"So, How's it looking guy?"
"Well, you're gonna have a lotta scars." Spider-man looked up towards her with an aloof shrug. Most of the bed blankets and her suit were smeared with blood, but Stephanie had gotten through most of the stitching actions with nary a sound. Just a few quick whimpers that she pretended never happened. "But on the bright side, you've got a belly button piercing! Well, you'd have to get the ring yourself, but I coincidentally made it while patching up your stomach."
"Heh." Stephanie rolled his eyes. He'd been wisecracking this whole time, probably to get her mind off the pain. "What's it gonna cost me?"
"Usually, Seven billion in cash. But I'll make an exception for some information." Spidey began casually. "Now, I'd usually go to the Library for information, but I'm so new here that I wouldn't know where it is. So, could you tell me what city we're in?"
Batgirl raised an eyebrow, but realized he wouldn't really see it with her mask. She had previously thought about taking it off so she could breathe a little better, but she didn't trust the guy enough to do that...or did she? It was getting harder to determine that."We're in Gotham. Does that ring a bell?"
"No...Does New York?"
"No." Stephanie frowned. Where the heck was New York supposed to be? "Are you saying you came from there?"
"I might have come from another dimension...but yeah." Spider-man placed the assorted bottles and medical supplies back in the box, and the box back in it's proper place. A childish grin spread out on Stephanie's face when she heard his words.
"Another dimension? Cooool..." She sat in silence for a moment, as if she'd suddenly thought of something. She reached up towards her head, and suddenly pulled off her mask. Spidey was quite surprised to see a young, beautiful blonde woman underneath.
"Okay then." Spider-man scratched the back of his head, and Stephanie combed back her hair with her hands. He was a bit inspired and more so amazed to see a girl that fought crime as he did. He could never imagine a girl in his shoes, and yet he'd found one. "I wasn't expecting you to-"
"Reveal my identity to a stranger?" Stephen shrugged. "For one, you're from a different Dimension so I don't have to worry about you doing anything since you don't come from here. Plus, you saved my life. I owe you SOMETHING, don't I?"
"Well I wasn't expecting something so...touching." Spidey truthfully declared. "What do I call you anyways? You look like a Brittany. Or a Taylor? Are you Taylor?"
"Stephanie Brown."
"Stephanie...Fine enough. Mine's Peter!" Spidey abruptly shook hands with her. "I may not take off my mask, but I'll settle for givin' ya a name."
"Seriously?!" Stephanie groaned, and got up from her bed. Spidey looked concerned, and she waved a hand dismissively. "I'm hungry. Anyways, I just took off my mask in front of you! Why can't you?"
"I dunno. Last guy I showed it to...Well, it didn't end well for me." Spidey explained to her, holding up a hand. "Do you have Ramen noodles?The chicken flavor? I'm a sucker for Ramen."
"Yeah. I've got a few." She opened the closet door in the small kitchen area, casting him a glance. "But those things are really disgusting."
"And packed with Sodium." Peter wandered the room chalantly, inspecting pictures she had on the wall. One had her as a child standing next to who appeared to be her mother. "So uh, this place looks really expensive. Something tells me you're not a freelance hero."
Stephanie gave a short laugh at that, pausing her task of cooking the noodles at the right temperature. For herself, she'd have the microwavable Craft's Macaroni and four cheese. "Actually, I am freelance. I just have a very rich friend is all. From the way your suit looks, I'd say you're freelance. Costs money for Kevlar afterall."
"Eh, Kevlar slows me down and spandex is within my budget. Besides, I usually save the money to buy a sewing kit and webfluid ingredients. " Spider-man plopped down onto the comfy couch. "How's your mobility in there? You're not opening any wounds, are you?"
"Not that I know of." Stephanie answered, walking in with bowl of Ramen noodles. The very smell made her inwardly gag. "It hurts, but I've felt worse pain."
"Oh really? We talking Physical, emotional or..." Peter just seemed to notice the size of the TV before him. "Geez! This thing's huge! Your friend's richer than I thought."
"Yeah. Have you seen a building with the name 'Wayne' on it?" When he nodded, she continued while sitting on the opposite end of the couch. "That would be the building my friend owns."
"Hmm..." He pulled his mask up to the bridge of his nose, and then began to eat his noodles. "That's tight. It's also tight how you're fighting crime like this. It's actually kinda brave. You don't have any powers like me, and yet you're putting yourself through this to help people."
Oddly, a blush lit her cheeks. "Uh...thanks. I just can't believe I got that careless with Electrocutioner...and had to be saved."
"Hey, I get it. Tough girl. You don't need saving...I know." Spidey swallowed the third bite quickly. "Speaking of the shockingly bad crook, he said something out getting a reward for you. I imagine you're good at your job, but not good enough to warrant a reward for your head."
"What can I say?" She shrugged dramatically. "Some people just REALLY like me."
