly, already fed up with the situation.
He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the dumpster wall he was resting on, taking a minute to collect himself. Only to jerk upright shortly after when he realized he didn’t have his mask on. He looked down and saw he didn’t have the rest of his suit on either. Did I not get hurt as Spider-Man? Calming slightly, he decided to capitalize on the adrenaline rush and climb the rest of the way out of the dumpster.
Taking in his surroundings once more, he saw he was in an alley. No surprise there but he definitely didn’t recognize the alley either. He knows all the alleys in Queens. Criminals love their alleys after all. He must be somewhere else. Looking past the alley, he can’t see very many people or recognize the buildings across the street. The buildings look different to any that he’s seen in New York before. They were very old, dark, and gloomy, almost gothic maybe. Ok. I may not have all the alleys in the other Burroughs memorized but I’ve lived in New York my whole life. I think I would remember a building like that.
Come to think of it, it doesn’t really sound like New York either. Focusing more on his hearing he can hear lots of cars, gunshots, and chatter but the hustle and bustle is off. Straining his hearing more he tried focusing on the closest set of voices he heard. Did that guy have a Jersey accent? He quickly listened for more voices, all of which seemed to have similar accents. What the hell. I can’t be in Jersey. How the hell did I get in Jersey?
Probably sensing his panic, his wrist started beeping. Looking down, Peter finally noticed his suit folded into their bracelet form on his wrists. Scrambling to tap the button by the flashing light, he let out a relieved, “Karen…” His voice was raspy and he had to pause at the slight pain in his throat but that was enough for Karen.
“Peter, I sensed two sudden spikes in your vitals. Are you okay?,” she spoke softly with a hint of concern in her artificial voice.
“Karen,” he croaked out as he leaned against the brick wall of the alley, “I don’t know what happened. I woke up in this alley and… and I think I’m in Jersey but I don’t remember how I got here or how I got hurt.” He slowly started sliding down the wall in his panic which only aggravated his back again, “Ow, fuck!” he shouted then softly banged the back of his head against the wall in frustration.
“I can’t seem to connect to any Stark satellites at the moment to confirm location. My systems registered a large electrical shock before shutting down. The last thing my memory bank stored was Doctor Strange…”
As soon as he heard Strange’s name, Peter's memories came rushing back to him. All sound seemed to cut out as he gripped his head in pain. The spell, the villains, the other Peter’s, Aunt May, Fuck, Aunt May, the fight on the Statue of Liberty, the sky cracking apart, the second spell. The only way to save his universe was to be banished from it. To be sent to a place with no other Peter Parker’s. Strange promised to send him somewhere he could be safe, where he’ll have someone to take care of him. A dumpster in a random deserted alley doesn’t seem to fit that criteria though.
“…ter. Peter. Take a deep breath. Peter…”
“Shit, sorry Karen. I’m back,” he forced out through his panicked breathing. “I remember what happened now.” Remembering Karen’s inability to find a Stark satellite, he dejectedly mumbles, “I guess this universe doesn’t have Mr. Stark either.” Pausing briefly before shouting a bit, “Dammit, do you think Dr. Strange messed up this spell too? This doesn’t seem like a very safe place and there’s no one here,” he let out a quiet laugh, “unless he meant you would take care of me.”
“I’m not sure Peter but I will do everything I can to take care of you. It’s what I was made for after all,” Karen responded.
Taking one last deep breath and letting out a sigh, Peter pushed himself up and started walking out of the alley. “If we get you connected to wifi, would you be able to find another satellite to connect to?”
“WiFi would be enough for me to figure out where we are but I would need a hard connection to hack into a satellite that would give me the same capabilities as Stark satellites. Several of my systems were damaged during the electrical shock. I will be able to show you a full diagnostic report once we find a computer”
“Alright. Try scanning the surrounding area for a wifi connection. Then get me directions to an Internet cafe or library.” Pausing at the edge of the alley, Peter hesitantly looks around. There’s a few people walking around, not that they pay any attention to him, but that might change if they hear him talking to Karen. Patting his pockets he can’t find his phone. Just great. Stupid Strange sent me to a new universe with no phone.
”Um Karen, can you change into a hearing aid or something?” He asks quietly. His bracelets beeps before sending some nano bots up each of his palms and taking the shape of red hearing aids. He smiles and softly whispers his thanks as he slips them in his ears. As soon as they are in, he can feel his headache lessen and shoulders relax slightly. He hadn’t realized his hearing was so overwhelmed and was ridiculously grateful Karen thought to dampen the sound for him.
