Chapter 3

DC Universe – Specification Unknown –

Gotham City

As Peter pulled himself higher into the air, his eyes were constantly fixed on the smoke ahead. He was a couple blocks away now and he was starting to see the light flicker of yellow-orange flame reflecting off the surfaces of the buildings ahead, confirming he was on the right track.

Back in New York, his New York, he was so used to the landscape, he could basically swing blindfolded and still find his way. But, he wasn't used to the layout of this foreign city, and since the tingle of his Spider-Sense had stopped by now, he was relying purely on his human senses.

The HUD in his mask wasn't much help either, it relied on (about as much as Peter) home territory, and being thrown into another universe meant that he'd lost all connection to the police and radio frequencies, his cell phone signal and Wi-Fi/Data. In fact the only things he could use it for now was changing web modes, checking his web capacity and Bluetooth apparently, though with all that was going, playing music wasn't really all that appealing.

Continuing his upward swing, he kicked his feet up so was nearly upside down. He launched himself off the web, high into the air. Bringing his feet back down, he shot out a web line and pulled himself forward just before descending.

He could hear gunshots and muffled yells as he neared closer to the source of the explosion heard earlier. As he got even closer, the sounds grew louder. When they sounded close enough, he stopped mid-swing, landing on a roof facing to the street were the calamity seemed to happening.

Squatting on the edge of the building he peered down, on the ground closest to him, he could see what appeared to be a shootout between the police, and armed thugs. They were mostly dressed in suits, though some were dressed more tactically, all of them however were wearing black, skull-masks. They partly reminded Pete of Martin Li's henchmen, though he had to admit, the demon masks worn by Mr. Negative's followers were cooler.

The henchmen were well armed, with machine guns (both sub and otherwise), shotguns and he even saw a couple holding what seemed to be grenade launchers. He could assume all of them were also armed with pistols on their hips, though he only saw a few on his brief scan, the others potentially obscured by their suits.

The police were decidedly less well equipped, armed only with pistols and a couple shotguns. They were clearly in a sticky situation, all of them taking cover behind their vehicles. One of which had been thrown upside down, currently aflame. Probably the result of one of the grenade launchers, and most definitely the source of the explosion Pete heard across the City.

Had Peter been less stressed and confused about his entire predicament, he may have made a correlation between these thugs and the supposed 'Black Mask' the would-be muggers mentioned earlier. However, for now he was only focused on checking the situation and deciding when to jump in.

He was only on the roof for about a second or two, scanning the gunfight, but things were getting out of hand and this cursory glance would have to do. He jumped off the ledge he was on and over the goons, who were unaware of the arachnid themed hero.

Renee Montoya, a detective of the GCPD, was taking cover behind a patrol car, her partner, Harvey Bullock next to her. The two had been following a lead on a case when they received a call for back up, an ambush by the GCPD against Black Mask's henchmen had gone south. Most likely due to a rat in the department warning Mask, leading to an armed response.

The GCPD were ready and waiting outside a warehouse where a meeting was supposedly taking place, only for one their patrol cars to be hit with a grenade. Several armed, and seemingly prepared, henchman filtering out of the warehouse and opening fire immediately on the police force.

Detective Montoya, now peered over the hood of the car and took a couple of pot shots in the direction of the goons. Several whipping ineffectually passed the goons, but one found its mark, hitting one of the thugs directly in the chest, taking him down, but not out.

"Shit! They've got Kevlar!" She called out to her partner and the other officers near. Her voice nearly entirely drowned out by the symphony of gunfire around her.

She then saw as one of the henchmen armed with a grenade launcher, took aim directly at the car she and Bullock were using as cover. However, before she could react to move, or even yell a warning, she saw as the weapon was yanked from the goon's hands, by what seemed to be a white piece of string.

Just moments earlier, as Peter was flying through the air over the masked thugs, he twisted his body and, in a half summersault, shot out several web lines onto their weapons. Claiming both grenade launchers, two machine guns and one shotgun. He pulled, stealing the weapons from the hands of their wielders. He threw the lines high into the air and shot several pieces of webbing at the jumble of weapons, encasing all of them.

