Chapter 8

DC Universe – Earth Prime

Gotham City

Mac Gargan, AKA the scorpion was sitting across from Alexei Sytsevich eyeing his comrade with suspicion as he carefully moved one of his pawns. They'd been playing chess a lot since they found a board and a (mostly complete) set of pieces in the abandoned apartment building, they were laying low in.

The several pieces that were missing were replaced by a couple of substitutes but, all things considered, it was good way to kill the time as they waited for their other ally, Jackson Brice, AKA Montana, AKA the Shocker to return from his supply run.

Gargan was surprised to find out that the Rhino was actually pretty good at chess considering how much of a meathead he was. Perhaps he was playing purely instinctually, or perhaps there was a decent tactician hidden somewhere below his three brain cells.

Nevertheless, they were tied right now, and this game would be the decider, until the next one.

It was their first day in this strange city since their arrival the night before and as luck would have it, they were in the rougher area of this so-called 'Gotham'. Meaning they were able to quickly find a decrepit crack den where they could remain hidden while they got their bearings. Much to the fear and surprise of the addicts inside, whom they mostly ignored.

By now the poor souls had all fled the premises, save for a couple of the more catatonic specimens, thankfully they would most likely consider the otherworldly occupants as some kind of shared hallucination, the result of the many substances plaguing their bodies.

"I do not like all this waiting…" Rhino spoke in his thick Russian accent.

Scorpion stared at the rhino as he moved the Batman figurine that they were using in place of a rook, "Neither. But we don't exactly blend in…"

Gargan was no happier than his villain in arms but had reluctantly compromised to allow Montana take point in this world, being that he was the only one capable of slipping through the streets unnoticed.

"Ha! Why must we 'blend' we could crush our way through this city in search of the others."

"You need to learn subtlety at some point, Rhino. One of these days you're gonna' get ya' horn stuck somewhere it doesn't belong, and I won't be there to bail you out."

"Pah. I do not need you to bail me. You are the one in need of bailing…" Alexei moved his knight and trapped the Hello Kitty keychain that represented Gargan's queen.

"Hmmm… Good move." Scorpion responded through gritted teeth, frustrated at the possibility he might lose to Rhino yet again.

The door to the small apartment opened and Gargan entered wearing his civvy clothes with a baseball cap and sunglasses.

"I got news. One good, two bad." The shocker spoke as he threw the bag of fast food, labelled 'Big Belly Burger' on the table next to the chess board.

He looked at his allies who were staring at him expectantly, "The good news is, it seems like our cash works here, wherever this is… The bad: we're broke, that was the last of ma' spare change."

Brice placed the tray of coffees down next to the food that Scorpion and Rhino had begun divvying up between themselves. Scorpion taking a bite from a, surprisingly good, cheeseburger before he looked back at Brice.

"The other bad news?"

"The Spider's here, alright. Been makin' a name for 'imself already."

He threw the newspaper he'd been carrying under his armpit to the other two, landing on the table as the front page of the 'Gotham Gazette' became visible to all of them. Big bold letters stating: 'WHO IS THE SPIDERMAN?'.

"Heh. They spell his name wrong." Rhino chuckled to himself as he took a hefty bite out of his burger, looking back at the other two who were staring at him curiously "What? There is supposed to be dash between 'Spider' and 'Man', no?"

Gargan rolled his eyes at the brute as he looked back to the Shocker, "So, where do we go from here… I'm sick of sitting around with this moron."

Rhino growled at the remark, to which Shocker interjected, "Easy now, big fella. This might not be all bad… Word on the street is, there are other players in this here town that might want the Spider dead. Not all publicity is good publicity."

"Hmmm?" Gargan grunted with curiosity at the response.

"Look. We ain't heard nothing from the Doc or the others yet. Hell, we don't even know if they survived! As far as we know, it's just us… But I'm gonna' go out again tonight. Get a lay of the land… Just read the paper, he pissed off someone with deep pockets apparently. We might be able to make a deal. Catch us a Spider and squish 'im for good."

The three men looked at each other, a sick grin on each of their faces.