Sighing in relief, he makes his way out of the alley. It’s hard to tell the time with how much smog blocks the sky but too much light is sneaking through for it to be night. Despite that his spider sense buzzed at nearly every person he passes. Most give off a soft buzz more like a warning to be wary but some give off much stronger buzzes. He tries his best to keep his distance, needing to cross the street everyone in a while when a sharp buzz goes off as he approaches a group or an alley. And even with Karen dampening his hearing he can hear so much crime. Queens was never this bad in the middle of the day. Maybe Dr. Strange at least did one thing right by sending him somewhere that so clearly needed the help of someone like Spider-Man.
As badly as he wanted to jump in and start helping right away he knew he needed to help himself first. His whole body still ached and he had no information on this universe. Plus he had no idea how badly Karen was damaged.
Peter decided to make a plan as he walked. First, find out where they are and get Karen hooked back up. Then find shelter, food, and water. He might be able to bunker down in one of the abandoned buildings he passed close to where he first woke up. The more he walks, the nicer the area and the more crowded it gets so his best bet is probably back the way he came. He’ll need a job for food and water but hopefully he can find a food kitchen. Like Aunt May used to… no I can’t think about that now. So step one: Karen, step two: food kitchen, step three: shelter, step four: job. Wait, I don't exist here. Ugh. Ok step four: create an ID, step five: job. Looking down Peter remembers how torn up his clothes are. Right, I'll probably need new clothes first. Step five clothes, step six: job. I can totally manage that. Just six easy steps. No problem, Peter thinks as he tries to push back the growing panic from the realization he has to start completely over with nothing.
“Peter, I found a wifi connection.” He startled slightly at her voice, realizing he was a bit lost in his thoughts. “We are in a city called Gotham, New Jersey” I knew it was Jersey. Why did it have to be Jersey? “The Gotham Public Library is a few blocks away. Take the next right.”
He gently taps one of his hearing aids so she knows he heard her. She guides him the rest of the way to the library fairly quickly. Pausing across the street, he stares at the building. He’s surprised how nice it is. It still gives off gothic vibes but seems more inviting and well kept than a lot of the other buildings.
He climbs the stairs slowly, each step straining his aching muscles. He reaches for the door handle and gives a gentle tug but it doesn’t move. Blushing slightly and realizing it’s probably a push, he tries again but still nothing. “Shoot. Karen, what time is it?” he asks quietly while checking his surroundings for potential eavesdroppers.
“It is Wednesday, 2:25pm. They are normally open at this time. Sorry Peter. Would you like me to direct you to the nearest free Internet cafe instead? It is 1.2 miles away”
Backing up slightly and assessing the building. “No. I don’t think I can make it that far,” he ashamedly admits in a barely audible whisper. He slowly starts walking around the building, looking up and down. “I don’t hear any heartbeats inside.” Spotting an open window near the upper level he adds, “I’ll just climb in, we’ll get what we need real quick, and then leave before anyone comes back,” Quickly checking again for people or cameras, he steels himself for what will likely be a painful climb before tacking on a quiet, “hopefully.”
He climbs up to the window as quick as he can. Each step he can feel the tugging of his back wounds. Whatever healing his advanced metabolism managed on their walk here was quickly undone as he felt the gashes reopen.
The window is small. It looks like one of those privacy windows used in bathrooms. Anyone else would probably struggle to fit through even if it was on the ground floor but Peter, who was always somewhat flexible to begin with, a trait supposedly gained from his father, can contort his bodies in ways that hardly seem human. One might say it seems more spidery than anything. Trying his best to not scrape his back, Peter slips through and jumps down to the floor, which he almost immediately regrets as pain jolts up his sore muscles. Right, I probably should have just climbed down too.
He makes his way to the door but pauses when he sees himself in the mirror. Holy shit I look rough. I’m surprised I didn’t get more wary looks on my walk here. He slowly reaches up to his head wound. The bleeding seems to have stopped now but dried blood covers him following along his hair line to his ear. His face is covered in grime. So much so he can barely recognize himself. And don’t even get him started on his clothes which he now realizes are a bit big on him. Leaning closer he realizes he actually does look different. The last bit of baby fat he had nearly grown out of is back. He touches his cheeks to make sure he’s not somehow hallucinating that they are chubbier than the last time he saw himself. What the hell. Maybe they are just swollen. I’m sure I took hits to the face too. Even though it doesn’t feel bruised.
