It wasn't like he had been expecting people to welcome him into their homes with open arms, offer him food and then just answer all of his questions. But still the reaction he had been getting from everyone was shocking, and the glares he received made him feel nervous even though he knew he could defend himself easily.
He had gone all over the city and tried talking to all of the neighbours, but none of them had responded well to his questions about their missing neighbours. Whenever he mentioned them they would become aggressive or shut the doors in his face meaning he has spent several hour showing across the city to different apartment building only to have every single door being slammed shut in front of him.
The superintendents and landlords weren't much help either, with the best response he's gotten from them being a polite goodbye. Some of the apartments belonging to the missing people already had new owners so it's not like he can get any idea of what happened from them, but some were still left untouched as far as he knew which means that he could search them in a less legal manner later tonight. As long as he's careful he won't start any rumours about the Spider-Man being a burglar.
He had skipped lunch and while he didn't have to help May at the centre now, he knew it wouldn't be wise for him to not be home by six for dinner as she will just complain that he's working too hard. As he approached the door of the last building on his list he saw an elderly lady walking slowly approaching it from inside the building, and with a polite smile he held it open for her as he passed. He wasn't really surprised to have his gesture with a look of suspicion as she passed, as someone of around his age in this neighbourhood wouldn't be someone you should trust, but it still hurt a little that nice actions are met with such hostility.
This building was where Charles Murphy, a bartender from the Black Cat, had lived until he vanished five days ago. Sadly this was the last one on the list which means that if nobody talks to him Peter will be forced to break in later tonight. He made his way to the first door he saw and knocked on it, and a few seconds door it opened to reveal a man with grey at the temples but despite that looked to be in reasonably good health.
"Hello sir, sorry to bother you. But I was hoping you could tell where where the landlord or the superintendent is?" Peter asked as politely as he could though he was pretty sure he was talking to one of those two already.
"That's me." Peter nodded at that with no surprise as in the previous buildings the landlord had the first apartment. "What do you want?"
"I work for the Daily Bugle and I'm investigating some recent disappearances. I've heard that one of your tenants has-"
"Go and talk to the cop upstairs. Apartment thirty-seven." the man replied as he swiftly shut the door in the surprised teen's face.
Peter wondered if he should knock again but thought better of it and walked up the stairs while wondering why a policeman was here. He was pretty sure that with someone like Murphy the majority of his friends were either at the Black Cat or knew that his job would mean that he would want to avoid the the police like they were a plague. So even if he did disappear people were unlikely to get the police involved which made the situation even more strange than it already was.
He walked up to the fourth floor and spotted a door was open, and as he got closer he saw the number fourteen on it. He peered inside and saw nothing odd, just an open window at the end of the hallway with a book shelf next to it, which was to be expected with what he already knows. He knocked firmly on the door and a few seconds a man appeared around a corner to look at him with confusion, dressed in a police uniform and looking to be in his forties. While he tried to tactful about it Peter did notice he slipped something into his pocket, though the conclusion was pretty obvious since all cops wanted a little extra money and don't really care where they get it from.
"Can I help you son?" the man asked with a gruff voice and Peter immediately got the impression that he was trying to intimidate Peter. Unfortunately if he wanted to do that he would need to become either a cannibalistic circus freak or a monstrous doctor.
"I'm Peter Parker, and I'm a photographer for the Daily Bugle. I'm doing a story on some people who have disappeared, which I guess is why you are here." Peter responded as he gestured to the camera around his neck.
The man watched him for a second, giving Peter the feeling of being judged, before he nodded. "I'm detective Michael Barbera."
"Nice to meet you Mike. I don't suppose you would be willing to help me out and tell me of you've found anything?" Peter asked with a forced smile, not having any positive feelings about law enforcement, though that quickly vanished with the glare he revived.
"Son if you have any information about the disappearance of Mr Charles Murphy or the others, I recommend you tell me. I know people like you will do anything for a good story but lives could be at risk."
"Hey, I'm not looking for a story. Well, ok I sort of am, but not for glory. People at the Black Cat have gone missing and all under mysterious circumstances, so I'm looking into it." Peter said defensively and growing a little angry when Barbera nodded with a look that suggested he now knew everything he needed to know about Peter.