He finished his summersault, as several goons, alerted to his presence by the intrusion, tracked him with their gaze. He landed on the street in a crouch, mid way between the police and the thugs.

He eyed them as they stared at him, bringing himself into a standing position he spoke, "Fellas, little early for Halloween isn't it?" He actually had no idea if it was or not, it was just the first quip to present itself.

They was a deafening silence, a temporary ceasefire seemed to find its way onto the battlefield as both the police and henchmen were stunned by the new arrival.

One of the sub-machine gun wielding thugs closest to Pete spoke, breaking the silence, "It's December…" He replied, not thinking.

This earned him a hard stare (as hard as possible when wearing a mask at least) from the thug next to him, formerly equipped with a grenade launcher. He stiffened, realising his mistake.

'December? Just like back home? That's something I guess…' Peter thought to himself, his thoughts interrupted by the voice of another goon.

"Who the hell you s'posed to be?" The now grenade launcher-less, thug asked. Venom in his tone.

"Oh, we're doing introductions? Well I-" Peter started, but was cut off when the thug spoke again.

"Never mind. Just Kill the freak!" He yelled.

The cacophony of gunfire started again as a hail of bullets were launched from the weapons yet again, this time exclusively from the henchmen, and exclusively aimed at Peter.

Launching himself forward and twisting through the air, avoiding the onslaught of bullets heading his way, he landed in a front handspring. Pushing off his arms he sent himself forward, feet first into the goon armed with the sub-machine gun who'd spoken earlier.

"Hey! It's rude to open fire on Spider before he can finish his sentence." Spider-Man quipped.

The sub-machine gun thug was sent flying as Pete kicked himself off the goon into a backflip. 'Wow! Twice in one night? I gotta' start using this move more often.' Pete thought as he, still airborne, shot out a web line from his right shooter and an trip mine from his left.

With his right hand grabbing the line, he yanked the sub-machine gun from the, also airborne, thug's grip. And, he watched as the trip mine placed itself on the thug's chest, it's laser catching the unarmed thug, who'd also spoken, he was standing next to just moments prior.

Still mid-flip, he pulled the line taut and sent the sub-machine gun flying into a third thug who was loading a shotgun with more shells, knocking the weapon out of his hands. A line now shot out of the trip mine Peter had fired, following the laser onto the back of the unarmed thug.

The unarmed thug was yanked backwards as the airborne thug's trajectory now shifted forward, causing some minor whiplash but nothing a month's bed rest wouldn't fix. The two crashed into each other mid air, their head's connecting knocking both unconscious as they fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, on a adjacent rooftop, a bat-themed vigilante, clad in yellow and purple, was crouched, watching the display.

She was 20 year-old Barbara Gordon, AKA Batgirl. She had been sent to aid the GCPD after an ambush had gone wrong, but when she arrived on the scene she was met with a surprise in the form of a red and blue figure leaping into the fray, disarming several of the perps of their weapons.

At the sight of this display, she immediately informed her boss. Who, across the city, was also watching the view from her lenses.

"You seeing all of this?" She asked.

"Hmm." A soft grunt was the only reply received from her comms.

"Want me to step in yet?"

"Negative. Keep watch for now, only step in if absolutely necessary."

"You got it. What should I do with him when this is over?"

"Bring him in. We need answers."

"And if he refuses?"

There was a silence. "I get it. Bring him at all costs?"

"Hmm." an affirmative grunt was the only reply, before the voice continued, "Update me of any developments."

"Will do." she replied.

At the same time, Peter was in the air yet again. This time he wasn't alone, as he delivered a right cross into the face of a similar airborne thug, whom he had yanked skyward moments prior. The blow sent the thug flying towards the ground, his landing softened by a second thug who was knocked prone by his ally's falling body.

Montoya watched as the strange figure continued to engage the henchmen, laying out several of them at a time, moving quicker then any normal human, seemingly evading every blow, slash and bullet sent his way.

"Great. Just when I thought this city was done with the costumed freaks… Who the hell is THIS guy?" Her partner, Bullock, said with frustration.