Several days later…

Gotham City Streets

Spider-Man was weaving out of the way of a flurry of slashes by a knife wielding combatant. The thug was untrained and sloppy, not knowing where he was swinging, his attacks reeked of desperation. In some ways it made him more dangerous than a professional, not to Peter but to everyone else, there was a higher chance of collateral damage to the wielder himself or others.

"Seriously, guys? You're like the..." He paused as he counted with his fingers, still weaving out of the way of the slashes, "sixth group trying to kill me this week! I'm trying not to take it personally but, I can't lie, it breaks my itsy-bitsy Spider heart a little more every time. A guy has feelings, ya' know?"

Spider-Man grabbed the goons arm while he quipped, before twisting and throwing him over his shoulder into another thug running at him with knuckle dusters, knocking them both down.

"Well, look on the Brightside. You must be getting better at avoiding assassination attempts by now…" Batgirl called over to Peter as she kicked a gun out of another goon's hand who was preparing to take aim at Gotham's newest vigilante.

"A very generous use of the word 'assassination' there. Either way though, it wasn't really a skill I was all that interested in perfecting, if I'm honest!" As Peter was riffing with his friend, he was mid leap.

He curved in the air and shot an electric web at the two prone would-be assassins who were scrambling to their feet. Their progress halted as waves of static electricity coursed through them, stunning them both as their muscles spasmed against the current.

He landed on top of a streetlamp and webbed both the spasming goons, yanking them up before attaching the line to the post, leaving them dangling several feet in the air off the light.

"It can't hurt to stay ahead of the curve, think how good it would look on your resume!" Batgirl replied, finishing off the opponent she disarmed with a quick punch to the gut followed by an elbow to the face.

She cuffed the goon to the handle of a dumpster in the alley, leaving him for pick up from the GCPD whom the Batcave had already alerted. She started walking towards her spandex clad friend who deftly flipped off the post. Waving to the waiting traffic as he landed, indicating they could go about their business uninterrupted now.

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll look great, I can see it now: 'Mr Spider-Man, it says here you're an expert at avoiding assassination, please tell us, why should we hire someone who has such a large target on his back?' What do I say in response? I'm popular?"

"You say: 'It shows I'm a very valuable member of society, 200K at least!'" Batgirl chuckled slightly as she spoke.

"False Face 'Society', maybe… Jury's still out on regular society…" Peter replied as he looked at driver of the car who had just started moving again, she was eyeing with curiosity mixed with mild annoyance at the inconvenience of the traffic jam, "…Wait two hundred? I thought it was only one!"

"Word from Catwoman is Mask has doubled the price… You know, since everyone who's gone after you has ended up behind bars. Plus, the whole, you and Red Robin stopping one of his drug operations the other night…"

Peter thought on that night, it was the first time he had met Tim and all in all he seemed like a nice kid. There was an oddity about the Batfamily in that almost all of them aside from the Bat himself, and the current Robin who seemed far too cocky for his age, were overwhelmingly friendly.

Perhaps the result of encountering Bruce's more self-destructive tendencies first hand for much of their adolescence, or perhaps even Bruce subconsciously surrounding himself with proteges that were more optimistic than himself.

Ignoring the thought he responded to Batgirl, "Damn, I'm worth 200K and I'm still brok- Look out!" Before Peter finished his sentence, he shoved Batgirl back sending her flying a few feet before she landed unceremoniously on the floor.

Peter leapt into a black flip as a bullet sliced through the air, grazing his suit and nothing more. He whipped his head to the roof tops searching for a sniper as the sound of gunfire finally caught up. Cracking through the cold night air.

The time between bullet and noise signifying a very impressive range far beyond even the best snipers.

Batgirl sat up and dusted herself as she quickly jumped back to her feet also searching for the source of the gunshot. She saw a brief flicker, blocks away, too far for anyone other than a select handful of people. People that would prove to be more of a hassle than the common thugs they'd been dealing with thus far.

In the distance, the sniper looked through his scope at his target as they landed, "Impressive reflexes, kid." Floyd Lawton, Deadshot spoke aloud to himself. Pulling back the bolt of his gun and readying another shot, as he fixed the spider themed target in his sites again, "Let's see if that was fluke."