"Yeah well, if that 'Electrocutioner' guy wants the money, no doubt a lot of your other foes will wanna get a crack at you. I would know, since I've still got a reward on my head." The man began seriously. At least, as serious as you can take a guy wearing spandex. "You need some help. And I need a tour guide for this place. I say we work together for as long as I'm here. It's like a friendship with benefits deal."
"You'd be great working as a house seller, you know that?" Stephanie quipped, and then paled. He was starting to rub off on her.
"Thanks. You'd be great as a stand up comedian." Spider-man held out his hand as kindly as possible. "Partners?"
The unmasked Batgirl rolled her eyes at his gesture, and looked from his hand to what she could see of his face. A small smirk pulled her lips a bit. "Partners."
They shook once, but Stephen pulled away abruptly.
"On one condition." She deadpanned. "Your mask. off."
Spidey frowned, but shrugged just as well. "Oh fine! But be warned! Under this mask lies a face so handsome that you may go blind-"
"Peter? That was your name, right? Hurry up."
When his mask was pulled away, she could see exactly what this Peter looked like. He seemed to be her age as far as she could tell, and had rather warm brown eyes. His hair looked moppy and shaggy and just perfectly a mess. A huge brown mess. " look like you're Sixteen."
He could detect sarcasm a mile away apparently. "You look like you're five..."
"Is that the best you've got?"
"...Hundred."
Stephanie playfully glared at him, and crossed her arms. "If I didn't have so many stitches I'd slap you."
"Too bad...So sad!" He pouted like some kind of brunette monkey in a spider suit, before he hopped onto the ceiling with a empty bowl in hand. "Anyways, you mind if I crash here? Just for tonight? I forgot my wallet at home. Along with my clothes."
"You know what? You can stay here as long as you want...I guess." She shrugged. Stephanie could always use a roommate. It reminded her of the fun times at College. "And maybe I can get you some clothes."
"Seriously? You are the best sidekick ever!" The hero slowly dropped the bowl into the sink? "Though I can hardly believe you're doing all this stuff for little old me."
"Do I need to remind you that you saved my life?" Stephanie began to unzip her suit once more, but paused. "Uh...could you cover your eyes for a sec?"
Confused, he put a hand over his huge white lenses and waited, frowning at the sound of a kevlar suit falling onto the ground. Then he heard some other clothing item rustling. Curiosity got the better of him, and he peeked through his fingers. Stephanie was now out of the Batsuit, and now in navy blue footie pajamas. "Oh. Good. I would have hated to have seen you without clothes on."
"I don't go into the suit naked Yknow." Stephanie almost whined, and peeled back the blankets of her bed before walking towards the bathroom and starting to brush her teeth. "Ah'll bwet you go en naked."
"Oh wouldn't you like to know the truth?" He crawled along the ceiling and landed back on the couch with a graceful thump. "Ah, I love sleeping on the couch. The rich, exotic leather always lulls me to sleep on a silver mist."
"I seriously hope you don't talk in your sleep." She pleaded, and proceeded to gargle on mouthwash.
"I snore, maybe."
"Ptew!" She wiped her mouth and waltzed back towards the bed, pouring into it gingerly. It hurt walk and hurt even more to bend her spine while getting into bed. She needed a chiropractor. "Well, that makes two of us. You sure you like that couch the way it is? I can always switch places."
"Heck no. No lady is going to sleep on a couch. Of course, if want a snugglebuddy, I'm right here."
"..."
"I was just kidding! Don't kill me." He began to get comfortable, but noticed a missing ingredient. "Uh...toss me a blanket, if you have one."
Plumf!
"You'd be terrible at football, Steph." Spidey complained, pulling the blankets from the floor.
"Goodnight, Peter." Stephanie answered, but of course let her eyes remain open. Night was always the times when she thought over things...like their partnership and the fast growing trust between them. She was always taught that this kind of friendship; this kind of thing was fake. That it was a ruse used to get close to you and then tear out your heart. But for some reason he didn't seem like what she had been told. He seemed a lot better than that...a lot kinder.
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"So...Not only did you not send the brat elsewhere, but you actually brought in another goody two shoes."
"Whaaaaat? Everyone makes mistakes!"
"If it weren't for you, Electrocutioner would have had her."
"Now now, my good men! This is even better than before!"
"Just how is this better, Clown?!"
"Think about it: If we brought in a hero...no doubt there's some life threatening villain to bring in too...Hehehehehehehe*COUGH COUGH* UGH! "
"Uh, I have some cough drops right here Mr.J!"
"Ugh...thank you Harley."
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Ouch. Ouch,ouch,ouuuuuuuuuuuch.