"We'll find out later, for now let him keep them busy." She replied, adding, "Check on any injured and keep laying suppressive fire, they're nearly all down!" She directed at the officers around her.

After a about a minute or so, the combatants were nearing the end of the fight, only one thug remained. Spider-Man was ducking and weaving out of the way of every bullet being sent his way from the handgun in his adversary's hand. Until they stopped, they were replaced with a series of clicks, indicating the clip was empty.

"Okay, all gone. Wanna' keep trying or do you wanna-" Spider-Man's sentence was yet again cut short. This time, by the empty hand gun being thrown at his head, which he casually moved out the way of the make-shift projectile.

"Wow… Got it all out of your system, now? Just put your hands up and I'm sur-" He continued again before being interrupted.

"SHUT UP!" The thug said as he quickly reached into his coat and pulled out a flip-knife.

"Oh no... My one weakness… Small knives." Spider-Man replied, casually waving his arm in mock distress.

He'd used a quip similar before, but this time decided to replace the mock terror he used last time with dry sarcasm. Still, he felt it was a classic, and it was a personal favourite.

Suddenly, the knife was knocked out his hand as a light whipping of wind was heard. It clattered to the floor, alongside a metal, bat shaped object. Spider-Man and the thug both looked at the object and then back to each other.

"Hey, don't look at me, I'm just as surprised as you are." Pete offered, shrugging.

The thug's gaze then shot passed Peter, over his shoulder. His eye's widened before he started running in the opposite direction.

"Hey! Wait-" Peter stopped his sentence as a second, yellow bat-themed projectile whipped passed his own head and directly into the temple of the goon, knocking him out cold. "Never mind."

Casually, Peter turned round to the supposed source of the projectile. In a dark alley opposite him, he saw a figure encased in shadow with what appeared to be bat-ears. 'So that must be this Batman I've been hearing about?'

"Nice throw!" He called out to the figure in the shadows.

Suddenly, his spider-sense shot out a signal, and Peter threw a hand in front of his face, catching a third bat shaped projectile.

"Whoa! I'm on your side. I think… What if that hit me?" He shouted to the figure.

"I had a hunch you'd catch it…" A decidedly feminine voice replied, as the figure stepped out from the shadow.

He looked the figure up and down. She was wearing a purple, lightly armoured suit with a zip down the front to her waist. It was adorned with yellow pouches on her hip and along her yellow belt, wearing yellow boots on her feet. Similarly, a yellow symbol in the shape of a bat was on her chest, and she was wearing a black and yellow cape on her back with a cowl covering the entire top half of her face, aside from her eyes, complete with bat ears.

"I'm gonna' take a wild guess here, and assume you're not Batman?" He asked the stranger.

"You're right. I'm not." She replied, before her tone grew more serious, "The real question is, who are you?"

"Umm… It's kind of a long story, I can give you the cliff notes version if you life?"

"No need, you're coming with me and you can tell Batman yourself."

"And what if I were to say no?" In truth, Peter had no intention of saying no. Whoever Batman was, he was clearly a big deal here, and was most likely his best chance at getting home, or at least helping him find someone who could. But he wanted to know more, most importantly how they react to not getting their way.

A grin appeared on the strangers face as Peter's spider-sense exploded in the back of his head. Realising the threat, he desperately tried to throw the bat projectile, which he was still holding. Too late, just as it left his grip, it beeped and a blinding light stunned Peter as it exploded.

His ears wear ringing, and he could see nothing but white for what felt like an eternity. In truth it was only a couple of seconds, which was apparently all the figure needed. As his vision began to return, and he saw a yellow-purple blur rushing towards him.

Unable to determine his spider-sense from the effects of the flashbang, he narrowly avoided a strike to head from the, still blurred, stranger. But before he could attempt to counterattack, his legs were swept out from underneath, him, causing him to fall prone on his back. His vision started to clear as he felt the figure kneel on his chest, a tonfa held above his eyes.

"I take you in…" She said, determination clear on her face.