Spider-Man ducked as a second bullet sailed for his head, embedding itself in the wall behind him. Before he had time to continue searching for the sniper another shot rang through the air, Peter barely twisting in time to avoid it. The sounds delay again meaning Peter was acting purely on reflex from his own senses without any audible warnings.

Batgirl, clearly aware she wasn't the target and was safe for the time being yelled to Peter, "Spider-Man, 10 o'clock! Don't get too close and wait for me! If this is who I think it is, this could be tricky."

Spider-Man nodded before he leapt onto the wall of the building behind him, Batgirl was patching herself, and Peter, into, what she assumed must be Floyd Lawton's, comms frequency, "Is that you Deadshot?" She asked into her earpiece.

Spider-Man, still constantly dodging had spotted the glimmer of a sniper scope, 'Damn, that's far! Who does this 'Deadshot' guy think he is? Bullseye?' and was scaling the building behind him to get a better vantage point for approach.

"Batgirl? How did you-? You know what, doesn't matter. So, you're back, huh? Good for you, last I heard you were out of commission. What happened to the blonde Batgirl, though. Did she retire, or something?"

"Or something, she's fine. We both are thanks for asking. As nice as this small talk is, though, you wanna' explain why you're trying to blow my friend's head off?"

"Come on, kid. You know there's about two hundred thousand answers to that question."

Batgirl saw as Spider-Man, ahead in the distance, had begun rapidly moving toward his attacker, still twisting and curling out of the way of the barrage of sniper shots aimed at him while he swung through the city streets. She had also reached a nearby rooftop and was running across it, readying her grapple gun for another shot.

"It was mostly a rhetorical question. But isn't this a little small time for you? Bit high risk, low reward if you ask me, did you miss having a bomb in your head or something? how much do you wanna' go back to Belle Reve?"

"Eh. Not that big of a risk. Besides, I'm between gigs at the moment. A man's still gotta' eat you know. Hey what the-!"

As Floyd's target was slowly getting closer, he was preparing to adjust his aim, only to see as Spider-Man aimed his hand directly at him. The barrel of is gun was suddenly and violently encased in webbing and the impact was enough to vibrate through Floyd's entire upper body.

He quickly jumped back from his rifle and took aim with his right arm cannon, firing shots at Spider-Man who managed to flip and evade all of them, barely. Landing on the water tower above Floyd's location.

"Not a big risk? Dude! You've missed like all of your shots…" Spider-Man spoke as he stuck to the side of the tower.

Deadshot kept his aim on Spider-Man, his wrist guns fixed on his position, temporarily ceasing his fire as he replied, "I don't miss. You dodged them, game recognises game, kid. You've got some good reflexes."

Spider-Man flipped to the roof, landing opposite Deadshot as he spoke, "Thanks. But like, if none of your shots hit their target: AKA me, bit annoyed by that by the way, you still missed, by definition, you missed. A lot."

"All of my bullets landed exactly where I wanted them to, the target was avoiding their path, there's a difference."

"Oh, my bad! I'll just stand still next time and let you hit me! It's not my fault you can't hit a moving target. With a name like Deadshot, I would expect the shots to make me more, you know… Dead."

"Listen, kid. I was only gonna' kill you but keep talking and I'll have to kneecap you as well. Let's be professional here."

As Spider-Man saw Batgirl was quickly nearing their location, he muttered under his breath "Yeah, like you could even hit my knee…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"Sure, hold still, kid." Deadshot aimed his gauntlet direct at Peter's head and prepared to fire.

Batgirl by this point was on the ledge of building opposite, ending her sprint as her eyes went wide, noticing something Peter hadn't. This was a trap. Before she could speak Peter had begun moving.

Peter was running at Deadshot as he fired, ducking under the bullet as it sailed above his head. Floyd smiling under his mask as the new hero did exactly what he had hoped he would.

"Spider-Man, wait!" Barbara's voice was drowned out by the crack of the gun shot.

As the bullet continued on its path it hit its mark, a small black puck, designed for trick shots was attached to the side of the building behind Peter. The bullet's trajectory shifted, and it returned diagonally across the rooftop they were on.

