PART 1 - Chapter 18 - The Dark Matter of Faith - Job
For the sake of a friend, a choice is made and an alliance could be lost.
WORD OF WARNING: This is my warning for the readers that do need to read it, "The Dark Matter of Faith" is a heavier arc, I wanted this story to be all fluff, but sometimes sadness will be necessary to achieve the feel good parts.
Bad things ahead, not incredibly heavy, as much better authors and stories have portrayed, but less light than before than before - so, Readers, beware?
Trigger Warning for some angst, deaths, drugs and manipulation of spiritual nature.
WORD OF WARNING THE SECOND: This author has NOT played the new PS5 Spider-Man 2 game nor watched any "let's play", trying to keep the surprises still surprising, and probably that could be the same for many other readers, so, be considerate and avoid spoilers in the reviews, please!
Thank you!
Hours later.
"Six kosher, with everything." The hot dog stand owner stared back at the young man. For his part, Peter grinned and showed a bill of twenty. "For… the guys at the office."
"That's enough for four, sir.", was the vendor's reply.
Peter frowned. "Are you kidding me?! You know what, never mind, make it four then, but they better be the best ones in the city, man…", the young scientist paid for the exorbitantly priced hotdogs.
'Wow, when did extra-large hot dogs start costing so much?', the scientist wondered, as he crossed the street, finishing his first snack, the other three all wrapped up in foil and in a plastic bag.
'At least Ted is happy with my return, all I had to do was help out Jurgen and promise a new stain-protection treatment for clothes', by the time he had reached the corner of Gotham Park, Peter was 'refueling' himself with the second hot dog, already expecting the kind of night he would be having soon. 'And since I got that ready beforehand weeks ago, it will give me some time to rest tomorrow', he wondered as he suddenly noticed a familiar face.
The young scientist neared the beggar, an older and unkempt man holding a used Styrofoam coffee cup up to any person who crossed in front of him, waiting for any change to be dropped in.
The man's eyes almost bulged out as he stared at the bunch of bills of ten that suddenly filled his cup, then turned towards the young man who had deposited them.
"Sorry, I don't have much more in my wallet, Barney."
"What are you doing out of the shelter?", Peter asked after chewing on his snack, as he enjoyed the late afternoon weather on the park bench.
The older man, sitting by his side, was focused on devouring the other hot dog, offered by the young man, before answering, "Didn't work out. You didn't return there, either."
Peter nodded back, feeling the self-disappointment creeping in.
"Got myself a job interview and I guess I've been too busy to return there, sorry.", Peter felt like kicking himself.
Yes, he did make the choice of looking for a job, and not any job but the best one that would place him a step closer to his return home, and, predictably, he had left some responsibilities unchecked.
The older man waved off his benefactor. "No problem. Wasn't safe.", he spoke, between bites.
That caught the younger man's attention. "What do you mean?"
At that, the homeless man started chewing a little slower. "Barney, is someone threatening you there?"
'Weird, underfunded and understaffed as it may have been, the Martha Wayne Foundation was still leagues better than living on the street', Peter reckoned, recalling the kind staff and the well maintained location.
The older man shook his head, in reply.
Peter knew he could not let things rest, so he pressure the elderly, "If you don't say what's wrong, I can't-"
"I-I said too much, it's not safe.", Barney quickly rose from his seat, shoving the cup into his raggedy coat's pocket. "Nowhere else is. I mean... look, thanks for the food, kid. And the money. You are one of the good guys, don't let them corrupt you, you hear me? Don't let them!", the older man pleaded and, without looking at his benefactor's eyes, he quietly added, "Godspeed, Peter."
"Hey, Barney!", the younger man called him, but the beggar quickly left the bench and walked towards one of the park trails, leaving Peter behind, in confusion.
'That kind of look on his face', Peter wondered. 'Was Barney… scared?'
'6:39pm', Peter checked on his watch, then stared at the setting sun. 'I promised Oracle I'd be at the top of Wayne Enterprises Building at eight for a rendezvous, so it doesn't give me much time left.'
Peter stood outside in front of the Martha Wayne Foundation, the first place he thought about asking questions about Barney.
Living there in those first days had been quite a humbling experience, but now the memories also felt tainted, shameful for him. 'The first chance I got out of my newfound poverty and living on the streets and I completely forgot about lending a help here in return.
Unfortunately, his latest visit had bore no good news. The volunteers there were as clueless as he had been, only aware that the elder's behavior had become more restless in the last couple of weeks, then that he hadn't returned on one night, no warning given and no news since.
But it was something else that left Peter even more worried than before.
'Barney is just the latest case', Peter started walking back to his lab. 'There had been a dozen more reported cases similar to Barney's in other branches of the MW Foundation.'