"Okay. Nice to know where we stand… or I guess lay in my case." He spoke, before kicking his feet up and pulling himself back on his feet in one motion, sending the stranger of his chest and into a backwards role, which she used to bring herself back onto her feet.

She lunged at him, and Peter ducked and leant out of the way of each strike she threw. "Alright you can stop, now." He said, just as he caught the tonfa that was aimed at his head.

Her piercing eyes stayed on his lenses fierce determination on her face, she was clearly preparing for another attack when Peter spoke, "I'll come with you."

Although she didn't attack again, her expression didn't change, nor did her eyes leave his. Clearly unswayed, he added, "I will. I swear. I just wanted to see what you'd do if I said 'no'."

"Why should I believe you?" She asked.

"Maybe because I could very easily just leave, and I haven't? Or maybe, because I haven't tried to attack you once, despite the feeling definitely not being mutual? Or perhaps just because I'm very charming and likeable and you want to believe me?" Peter suggested.

Barbara was unsure of the stranger, she wanted to believe him. After all she didn't know how an actual fight between them would go, he was definitely strong enough to hold his own against her, her attacks so far had little to no effect on him. Not to mention, the efficiency with which he took down Black Mask's men showed talent. His strength, speed and agility where clearly superhuman, and he recovered from the flashbang nearly instantly.

She definitely had the experience over him though, he was a newbie, he couldn't have been doing this for more than a couple of weeks, otherwise Batman would have definitely taken him in for questioning already. She'd been fighting crime, in some form or another, for nearly 5 years. And experience nearly always wins out against talent. But, was a fight necessary? He wasn't resisting anymore, or so he suggested. And she didn't really want to test out her 'experience versus talent' hypothesis if it wasn't needed.

"Fine." She finally said, removing her tonfa from his grip and stepping out of her fighting stance, "But if you so much as THINK about running away, I WILL take you down and drag your unconscious body to Batman. Got it?"

"Jeez, I got it. I said I would come, ease up a bit." Her fierce expression stayed fixed to her face.

"Not so fast, Batgirl. You can't just show up and begin making demands." A rough voice called. "If this guy isn't one of yours, then he's gonna' have to answer some of the GCPD's questions first."

While Spider-Man and Batgirl's exchange was happening, the police officers present had been tending to their injured, as well as cuffing any unconscious thugs and trying, and ultimately failing, to remove any webbed perps from their cocoons.

Most had been continuing their duties, while stealing a glance at the two costumed vigilantes every now and then, but a couple of rookies were so enamoured with the display they gave up all pretence of doing any work. The more experienced officers continued as if nothing was amiss, it was Gotham after all, working here long enough you get used to events such as this. Detective Bullock however, had started approaching the two vigilantes as their fight came to an end.

"Sorry, Bullock. That's not happening. GCPD can talk to him after Batman." Batgirl responded.

"Like hell! Batman isn't above the law! WE have priority here, if he wants to talk to this…" Bullock looked Spider-Man up and down before continuing, "Man-Spider, he can visit the station and put in a request to see him in holding, like everyone else."

Batgirl rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, this was getting them nowhere.

"Man-Spider? Really, that's the best you can come up with?" Spider-Man responded.

"Bullock. I'm telling you, that isn't happening. You know the commissioner would agree, why try to challenge us on this, Batman sees him first. This is his city, we can't have unknown vigilantes running around without our knowledge on who they are and what they're capable of." Batgirl continued.

Bullock was getting more agitated. "That's the thing. It's not his city, it's the people's. The same people the GCPD are sworn to serve, this is a police matter. The Bat-gang, or whatever you call yourselves, may have Gordon's approval, somehow, but this guy? We have no idea who he is. He's coming with us"

"I mean, Spider-Man is right there. You just swap the words around…" Peter continued, to no one in particular.

"Exactly, we have no idea who he is. All the more reason for Batman to see him, we're better equipped to deal with him." Batgirl responded, also growing more frustrated.

"You literally have a guy called 'Batman'. Surely it would make most sense to-"

"SHUT UP!" Both Bullock and Batgirl responded in sync, turning to look at the stranger for the first time since the beginning of their argument, impatience, frustration and mild rage colouring both their expressions.