A small black stand was attached to the ledge, propping up another trick shot puck. In fact, there were several dotted about, but Peter hadn't noticed them as he was too busy focusing his attention on the shooter.

The bullet flew into the other puck, bounced off, and began flying towards Spider-Man, its trajectory aimed directly at the side of Peter's chest. Noticing his spider-sense, he stopped in his tracks and leant back, the bullet grazing the flesh of his chest as it tore through his suit before finally embedding itself into the wall opposite.

He jumped back in surprise, holding his chest as a searing, burning pain ran through him. Blood beginning to trickle from the cut the bullet had left as it ripped his skin off while soaring through the air. It wasn't a deep cut thankfully, but it still hurt like hell.

"I told you. I don't miss. My bullets land exactly where I want them to… Still though, I really thought I had you with that one."

"You set all this up because you knew I would come here? I'd be impressed if it wasn't so… meticulous. Oh boy, you really need to get a hobby; it can't be healthy to put this much effort into murder…"

Peter and his newfound adversary were talking amongst a barrage of bullets being aimed all about the roof, causing Peter to constantly shift, twist, turn and dodge from their intersecting paths.

"I'm not a fan of the 'M' word, I kill people for money, that's my job, kid. 'Murder' is accurate I guess, but makes it sound like I get some kind of sick kick from all this… I don't. I'm just a professional. So don't take it personally. I don't." While he was speaking, Batgirl had begun her own ranged assault on Deadshot.

Barely looking away, Deadshot raised his arm to the side and fired three shots. The bullets deflected the three batarangs that were flying towards him, and he turned to face Batgirl who was mid-leap, between the rooftops.

Deadshot fired another three bullets at three different pucks around him and Spider-Man felt his sense blaring again as he twisted to avoid the bullets. Avoiding two entirely with the other again just grazing his flesh as he felt a burning pain on his shoulder, as the bullets kept coming, their constant intersections making them harder to dodge.

"Oh sure! Let's not call the professional killer a 'murderer' cause' it hurts his feelings!" 'Damn! It's getting harder to keep up with these…' Spider-Man quipped as he flipped and twisted his body in response to even more bullets bouncing around him as Deadshot fired several more times in different directions.

Peter was stuck in a dance on the roof, unable to find an opening to leap above the danger zone he had inadvertently landed himself in.

Deadshot finally aimed his arm at Bargirl as she landed on the roof next to him, quickly taking a swing at him which he narrowly avoided as he spoke, "Hey, Batgirl! Look I don't wanna' have to fight you as well, just lemme' kill the Spider and then I'll be on my way."

As he spoke, he continued to block and duck out of the way of her attacks before managing to take a few steps back and give himself some distance before firing five more shots in five different directions.

Spider-Man who was just preparing to charge at Deadshot after more acrobatics, now had to yet again keep his body in constant flux as he tried his best to avoid the five bullets that were bouncing around him. 'Great… I feel like sitting duck here…'

"Ooooh tempting… Lemme' think about that one…" Batgirl responded as she continued her attack.

"It's gonna' be a 'no', isn't it?" Floyd replied as he fired four more times from each of his gauntlets while manoeuvring his way out of Batgirl's attacks.

"How'd you guess?" Batgirl's reply was chipper and taunting in its sarcasm.

Batgirl was aware that none of the shots were aimed at her, only Peter. Deadshot wouldn't want to risk collateral for such a small payout, it wouldn't be worth the trouble, especially if that collateral was a member of the Batfamily.

She also knew she'd be safe as, while on the other rooftop, she had quickly surveyed the area that Floyd had laid out and had noted that the trick shot targets only covered a certain section of the roof. Meaning there was a safe zone that Lawton could fire from without having to avoid any of his own bullets.

Considering she didn't possess Peter's superhuman reflexes, she needed to make sure she avoided the danger zone completely, because even as she surveyed the rooftop and had managed to map all possible trajectories of the bullets in her head, she would still struggle to avoid them without Spider-Man's speed.

Spider-Man had managed to avoid seven of the total eight bullets that were currently whipping around him from all directions. The final one puncturing the upper part of his left leg as it entered his limb and embedded itself there with a stab of intense, gripping pain. Peter fell to one knee in anguish as he landed and let out a small cry of frustration and stinging.