He quickly grabs some paper towels and soaks them in the sink. He scrubs his face clean. Or as clean as one can when they are panicking. He drops the paper towels and braces himself on the counter. Staring back at him is a younger him. He looks like he did back when first he got the spider bite, around 13 nearly 14. Holy shit! Did Dr. Strange de-age me? He sent me to a new universe with no documents, no supplies, made me too young to even get a job, and no person to “take care of” me is in sight. How am I supposed to get money now? I’ll have to hide from CPS too. I definitely won’t be able to pretend I’m 18 now. Shit and cops will probably think I’m ditching if I’m out during school hours. I am so screwed. What the hell Strange?
Peter feels a small shock on his wrist. “Ow! What the hell!” He looks down at his bracelets. Wait, when did I get on the floor.
“My apologies Peter. You were hyperventilating and not responding. If I didn’t intervene, you would have passed out.” Karen explains before she seems to hesitantly ask, “What happened Peter?”
Taking some deep breaths he answers, “Sorry Karen. I didn’t mean to worry you. I just…” his voice cracks as he tries to hold back tears, “Dr. Strange he… I think he de-aged me, Karen. I look like I did when I first got my powers. He said he’d send me somewhere with support. With someone who would help me. How am I supposed to do anything without an adult if I look like an infant? I barely know anything about this world. No one will hire me looking like this. I won’t be able to buy food or any supplies. CPS will try and get me and I have to hide during school hours or the cops will be after me too” The tears had escaped at this point as he voiced his worries.
Karen interrupted, “Breathe Peter. We will figure this out. You are not alone. I will always be here for you.” Peter smiles at Karen and takes a shaky breath. “I can help create a fake guardian when we make your ID so CPP will leave you alone. You can go out as Spider-Man during school hours. Cops won’t be able to tell you’re a minor that should be in school when you're in the mask. I will be able to help more with the other things once I can connect to a satellite but you will be alright Peter. I’ll make sure of it.”
With a feasible plan on the table and Karen’s reassurances Peter is able to calm down. Taking in one last shaky breath and wiping his eyes he says, “Thanks Karen. I am really glad you’re here. Let’s get you back up and running at full strength.” He pushes himself up and exits the bathroom.
It takes him a minute to find the computers but once he does, he quickly plugs Karen in who formed a usb port from one of his bracelets. “It will take me a while to connect to a satellite.” She quickly bypasses the login screen and displays a report. “Here is the full diagnostic report for my systems. I should be able to repair most of the issues myself but it seems the suit has lost quite a few nano bots in the battle. There won’t be enough to fully form the suit without more. My battery was severely damaged as well. I can siphon some power from the computer or other electrical ports but it won’t be enough to sustain me. We will have to communicate sparingly until you can build me an arc reactor.” She pauses, “Sorry Peter. You won’t be able to be Spider-Man for a while. I should have enough power to maintain your hearing aids once we establish your IDs but will likely only be able to answer you in emergencies.”
After processing everything she said, Peter lets out a slow exhale, “It’s alright Karen. Like you said, we can figure it out.” He shakily grabs the mouse and starts to hack into the social security website Karen opened for him. He is about halfway done with inputting his information when she speaks again.
“Peter, can you locate the printer nearby? I have made a map with important locations you will likely need to know how to get to until I can be fixed.”
He stands up and looks around a bit before spotting the printer, “Umm, yeah. I found it.” He makes his way over to the printer and picks up the document. It labels the library, where he woke up, several homeless shelters and soup kitchens, a junkyard, electronic stores, a bank, a post office, police stations with a star by their HQ, and some places called Wayne Tech, Lex Corp, S.T.A.R. Labs, and Wayne, Queen, Kord, Stagg, and Holt Industries. She also included a school called Gotham Prep. Weird. I’m not sure what I’ll need those for.
While Peter was away from the computer, Karen finished creating the barebones of an ID for Anthony Edward Stark, guardian of Peter Benjamin Parker. She quickly created a bank account for Tony and registered a P.O. Box. She knew Peter wouldn’t approve of this next part, which is why she knew she needed to get it done before he came back. Hacking into the bank account for a Bruce Thomas Wayne, who she discovered was the city’s local billionaire, she transferred $500 into Mr. Stark's new account. Just enough to sustain Peter for a bit. The Wayne’s are old money and unlikely to notice but even if they did, she made sure to cover her tracks. Although based on their charitable work around the city, they’d likely not mind the donation if they knew what it was for either way. The hard part would be convincing Peter to use it.