"Sorry. But if you're going to talk about me like I'm not here, why would I respect your lovers' quarrel, or whatever this is?" Peter replied.

Both figures stared at Peter, annoyance still clear on their faces. He spoke again, "Look, if its going to cause so much conflict I can just leave-"

"NO." Both figures yelled, again in sync.

"Okay, okay. Go back to your pointless bickering, I'll just wait here…" He replied, defeatedly waving his hands above his head.

A fourth voice joined the fray, "Or, you could show us how to get rid of this stuff you left everywhere… Spider-Man, is it?" Detective Montoya was now approaching the three as they all turned to her.

"Wow, finally someone who cares enough to learn my name, see this is how polite people act…" Peter gestured to the woman as she neared the trio.

She continued, "This… Webbing? Or whatever it is you use, doesn't seem to want to give in."

"Oh right, yeah sorry. It's pretty tough stuff, I'll come give you hand…"

"You're not going anywhere." Batgirl ordered.

"Relax, I'm just going over there, with…" Peter responded before pausing.

"Detective Montoya." Was the response from the newcomer.

"With Detective Montoya, I'll be in view. I won't try to run or anything," Pausing to think, 'I have nowhere to run to anyway.' He continued, "You guys just keep arguing about me behind my back, I'll be fine."

"Fine. But don't even think about-" Batgirl was cut off by Spider-Man.

"I won't. I got it the first time: You take me in. Yadda yadda, unconscious body. Yadda yadda, Batman." He responded, waving his arm dismissively, as he walked away from Bullock and Batgirl with Montoya.

Peter and Montoya left the two to their bickering and approached the scene ahead of them. Several unconscious henchmen were being cuffed, resuscitated and read their rights. Others were struggling against the webbing that kept them fixed to the ground, the walls and even a couple of street lamps. The GCPD officers trying their best to get them out of their web-prisons, ready for booking. One officer even reading a thug his rights as the officer's partner tried to yank him down from the wall he was stuck to, suspended several feet from the ground.

Pete was the first to speak, "Thanks for getting me out of that, whatever that was…"

"Don't mention it, if I had a nickel for every time Bullock and one of the Bats got into a stupid argument, I could probably afford to retire." She replied. "Now about this webbing?"

"Right. It usually dissolves in an about hour," He looked to her, her expression screaming: 'you've got to be kidding me?' He smiled under his mask at the sight. "But I doubt you want to wait that long. So I use this…"

He reached into the pants of his suit, causing a look of confusion and minor disgust from the detective. But before she averted her gaze, she saw (to her relief) that he was actually wearing a, nearly paper thin, utility belt under his suit. Reaching into one of the pockets he pulled out two small vials of translucent blue liquid.

"Just a drop or two on a few key areas and most of the webbing should dissolve." He said as he handed her one of the vials.

The pair proceeded to untangle the webbed goons as the uniformed officers began to cuff them, a comfortable silence between the two. The silence gave Peter time to think, productively for perhaps the first time since he arrived, he properly examined the black masks of the henchmen and began connecting dots in his mind.

They were in the midst of freeing, then subsequently apprehending, their second good when Spider-Man spoke, breaking the slience, "So these masked goons, any relation to someone called Black Mask?"

Montoya eyed the strange man curiously, he spoke as if he had been living under a rock, at first she figured he was merely a newbie on the scene. That idea was slightly cracked at the way he spoke of his gadgets and equipment, suggesting experience. There was also the chance he'd simply been testing them in a basement somewhere, but more than that, he definitely didn't carry himself, or fight, like he was a newbie.

But nearly everyone in Gotham knew of Black Mask, they either feared him, owed him, or hated him. Usually a combination of the three, her current hypothesis was that the stanger came from out of town. But then that begged the question of why he came to Gotham, to Batman's city, no one could be that stupid.

She decided answering his question wouldn't cause any harm, it was pretty much common knowledge after all, "Yeah, these guys are… members of his enterprise."

"So what was the blowout for? Arrest gone wrong?" He continued as he deliver drops from his vial onto the webbing of the unconscious crook stuck prone on the floor.