"What about the police?", Peter had asked, and Rebecca, the older lady working at the management, gave him a sad smile in return.
"Peter, Barney is a homeless person. GCPD won't write down a missing person's case if they are from the Narrows or the streets", was her reply.
'The worst part', Peter pondered, 'it's that, sadly, this is not something exclusive of this city.'
Back home, in New York, Peter had dealt with many cases like this, missing people, disappearing suspects and runaway victims. There, at least, he could count with some familiar faces to help out, to point him into the right direction or to protect the innocents as their own turfs.
He was in Gotham, now. No Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Misty Knight, heck, nor even that chain-smoking duck to help him out.
Could he ask the help of the Bats?
'Nah, their hands are already full with this whole Batman missing thing.'
The genius hero fixed his sight on Wayne Enterprises, the far off dark and imposing main headquarters of Bruce Wayne's empire.
Then he turned his head in the other direction, towards Gotham Park.
So he made his choice.
"'So sorry, Oracle, but your people will have to deal with the city by yourselves tonight. Something personal came up.'", the voice of Oracle came to their comm system, reciting the newer hero's message.
On top of the WE Building, four vigilantes had been waiting patiently for a reinforcement that would not be coming. The elder of the group scratched the back of his head, messing his black locks even more than the usual. "That sucks", was his simple reply.
"Tt, I told you we shouldn't trust him.", came the complaint of the youngest one of the group, the frowning face of Robin staring at the back of his oldest 'brother', Nightwing. "It's clear Spider-Man doesn't take The Mission seriously."
"Wow, Little D!", came the much more cheerful female voice of the heroine sitting at the edge of the building. "You've been practicing B's speeches lately? Just saying, without the gruffness, you sound more like a kid that is missing his naptime…"
"Don't make me push you off this roof, Brown!"
"So want to see you try, Birdie!", she retorted in glee.
Nightwing was aware of how their tempers were at the moment, so he let Stephanie goad Damian into a discussion, her usual way to break the slightly more troubling silence the younger hero had kept for hours.
Also ignoring their squabble, Red Robin neared his older brother. "He is not coming."
"Maybe it's something serious", Nightwing shrugged. "You know how it is."
"I do", Red Robin agreed. "But still, you will be going out solo. If you want, one of us…"
The taller man gave him a mock punch to the shoulder. "What? Please, I've been patrolling this city for years, then Blüdhaven! You three are the ones having to deal with subways and sewers. Besides, I'm not flying completely solo, Kane is at the South and Docks, Cass will be interrogating gangs up North, Jay will be haunting the Narrows…"
"But that leaves you with most of Downtown and Eastside.", Damian suddenly interjected, his short discussion already forgotten. The younger teen schooled his features into an annoyed expression. "You won't be efficient without reinforcements."
Nightwing ruffled his youngest brother's hair, to his successor's much more honest exasperation. "Aww! Thanks for worrying about me, D!"
"Tt!"
"I'm cool, honest!"
"What about the spider-dropout?", asked Batgirl, by Robin's side.
"To be frank, I am starting to think the guy is actively avoiding me? Like, seriously, I miss him on my routes all the time? Even when I do the daytime shift?"
"Not even mentioning how Hood has been insufferably smug these last few days.", added Red Robin.
"Oh, Timmy, you are just annoyed because your profiling was wrong and that made you lose our 'bet'…", Batgirl sing-song while poking her former boyfriend's cheek.
"Black Bat interfered with my predictions, they were on point…"
"Losers make excuses, winners make espresso with great Italian coffee beans!"
"That's not how the quote goes, Steph, and I'll have my espresso machine back."
"Wanna bet on it?", she smirked in defiance. "Say, your Belgian slow drip coffee machine?"
"You don't even like coffee!", Red Robin added, in a low growl.
"For your information, me and Cass have been enjoying our espressos lately… they taste like… victory."
"Come on, you two", Nightwing stopped their antics before they wasted any more time. "It's going to be a grimy night in the sewers already without all the trash talk."
The younger heroes stared at their senior with expressionless faces, while he fought off a smile from surfacing.
"Grayson.", came Damian's reply, the disappointment in that single word almost palpable.
"That was…" "Awful.", came Batgirl and Red Robin's comment, as if rehearsed.
It was Oracle's sigh on the comm that finally broke Nightwing's posture. "... it sounded better in my mind?", he tried to justify.
"You just mad that I told everyone Spider-Man is a better quipper, aren't you?", came Steph's conclusion.
"I'll confirm nothing."
Hours later, in the middle of the night, a man walked towards Gotham Park, all by himself.
He had taken the least illuminated streets, following at a distance some homeless men and women walking in a group and evidently in a hurry.