"So that's it, you work for Felicia Hardy. Probably wasn't hard for a dame like her to turn your head, even with whatever mess she's got going on under that mask of hers." Barbera told him and Peter's anger continued to rise at the mentor of Felicia's injuries but before he could talk he was already speaking. "Look kid, I don't care what she promised you but a girl like that's just trouble. Take my advice and leave so I can get back to my job."
"How can you say that!? Do you expect me to believe you're here for noble reasons?" Peter asked with a raised voice. "You can't take some moral high ground with me when everyone knows the cops only care if it affects them or if there's something in it for them!"
"Actually I can take the moral high ground. Because I've been looking into these disappearances since they started in October and I know the first Black Cat employee to go missing was around December or January." Barbera responded, his unaffected demeanour a sharp contrast by the surprise that took over Peter by what he said.
"What do you mean people have been disappearing since October?"
Barbera stared at him before answering but he must have deemed the confusion in his voice to be sincere enough. "I didn't notice until about a month after when a friend reported that their neighbour had vanished. After doing some digging I learned that several people had disappeared in October across the city. Then I was talking to some of my snitches and one said how many bums were disappearing. At first I thought nothing of it until I hear that they all just got up and disappeared, leaving behind the little they have in this world. Does that answer your question or do you plan to waste more of my time?"
"I...How..." Peter stammered while Barbera subtle gestured Peter out into the hallway so he can shut the door behind him.
"Regardless of what you want I have places to be and I couldn't find anything useful anyway. So why don't you just run off home to your mother and leave this to the people who actually care about saving lives not making a name for themselves." Barbera told him before walking off and leaving a speechless Peter to just stand there.
He only started walking down the stairs slowly after several minutes of processing what Barbera said, his mind coming up blank on ideas on what to do next. There was a good chance Barbera was lying or maybe even involved somehow, but over the past year he had learned to not leap into things as much. While experience makes him doubt that Barbera was being completely genuine his instincts were saying otherwise which meant a better course of action was to gather more information.
He tried to get the key from the landlord, but he just smiled and said he had the wrong apartment but judging how he kept bringing up how poor he was Peter had to assume Barbara paid him to not give Peter the key. With no other option he left and began to think through everything he knew which was still very little but provided one lead he could pursue. May worked to help the less fortunate in this city and if homeless people are disappearing it would be a good idea to go and find out if anything odd has been happening at the centre, even if that men at having to listen to May being disappointed with him for not listening to her.
As he left the building a thought occurred to him and making sure nobody was watching he dashed quickly down the alleyway next to he building, checking as he did that the he was on the side the apartment would be on. Once he was there he peered up to the side of the building and spotted the open window, and quickly made sure that his bag was safely shut so that his camera. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a terrible black mask made wool, slipping it on while ignoring how uncomfortable it was. Because regardless of how uncomfortable it was it at least hid his face well enough that if someone did see him do this, which was unlikely considering how nobody was paying attention to this alleyway.
It wasn't difficult for him to climb up the building even with constantly making sure his bag and the camera inside wasn't getting damaged, and it only took him about a minute to reach the window. He climbed in as carefully as he could which was a little difficult with the mask, so after looking behind to see that there wasn't a window opposites him he took it off. He climbed over the sink and stumbled a little when he reached the floor, but quickly regained his balance and began to look around.
It only took one real look to confirm what was already pretty obvious when you thought about it, but Murphy lived in poverty and clearly couldn't afford to waste money on anything. As he looked around he took photos of everything while thinking that Jameson would probably admit that he's onto something. Because even though Murphy had basically nothing, what he did have would have been worth some drinking money. It wasn't something one thought about but the reality was that if you were going to disappear things would be missing because you would sell them or you were sentimental about something. Because as a single man living alone more concerned about buying what he needed to get through the day Murphy wouldn't waste time and effort cleaning his apartment, so there was pretty much a thick layer of dust on anything which showed that practically nothing big and likely has been moved.
After about an hour of searching he had come up with nothing, except for finding even more things that made the situation confusing. A pile of money in his room that had been untouched when he found it, a number of needles for recreational activities, pictures of what he assumes is family due to their resemblance to him. All things that you would take but nothing seemed to be missing. Even a monk who had sworn off all material possessions would still take something if they decided to just disappear.
Wanting to get to the centre as soon as possible even if it meant having May be angry at him for ignoring what she said. Even if Murphy's apartment had reached a dead end he could holed investigate the other apartments if he doesn't find a new lead at the centre.