Unsure of how much information to give, she continued carefully but honestly, "Something like that, the uniforms were meant to ambush them after a meeting, but they seemed to be prepared. Causing… this" She gestured to the battered street and chaos around them.

Peter was interested now, he couldn't help that this was an odd response from the gang. "So if they knew you guys were coming why didn't they just, you know, not show up? It seems like a lot of effort just to evade an ambush…"

Detective Montoya was actually impressed at how quickly this Spider-Man seemed to be putting things together, especially considering his supposed ignorance of the goings on in Gotham.

Spider-Man continued externalising his thoughts, "Also, if he has enough pull to organise all this… Why did I stop a few muggers on his payroll earlier from trying to collect money from a street kid? Was it just out of principal?"

Deciding to throw him a bone, Montoya responded to his mostly rhetorical questions, "Partly, but he may also just need the money… His empire was all but destroyed after his last tussle with the Batman. He's basically in hiding, grasping at any chance for power he can get."

Peter thought on what the detective said for a moment, before continuing, "So this wasn't just a way to avoid arrest… It was meant to send a message? That he still has some power in this city?"

Detective Montoya nodded, indicating Peter was on the right track. 'So this Black Mask guy is desperate… That's why he needs to take all the scraps he can get, even from people who already have nothing… And I just poked the hungry animal with a sharp stick…' Peter thought, his disgust for both the kingpin and himself growing. 'I shouldn't have just let that Eddy kid go, I should have found out what the money was for. More than that, I should have made sure he was actually okay. If all this is true, they might try again and respond harder next time. I probably just made things worse… Again.'

Montoya saw as the demeanour of the hero changed, his body language was more rigid now. He seemed less composed and self-assured, he seemed as if he was in deep thought, and the comfortable silence from earlier was replaced with a loaded one.

Offering a life line out of the ocean of thoughts Spider-Man seemed to be drowning in, Montoya spoke again, "Correct… He wants Gotham to know he can still bite, not just bark. Or at least make the people think that anyway. You showed him that his bite was toothless, though. He won't be happy, but you did a lot of good here. This will seriously cripple his efforts to expand. Not to mention… You saved all of our skins…"

The detective's words eased Peter slightly, though he couldn't help but wonder about Eddy still. He was certain that after everything he had to do tonight, he was going to find his way back to where he started and find Eddy, check on him and the sister he heard mentioned and get them out of danger. He was hopeful that this Batman character would still help him, even if he couldn't help him get home, he could help him fix the mistakes he'd made in this world.

Spider-Man and Detective Montoya continued to de-web the henchmen in silence again. 'You've been in this world for what, 20 minutes? And already you've upset a desperate psycho on a power trip and put a kid and his family in danger… Great going, Pete.' his inner monologue delivered.

After Peter had let down the final goon from his trap on a street lamp, the two watched as he began being cuffed by a fresh faced officer.

"Thanks." The rookie delivered, gratitude and fascination gracing his face as he smiled at Spider-Man.

Peter, taken out of his brooding and slightly taken aback by the positive response, stammered out a response, "Uh.. Err. Um Sure, no problem."

Although his time in New York, and his work alongside Captain Watanabe and her predecessor Captain Stacy, had definitely helped somewhat in mending fences between the NYPD and himself. Peter was still unused to the genuine gratitude he could see on the faces of the officers around him. Many of the officers smiling at him gratefully as he and Montoya removed the goons from their webbing, with a handful even approaching and offering thanks for his assistance in the gunfight.

In fact, aside from Bullock, and the suspicious stares of a couple of the more wizened patrol officers, Peter's experience with the GCPD officers had mostly been positive. Causing him an odd discomfort, he wasn't certain how to respond to their praise, especially since he felt he didn't deserve it.

"That's the last one Garfield, load him up in the van and get clean-up here so we can get out of here." Montoya said to the recruit as he finished cuffing the perp.

"They're already on the way, Detective." He replied, the smile never leaving his face.

"Good. Then I'll leave the rest to you guys, I need to speak to our blue and red friend here."