The man never missed the group from sight, even when he had to stop and discreetly knock out a tire thief while stalking his targets, his identity hidden from the world by a dark wool cap and disposable surgical mask.
The group quickly ran into the dark woods area, away from the normal path used during the day by joggers and by absolutely no one at night hours.
The man fixed his black gloves and dark jacket, adjusted the cap and mask, gave one last look around, then walked fearlessly into the darkness.
"You sure this is safe, Willis?"
The least ragged person in the group gave the woman a dubious look. "You think I'd be going into this if I wasn't, Mari?"
Marion huffed, fixing her ratty scarf. "Just saying, anything good in Gotham is always too good."
"Aye, I'm with Marion here", said the youngest of them, a dark skinned man in his late fifties. "This ain't one of those… freaks, is it?"
"Newton, this is my third time coming! Quẩy! Ask Celia, she's been there before, right, Celia?"
The blonde white haired senior nodded. "They just talks and brings food. More talks than food, but I don't complain. The Father is weird, I admit..."
"Father? Like church?", asked Marion. "I don't like this, Willis."
"Woman!", Willis almost shouted in annoyance. "So what? I know the place is weird, but it's just some Bible-thumping, then a 'God loves you' here, 'Repent your sins' there, then we get water bottles and sandwiches!"
"And apples!", Celia added.
"And apples.", Willis nodded as he pointed to the blond.
Marion went quiet for a moment. "I hasn't had apples in a long time."
Newton scratched his chin in thought. "If that's all, I see no harm."
Still chatting, the four hadn't noticed their secret shadow, following them from a distance.
"You guys hungry?", asked the black clad hero, a blue bird logo emblazoned on his chest, smashing his two eskrima sticks on both sides of his opponent's head. "Have a club sandwich!"
"Nightwing?", came the voice in his ears.
"One second, O", Nightwing faced the other burglar, then, with a smirk, quickly rushed forward and gave a quick and fierce blow to the man's left knee, making the man crumble and yell in pain. "Oh, did that hurt? Good thing you guys decided to break into a health clinic, then! Boy, you sure were smart!"
A quick swipe of a martial stick and the second burglar fell down unconscious.
"Report?", his ex-girlfriend and long time companion's voice returned.
"First hour, criminal activity number eight, just two nobodies trying to make a score in Lewis Street's clinic."
"I heard a gunshot, Dick."
"Nah, just blanks", he noted, picking up the small handgun off the floor. "You know, I can't even remember the last time I caught someone carrying blanks."
"Things change, 'Boy Wonder'.", Oracle's voice came with a hint of sadness. "Talk to me, Dick."
"Nothing wrong", a flip of the wrists and the eskrima sticks fell into place on his back harness. "What's next on tonight's playlist, Babs?"
"Dick", her tone was much more serious than before, he realized. "You are doing that again. Closing yourself off. You are not Bruce. Talk."
"Or what?", he asked in defiance. A moment passed. Then another. Shoulder slumping, the hero finally took a breath. "... sorry. You know me too well. I sometimes forget how you were always the smartest in the field, when it comes to reading my mood or the 'big man's'. Remember Santa Prisca?"
"Yes, I do", came her reply. "Also, poor attempt at deflection."
Nightwing gave a small chuckle in return. "Well, I'm not okay, I admit it. I'm worried about Bruce, sure, and the Spider-guy brushing us off was annoying…"
"But it's neither of those things."
"Nope", he confirmed. "It's just that… Babs, was it a mistake to leave?"
Silence.
"... those days, you and Bruce were not in a good place.", came his old partner's voice, at a calm and steady pace. "You left Gotham… to find yourself, and I get that... now. Back then, I felt hurt, we all did, but we are much more experienced now. We grew from that, learned from our mistakes."
"I know. It's just… I'm seeing it all happen again, you know? I come back to Gotham to check on things, just to find B going back to his old habits. He has barely been going out with a partner, he left me under disguise for a week in the Asylum, he started wearing the Bat-Cave contact lenses, then suddenly this Gotham Initiative project he kept all to himself, almost getting murdered the next day and does he want my help for the investigation? No, he... goes on hunting all around Gotham, while Jay and Cass dealt with the AnarKings resurgence by themselves, and even when the newbie appeared, he did not drop things to meet him. Then, he disappears, without trace or trackers. How could Batman get kidnapped, Babs?"
"This is not the first time it has ever happened, Dick."
"Oh, I know! And you know what is going to happen next, he is going to reappear, soon, and then he will be brooding because he made a mistake, and he is the goddamn Batman, he cannot make mistakes! He is going to push us away, like he always does, inconsiderate of how it will affect all of us."
A dark expression formed on the vigilante's face.