The Bowery Welfare Center was set using by May four months after uncle Ben was murdered with the help of friends who shared her beliefs and desire to give people a place to sleep for the night. While he never told her Peter had doubted it when she first told him of her plan, but then he had saw how working there had transformed her. After four months of hearing her force herself to cry silently and seeing her walk around full of despair, he would happily support the centre for as long as it gave May purpose and any sort of joy.
And he won't lie and say he didn't grow to love the centre himself, because he did and enjoyed the company of pretty much everyone there from the people looking for help to the ones who gave it. But he is ashamed to admit that he's only visited the centre in recent months if May needed him, and instead he would be working at the Bugle or patrolling as Spider-Man. Before that he would have been helping around without any prompting and while May said she understood he always got the sense she thought he could make time to help.
He smiled at a few familiar faces who sat at tables with mesmerized expressions as they stared at their plate of food, walking with a quick pace past the tables in search of May. He glanced around the large hall that even now still surprised him by how clean and repaired it all was in comparison to what it used to be, further proof that it was a good thing that May did this. As he turned around a corner he saw a familiar redhead walking towards him carrying a box, her face breaking into a smile once her eyes settled on him.
"Peter! What are you doing here, didn't May tell you to stay home?" she questioned as she quickened her pace to reach him, both of them stopping in the hallway to have their conversation.
"Yes she did, but I thought I should help out."
"Are you sure its a smart idea to disobey her? Because in case you've forgotten she's the one who feeds you."
"Not true, I can cook."
"No you can't. Burning something until you can eat it without feeling ill isn't cooking." she told him with a laugh before her smile grew larger somehow. "Oh by the way, May told me about what happened today. How are you feeling?"
"I won't lie, it was a surprise. But I'm happy about it and I'm glad Teresa reached out, though admittedly I would have preferred a small warning to brace myself."
"I'm happy to hear that. Anyway, May said I'm welcome to join all of you for dinner tomorrow." Mary Jane said as she suddenly looked a little nervous. "Is that ok?"
"Of course it's ok. You're like the sister I never had so I would love for you to meet Teresa." he told her, completely blind to how her smile became much more forced. "Anyway, is May out in the back?"
She nodded and he responded politely before leaving to find his aunt, going down the hallway and taking a turn before coming to some doors. He pushed them open and emerged outside of the building, seeing four cars which had boxes being unloaded by several men with one talking to his aunt and Mary Jane's aunt Anna. She was at a similar age to May, he didn't know if she was older or younger than May since he knew it wouldn't be polite to ask a woman something like that, and it was her friendship with May that he even knew Mary Jane which he was grateful for. He made his way towards the two of them and when Anna spotted him she smiled a little before speaking to May, who's head then turned to face him so swiftly he actually became worried for her. This worry quickly vanished when she started marching towards him with such determination Peter briefly prayed for some crooks to show up and cause enough trouble so she will shift her anger onto them.
"I thought I told you to get some rest today and to not come to help." she said with a tone that emphasised her annoyance with Peter. "You used to do what I said, what happened to you?"
"I know what happened May." Anna spoke up as she joined them. "It's what happens to every well behaved child, they become teenagers and think they know everything about everything."
"Very funny miss Watson." Peter replied.
"How many times do I have to tell you Peter? You can call me Anna."
"Peter, I'm not going to say this again. Go home and get some rest." May told him firmly which actually did make an instinctive part of Peter want to obey her, but he fought back against this impulse.
"May just let the boy help. He's too much like Ben to just go home."
May looked at Anna before sighing with annoyance and speaking to Peter. "Fine, if you are insistent on staying there's some boxes here, you take them to the kitchen."
Peter nodded before grabbing the box on the ground she had been gesturing at, feeling a little guilty about his motives for being here. Sure he was probably going to come here anyway, but he needed answers and this was the best place to get them. He put in a good few hours helping around the centre, moving boxes and assisting in the kitchen first while talking with everyone he could. He found it pretty difficulty however to find time to talk about the disappearances, not to mention he wasn't completely sure how to bring it up naturally.
Which was why, when it was nearly time for May to go and him having promised to come with her, he looked at the homeless eating at a table and resolved to just ask. The table had four people, one being a woman he recognised named Candace who smiled a little as he approached them.