The two watched as the rookie begun escorting the thug away, before turning again to each other. "So I guess you have questions of your own you want me to answer?" Spider-Man started.

"I do. If your willing that is, I'm not going to drag them out of you, I'll leave that to Batman." She said, a slight smile on her lips.

"Not your partner over there?" Pete replied, gesturing to Bullock who was still arguing with Batgirl.

"Harvey? Oh please. He's fighting a losing battle and he knows it, there's no way Batman would let a rogue vigilante roam free in Gotham. As far he's gonna' be concerned, your within his jurisdiction, GCPD be damned…" She paused, "Still, you have all of us curious… So, wanna' get some of it off your chest before the interrogation you'll be getting later?"

Spider-Man let out an exasperated sigh. "Why not? Where do I start though? It's a pretty long story… I think."

"Let's start with the basics, you talk like you've been doing this for a while. I can safely say no one here has heard of you before, the Bat-Family included it would seem. So where'd you come from?" Montoya replied.

"New York, kind of…"

"Kind of?" Raising her eyebrow as she asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know if you'll believe me but… I'm like 99 percent certain I'm from an another universe." He replied, fatigue in his voice.

Shock flashed onto Montoya's face as she basically blurted out, "Oh wow. You're really not playing your cards close to your chest… Seriously?"

"Seriously."

She fixed her gaze on him, his face was obviously obscured, but she didn't detect any insincerity in his voice, his body language also shifted slightly. He looked tired, and defeated. He was either a very good actor, or he was telling the truth.

Or he was insane, but if that was the case Batman would just drop him off to Arkham later, but the way he held himself and acted made Montoya feel as if that wasn't the case. After all, Gotham had more than its fair share of crazies, and Spider-Man certainly didn't seem like one.

"Okay… I actually believe you… I honestly have no idea how to move on from here though…" Montoya finally said, shock still evident in her face.

At this point however, Batgirl and Bullock had seemed to finish their little spat, and the former was now approaching the two. Her eyes stuck to Spider-Man.

"I have a feeling we won't have the chance anyway, looks like my mom's here to pick me up…" Pete said as he turned to face Batgirl who was now standing with the pair.

"Funny." Batgirl replied coldly. "Good to see you, Montoya." Her demeanour changing as she regarded the detective with sincerity.

"Likewise." The detective replied, "Well I guess our time is up, Spider-Man. It was… Interesting to say the least. Maybe I'll see you around, if Batman doesn't keep you locked in a dark hole somewhere never to be seen again, that is." She said, with a grin as she started to make her way back to an irritated Bullock.

"Err, yeah. You too… Um not the Batman thing but the… You know." Pete stuttered in response.

This simply earned a chuckle from the detective as she shook her head, and continued on her path. Disbelief was ever present in her mind about the hero's origins, but it was overpowered by amused acceptance. She would have to regain her focus, Bullock and herself still had yet to chase a lead after all.

Spider-Man and Batgirl watched as she made her way back to her partner, before turning again to each other. Her expression was less agitated than earlier, but it was clear that her exchange with Bullock had left her with remnants of irritation. Peter knew better than to attempt to test her patience, whether he would act responsibly with that knowledge was a different matter both of them would find the answer to shortly.

"So, my place or yours?" He spoke, revealing that he was indeed, incapable of acting in his own best interest. 'You're an idiot, Pete.' He thought to himself.

"You're going to be really annoying, aren't you?" She responded with a sigh.

"Probably… So, where are we headed? Do you folks have like a Bat-nest or a cave or something? I don't really know how things work here." He replied.

Ignoring him, she pressed her finger to her ear and spoke to whoever was on the other end. "Batcave. This is Batgirl, I have him and I'm bringing him in. Check the place is clear of any… breakables."

"Very well, Miss Gordon. All the preparations have been made for our… Guest. We will see you shortly." A formal, British voice responded.

'Gordon, huh?' Peter thought to himself. He had heard the reply, although it was faint to him. He tried not to convey anything, his superhuman hearing was often a trick he himself forgot to utilise, but because of that it often meant he also forgot to tune certain noises out. He didn't want to eavesdrop, after all, he knew why heroes wore masks. Being accidentally exposed to someone's secret identity, even partly, wasn't a responsibility he would take lightly.