"The first time he did that, it broke me. You are right, I had to find myself, but I should not have had to do that because I got pushed away. And then, there are the others! Tim is always shouldering more responsibilities to prove himself worthy enough, Stephanie lost more than we can imagine to the cause and still returned to it, to him, Cass' whole overcoming of her childhood came from Bruce's ideals and Damian, for all his bravado, is still a little boy who adores his father. Even Duke is so…"
"What about me?", came Barbara's voice, not Oracle's. He could always recognize the shift of tone.
"What about you? You jumped back into the saddle after… what happened. You always were the steadiest of us all."
"And Jason?", she asked back.
"Jay hates…", Nightwing stopped and sighed. "No, that moron still loves B, no matter how antagonizing he can act. But Jay has always been a survivor. Not even the beyond could stop him from getting back to life."
"To us. Jason came back to us, Dick. Messed up and furious, but he came back to us."
Oracle's voice returned. "Listen to me, Dick, and listen well. We are strong but not invincible. We - you, me, the big man, Alfred - we dealt since the beginning with the worst of this City, and we survived. We stumbled, we fell, we… got hurt, but we learned. We learned the most important lesson, we take care of each other in this family."
Then the candor of his best friend. "You left us in the past, true, but you returned. And whatever happens now or in the future, the Family will be there for all of us, even for the Big Bad Batman himself, no matter how much he tries to huff and brood in a corner."
"... did I mention lately how you're the smartest of us?"
"It's good that you remember my badassery.", he could hear her smirk from the earphones. "Possible gang activity, three blocks south from you. Also several narcotics exchanges are being reported on the Eastside. I can ask Batwoman to help you out on the first one."
"Nah, Kate has her hands full enough, and I'm already close. Keep an eye on the Eastside's situation for me, though, I'll get there in thirty minutes."
"Don't stretch yourself too thin, Dick."
"I'll be fine, mom!", the hero mock-whined, leaving the store, but then added, much more fondly. "But thanks for worrying."
"Always."
The man slowly came into the clearing, at least four dozen people had already gathered there, including the recently arrived group he had been following.
Some people were moving about, picking up boxes and various camping stuff from nearby parked cars and setting them up in a corner, everything appearing to had been just set into place and just as ready to be packed away in minutes.
Cautiously, the newcomer fixed his jacket and got near a man, long nose and whiskered mustache, setting up a foldable camping table.
"Need help?", the recent arrival asked.
"No, friend! Everything's in order", replied the man. "First time?"
"Yeah, that obvious?"
"That's all right, been like you myself, once. Name's Jenner", he said, offering a hand.
"... Ben", came the man's unsure reply.
"Ben, huh?", Jenner asked, with a raised eyebrow. "What's your story, Ben? How did you get here?"
'Ben' adjusted his cap, fidgeting. "I stayed for a time at Martha Wayne's. near Downtown. Met a guy there, Barney, know of him?"
The man's face lightened up at that. "Oh, Barney? Yeah, I know the guy, nice man, I think he is late, but he never misses.", then the 'Rat Man' gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry now, we are not like the shelter. Father Joe is one of the good guys."
'Ben' nodded, a hint of surprise in his eyes. "... good to know."
'Okay, where the heck did I end up?'
Peter Parker had some suspicions over what could be scaring Barney, but never would he have guessed what appeared to be… a Church's midnight charity work.
'Then Ratface there came and I almost blew it, I have to calm down or they'll sniff me out!'
At least he had confirmed a clue about Barney. Unfortunately, the four people he had followed had already joined another group, leaving the hero in disguise with little option but trying to mingle with those who were new like him, or maybe the guys who were working around setting some plastic coolers around the newly set tables.
'Let's see, there's Jenner, or Ratface, then… Eye-Patch dude?', he noted the red bearded man, tall and strong, carrying a heavy box with a limp. 'Let's call him Pirate, right, and… the living dead?", and there was a third one, watching over the crowd, gaunt physique, grayish skin and disheveled short hair. 'Yeah, just Zombie.'
Said Zombie was distributing several handfuls of brochures, which were then being passed along by those present at the meeting.
'And what about this whole thing about not trusting the shelter? Or that nowhere was safe? These people don't look afraid.'
In fact, Peter noticed, aside from some who were understandably eager or anxious, the majority was… content.
Blissfully so.
Unfortunately, as Peter finally could spot the older man he had been searching for tonight, there was a new commotion, with excited claims of the arrival of a certain Father Joe.
Author's Notes:
Thanks for the support and the patience, and I hope you guys enjoy the next chapter as well!
Sad news, after some personal family loss, I decided to stop this fic's weekly update to focus more in my personal life.
I'll be aiming for a two weeks schedule, and see if it's healthier for me.
Hope you all understand and accept my feelings on the matter.
Next Chapter: it's always darker before the dawn, and the arrival of the white knight of Gotham!