Peter sat back down still looking at the map. The back side listed the hours for the shelters and soup kitchens. “Hey Karen. Not that I don’t appreciate the map. I do. It’s great. It should be a lot of help but um… Why did you include all these random industries and this school?”
A new website was pulled up, the one for Gotham Prep, “Since you won’t be able to be Spider-Man for a while, I thought it wise to sign you up for school. Gotham Prep is a fairly advanced school that offers many scholarships and even a stipend. You will need to take a placement test though. I signed you up for one two Saturdays from now at 8:00 am. You will likely need to study some history as there seems to be some significant differences. The library hours are listed on the back of the map as well.”
He scrolled through the website a bit. “As much as I am not looking forward to going back to school, you’re probably right.” She pulled up the course catalog to a page with classes she thought might interest him. “Huh… And what about the other stuff?”
She seemed to hesitate this time. “These companies are in similar fields to Stark Industries, with Wayne Industries being the closest. In the likely event you can’t scavenge all the parts needed for an arc reactor or your web fluid, you may need to… borrow from these companies.”
“What? Karen, I can’t steal! I’m supposed to be Spider-Man. I’ll be just as bad as the people I stop if I do that.” Peter shouts.
“You may not have a choice and you will be able to do far more good after committing this small sin. You will make up for it with all the people you help when you go back out as Spider-Man.” She responds.
“I guess,” he glumly murmurs, “but only as a last resort.”
A silence falls over them as he goes back to finishing up his ID. As he tries to order a copy of the birth certificate and social security number he just created, he pauses, realizing he doesn’t have a place to send it. Karen jumps in and autofills the address. “Karen, how did you get a P.O. Box?” He asks, confused about the address she seemed to magically procure.
After a bit of hesitation she answers, “I transferred funds from a local billionaire—“
“Karen!”
“He donates a lot to charity, especially those that help the homeless and children—“
“Return it right now!”
“I only took $500. It’s unlikely he will notice—“
“Karen we can’t just—“
“And you need funds to sustain yourself until we establish your existence here—“
“Steal. It’s wrong. We are supposed to be the good guys!”
“We can return the funds once you make the money back but it’s already done Peter.”
Peter buries his face in his hand and frustratedly rubs his forehead. “Ugh Karen we can’t. I can’t. Just please put it back. We’ll figure something else out,” he pleads quietly.
“I said I would take care of you Peter. You need food, bandages, and clothes at the very least to even get started on the plan we made. Unless you would rather steal directly from the store, which will likely have less overall funds and be more impacted by the loss, this is your best option.” She pauses before adding, “We will return the money Peter. We might not even use all of it. Just please let me take care of you before I need to enter sleep mode.”
She almost sounds upset on that last bit. In a whisper, he agrees. “Okay Karen. I know you're just trying to look out for me but I’m only using the money in emergencies.” He sees her light flash, knowing she is about to interrupt, he quickly adds, “I’ll buy enough food to kickstart my healing and the bandages to prevent infection and the blood free clothes so I blend in better but that’s it. Everything else will be emergency only.”
“Understood. Thank you Peter”
He smiles slightly, “I’ll fix your battery as soon as I can Karen.”
They get back to building the IDs. Karen’s main focus is creating a past for Mr. Stark while Peter works on his own. Reaching a point that should be passable and knowing he’ll have time to strengthen it later, he decides he should probably start working on the ID of his guardian. Unsure who to list, he decides to ask Karen’s advice. “Karen, I want to make sure I don’t put someone who already exists here for my guardian. I don’t… who should I put?”
“I have already listed Mr. Stark as your guardian Peter.” She pulls up the work she’s done on his ID. Including a few social media accounts backdated a few years.
“What?” He asks surprised. “Why Mr. Stark? Why not just pretend one of my parents is still alive, or May or Ben? We could have just made a human version of you on paper.”
“Mr. Stark seemed like the most obvious answer. He is always with you too Peter. He continues to take care of you through me.”
“Oh um yeah. That… that makes sense I guess.” He tries to swallow down any of the emotions Karen’s word just brought up.
“I can create an identity for myself as well. Once I am repaired, I can answer any phone calls from people needing to speak to a guardian but I wanted you to remember he still cares for you and you still have him as well.”
“Thanks Karen.” He whispers as a small smile sneaks on to his face only for it to quickly disappear when he hears the front door opening. Shit.