She awoke to the smell of bacon...but to the pain of sore muscles all over. Her eyelids cracked open just the slightest, and through this slit she could make out her ceiling. Against her will, she turned her head towards the smell of the bacon. Peter was standing in the kitchen, clad in his Spider-man suit and coking what she could see to be...breakfast food items. She opened her mouth to say something to him, but all that escaped was groan from her pain. The brunette looked behind himself at her, which was surprising since her groan sounded quieter than a whisper. "And sleeping beauty awaketh from her deathlike slumber, caused by the sweet kiss of bacon smoke in the air."
She decided to ignore his statement and fight to sit up in bed. After twenty seconds of quiet grunting, she managed to lean against the wall behind her. "I feel like I just got through lifting a billion tons."
"Must've happened when you slept." He said from the corner of her vision. "I once felt like that after lifting this building."
"You can lift buildings?" She asked in shock, and turned her head a little too fast. She winced as her neck muscles ached.
"Well...very small buildings. Like a carwash building maybe...I can't lift like, the Empire State building or anything like that...but I'm pretty great with lifting."
"Oh. I once lifted a car."
"I highly doubt that."
"...okay, it was a motorcycle. Halfway in the air."
"I lifted an eighteen wheeler once. Didn't break a sweat."
"Okay, enough bragging..." She winced again once she managed to climb out of bed. Stephanie began to stagger over to the kitchen. "What are...agh...you doing?"
"Uh, making breakfast. You sure you should moving around?" He asked curiously, tossing the various cooking utensils he'd used into the sink. "You did take a huge beating and several wounds. No offense."
She scowled to herself a little, but not for long. "None taken."
He handed her one of her large plates, and in it was a stack of three pancakes. Two unscrambled eggs were at the top, while three bacon pieces curved more at the bottom. In the space between the eggs and the bacon was a lone circular sausage. "Seriously? A smiley face?"
"Yep! A breakfast to make you happy the whole day!" He said like some Chuck. employee, with a side of a cheesy grin. "Unless you like being a grouch."
Stephanie rolled her eyes and took the plate from him, just before Peter zipped past her and went for his mask. The young woman stared at him in an incredibly confused manner, setting her breakfast down on the counter. He only got so far as to open the window will before he heard her cough. He turned around and saw Stephanie staring at him suspiciously, her hands on her hips. "Where are you off to?"
"Just cuz I'm in a different universe doesn't mean I can't stop fighting crime." He spoke, making ready to leap out. "I'll be back in eight hours."
"Haven't you eaten anything? "
"Yes, 'Mom', I have eaten something."
She nodded. "Okay...What about the clothes I'm supposed to get for you?"
"I've got my clothes sizes written down in that pad over there." He pointed a webbed finger over at the counter. "Also a few other ingredients. I'm gonna get low on my webfluid."
"What good is a Spider who can't make Organic webs?"
"Everyone's a critic. See ya Batsy!" The wallcrawler saluted to Steph, before falling backwards out of the window. Seconds later, she could spot his slowly fleeing form swing out through the air. After casting a curious look after him, she reached for her commlink. Now might be a good time to talk to her Bat family.
"Stephanie to Dark Knight. Can you hear me Bruce?"
"Yeah. But...UGH...Kinda busy right now."
"But-..." She heard the feed cut out almost instantly, and when she tried everyone else's links no one was responding. Even Damian, who loved to begin a conversation with 'Hey, Fatgirl.' They must be doing League business or dealing with that Manbat issue again.
Never around when you need them.
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"That is literally the most ironic name in the world."
"WILL YOU STOP TALKING?!"
Spider-man dodged another plume of life threatening fire, and took refuge on the corner of a rooftop. Thank goodness he had on his mask, or the smoke might have gotten to him. Thank goodness his adversary was not only bad at naming himself but also bad at aiming. "Hey, I'm a talker! It's my dayjob! I'm also a singer, but I save that for the shower."
Before the man in the red butterfly suit could point his flamethrower at him, Spidey clogged the nozzle with webfluid. As the crook began to wildly pulling at the webs, his wisecracking foe nonchalantly sat down and crossed his legs. "But we're getting of the subject Amigo! Your name is Firefly?! Seriously?! Do you know how ironic it is that as a Spider I am going to kick your butt and trap you in a web? If I was a Vampire, that would seal the deal!"
"Whenigetthisstupidthingoffillmeltthatsmilerightoffyourface!"
"Seriously, Homie! All we need know is some guy who's a Ladybug and we've got ourselves a backyard rodeo." The Webhead shook his head at him sarcastically. "Look, not that I'd don't think you're stupid but, who would be idiotic enough to rob a bank during the day? BTW! Why do villains always go for banks?"
"WHERE ELSE ARE WE SUPPOSED TO STEAL MONEY FROM?!"
"A grocery store. A rich guy's house. A movie theater."
"...SHUT UP!" He finally freed his flamethrower, but moved a little too late to dodge Spidey swinging down swiftly. A kick to the head quickly knocked out Firefly, and the villain crumpled to the ground a very uncomfortable position.
"*Sigh*...All in a day's work for your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man..."