"How are the four of you doing? Getting enough to eat?" he asked politely. The four nodded but said nothing more, clearly expecting him to leave them forcing him to continue talking. "What about you Candace?"
"Same as usual I guess. Franklin still wants me to live with him, but he can barely look after himself and that blind kid he has for an assistant." Lynn replied as she rolled her eyes, a common occurrence whenever her brother is brought into a conversation.
Peter nodded along before awkwardly standing there, only speaking again once he saw the looks the four were giving him. "So listen, I need to talk to all of you. Has anyone you know gone missing recently?"
The result was instant, with all of them practically leaping off the table and swiftly making their way to the exit. Peter stared at them in surprise before quickly going after them while ignoring the looks they were getting from everyone else. He focused on Candace since he knew her a little and could possibly convince her to explain what was going on, and he made sue st I be a few steps behind her as he followed her outside. The other three had vanished and Candace had picked up the pace after looking to see he was following her.
"Candace, wait up!" he yelled as she tried to disappear into the crowd.
If this had been a year ago he would have lost her easily, even with the advantages his powers gave him, but he wasn't new to this anymore. It took some practice and a lot of mistakes, but now he could follow a homeless woman despite her attempts to hide. He knew how to stay focused, how to move against the flow of a crowd without any issue and how to judge where a target would go. So when Candace went down a narrow alley he followed her soon after, finally cat gung up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, a look of terror on her face while she visibly prepared to run away as fast as she could. But Peter jumped in front of her and, as gently and non-threatening as he could, grabbed her by the arms to keep her in place.
"Please don't run Candace, I need your help." he begged while Candace just shook her head, too scared to speak though Peter wasn't sure if it was nothing or whatever he has been hiding. "I just want to help that's all."
"You work for the Bugle, you'll talk about this and get us all killed!"
"So you know who's responsible?"
"No I don't but nobody is stupid enough to not know that they are most likely rich and could easily kill someone like me. Anyone can kill someone like me and nobody would care."
"I would care, and I promise you I will keep you safe. I won't let anyone know that you told me." he told her but she just shook her head again.
"Please just let this go Peter, before you get people hurt."
He hated what he was about to do, he hated himself for even thinking it, but it was clear she won't talk without a good reason. He doubted money would do the trick judging by the terror on her face so he had to do something May would be ashamed of if she found out and if he could find another option he would happily take it. But if life provided options that could make everyone happy the world wouldn't be the way it is.
"I could still tell everyone about whatever this is. How people are disappearing, who I suspect of being involved, who I know is withholding information." he said while letting her go, making her pause and look at him in surprise. She watched him as he continued to speak, searching for any proof that he was lying while Peter hoped he had picked up enough acting skills from Mary Jane. "Of course if you were to help me out I would be happy to withhold the names of anyone who shared something useful."
While she visibly tried to appear stoic, a vast contrast to her demeanour just seconds ago, her voice came out frail and fearful. "You're bluffing."
"Maybe I am, and in that case you have nothing to worry about. But what it I'm not?" he asked her while their eyes challenged each other to back down and despite the guilt stabbing through his heart at the sight of Candace giving up, he stood firm and allowed her to speak.
"People sometimes walk up to us. On the street, at center or anywhere else they can find us. They tell us they want to help, that they can make us strong enough to defend ourselves, save us from all the wolves hiding in the shadows. I heard one guy say they could help us be just like Spider-Man, and for some that's enough. Enough to accept these little cards with instructions and then disappear a day or two later. I don't know what's on the cards because I know nothing good could come from it. Is that enough for you?"
"Yeah." Peter answered after deciding she was telling the truth and wondering if his shame was showing on his face. "You can go."
"Fine. I hope you're happy and you better do what you said." Candace told him with venom in her voice as she walked away. "Though its not like I could stop you anyway."
Peter watched her go and a few minutes later made his way to center, deep in thought about what Candace told him. It wasn't much, to be honest it wasn't really anything, but it was something tangible. Especially since he has already searched Murphy's apartment and found nothing, he now had an idea what Barbera might have hidden from him when they met.
So for those who are unfamiliar with him Barbera is a character from the 1978 Spider-Man tv show who has never appeared in anything else since. He was originally going to be George Stacy but I thought it would be more fun to use such a minor character. Also I would appreciate any criticisms, constructive or otherwise, about how I'm doing so far. Not only will that let me know people like this it will improve my writing.