He felt bad, he didn't want to invade on the privacy of one of his would-be captors/hosts. He knew why they needed to speak to him, he'd act the same if someone just randomly showed up in New York and started busting up the some of his adversaries out of the blue. It wasn't as likely, as most of the heroes back home all knew of each other by this point, and nearly all of them were stationed in the same city.

From what he could gather from his interactions in this world so far however, it sounded like each hero had their own cities to protect. Catwoman mentioned how 'Powergirl' seemed to be the protector of this world's New York, but Gotham was clearly under the watch of the 'Bat-Family', as Detective Montoya had called them. With Batman clearly being the one calling the shots.

"Follow me." Batgirl spoke, taking Peter out of his thoughts.

"Right. Are we walking or something?" He replied.

"No. I'm parked round the corner. Come on." She said, her tone unamused. Peter felt as if he was still trying her patience slightly, despite his intentions to do the opposite.

They made their way along the street in silence, Peter opening his mouth every now and then to speak, before deciding against it upon seeing the unwavering seriousness glued to her face. He felt quite small in this moment, both physically and spiritually. Batgirl, from what he could tell was about his height, maybe slightly taller, although her thick heeled yellow boots and the ears on her cowl gave her a few inches over him.

The loaded silence was what was mostly causing his diminutive feelings however, he felt as if he'd already stuck his foot in his mouth and ruined any form of a good first impression with whoever this Batman turned out to be. He wanted all the help he could get to go home, to his city, his friends, his Aunt May… Even his enemies. He knew Miles would be able to take care of the city, but his villains were his responsibility, it shouldn't be up to the lesser experienced Spider-Man to pick up his problems.

Batgirl could feel the stranger constantly looking at her, his discomfort and growing agitation clear in his body language. Sighing, she spoke, "What is it?"

Peter, surprised by the confrontation of his discomfort, replied, "Sorry, it's nothing. I just think we got off on the wrong foot…" He paused, seeing she wasn't stopping him he continued, "How about we try a bit of small talk to mend the fences?"

"No." Was the abrupt reply he received.

"Okay then. Sorry, it's just… I'm not very good at this whole… Silence thing."

"I noticed." She replied, definitively ending the brief exchange.

Thankfully, just as the exchange came to a close, the pair reached a purple motor cycle which Batgirl gestured to as she regarded Spider-Man with a demanding glare. "Get on." She ordered.

"Wow, for me? You shouldn't have… But I don't have a license." Peter responded.

She simply stared back at him, he could feel her frustration growing. 'For god's sake Pete, for once in your life, just keep your mouth shut…' He once again berated himself.

"Sorry… Again. Look if it's all the same, I'm much more comfortable swinging, how about you lead and I follow? I already gave my word I wasn't going anywhere."

"That is definitely not happening. Either you get on willingly, or I strap your unconscious body to the seat." She spoke, her voice leaving no room for negotiation. "At least then maybe you'd shut up." She added under her breath. Clearly to herself but, unfortunately for both her and Spider-Man, just loud enough for Peter's enhanced hearing to pick up on.

"Fine." He said as he mounted the bike and sat himself on the back of the seat. He looked to Batgirl, still standing next to the bike and still staring at him with annoyance. "Happy now?" He added, petulantly.

Batgirl rolled her eyes and, as she herself mounted the front of the bike seat, delivering one last cutting remark, "I'll be happy when you're Batman's problem, not mine."

Before Spider-Man could respond, the bike started and the pair began speeding through the streets of Gotham, apparently headed towards the so-called Batcave.

Author Notes:

IDK. I don't really have anything to say here... Hope you enjoyed. Things will hopefully pick up from here, I just find that every interaction I write becomes more and more interesting as I write them, Montoya and Bullock weren't even in the initial plans for this chapter but here they are... However, this is only the first night, and it's barely even started. Big things will be coming soon, I just think it's very important to establish Spider-Man's presence first before rushing into them.

Until the next one,

FumbleFeatures