Pete had been shot before, a few times, but he still never enjoyed the experience, he looked to Deadshot who had paused his gunfire as he was fighting Batgirl hand-to-hand. He definitely knew how to keep up, but Batgirl was slowly gaining the upper hand. And more importantly had given Peter time to react himself.

The mercenary called out, "I told you I'd put one in your knee!", ducking out of the way of Batgirl's leg as he yelled.

"Seriously, dude. That… Nngh," Peter's bullet wound ached as he considered its position, "was my upper thigh! Ergo, you missed. Again! …ow. Still hurts, though."

Floyd watched and examined Spider-Man's leg as he pulled himself to his feet "Damn! Has anyone ever told you, you're a very annoying arachnid to kill?"

"Actually, no… Everyone else says 'bug'. You're the first person to get it right. I'm… I'm touched." Spider-Man was wobbling slightly on his weak leg, before he leapt towards Deadshot and Batgirl, capitalising on the distraction that kept him unable to fire anymore shots.

Floyd, starting to feel the mounting pressure of his situation, aimed his arm at the red and blue figure flying towards them only to see his gauntlet destroyed by a batarang being stabbed into the barrel of his arm cannon.

He looked at Batgirl, annoyance under his mask, as he fired three more shots at Spider-Man with his other arm, which the hero twisted away from. While firing he was also preparing to send a kick at Batgirl.

However, Deadshot realised too late that Batgirl had already read his move and had already begun to attack low, causing Floyd to fall onto his back as his legs were swept out from under him. He quickly shifted his aim, and the barrel of his arm cannon found itself aimed directly at Batgirl's face as she paused mid strike.

She eyed Floyd's mask before looking at the barrel which was pointed right between her eyes. Using the distraction, he followed her example and kicked out her legs, causing her to lose balance. Floyd rolled across the floor of the roof. Narrowly avoiding the bottom of Spider-Man's foot as he landed where Deadshot's chest used to be.

As the assassin pulled himself to his feet, he fired a couple more pot shots at the young hero. Spider-Man dodging them all, annoyingly casually, before shooting a webline to Deadshot's only working arm cannon and yanking, snatching the gauntlet off his wrist and making him stumble a couple feet forward.

Unfortunately for Floyd, he staggered directly into the leg of Batgirl, who had likewise managed to get back on her feet. She delivered a harsh kick to his chest knocking him backwards into the ledge behind him. He caught his breath, as he used the ledge to right himself and in a last-ditch effort, he quickly drew his last ranged weapon, his pistol.

He was feverishly aiming between the two heroes who stood opposite him. A couple of bullets behind them were still whizzing about the danger zone before eventually losing their momentum, falling to the ground, impotently.

"Last chance, Batgirl. Walk away… Let me finish my job." He now kept his gun fixed on Spider-Man and his eyes on Batgirl.

Spider-Man was shocked by the confidence in Deadshot's tone, "Seriously? Come on, man… You really thin-"

Spider-Man was silenced by Batgirl as she looked to him with focus and raised her hand, communicating for him to stop talking and trust her, a motion he had grown used to by now, especially since it was no longer coated with the disdain of their first meeting. "Listen, Floyd… Is this really worth it? The chances of you winning this are getting pretty slim… Sure, you could maybe kill Spider-Man…"

"Hey!" Peter interrupted.

She looked at him with mild annoyance but mostly ignored the comment, "Again, emphasis on the maybe… But then what? You escape? Still not guaranteed…"

She continued, Floyd keeping his gaze on her as he listened carefully, "But let's say, hypothetically, you do. You know that I, and all the other Bat's in Gotham, wouldn't rest until we found you.

"Murder in our city is pretty frowned upon, ya' know. But hey, maybe you buy yourself some time. Hell, maybe you kill me as well… Do you really want Batman breathing down your neck for the rest of your life? For what, two-hundred grand? And again, that's the best case-scenario.

"Most likely we'll leave here mostly unscathed," She gesture to herself and Spider-Man as she spoke, "and you'll head back to Bell Reve to be Waller's lapdog. Again. So, what's it gonna' be? You wanna' give up the guns and we'll pretend we never saw you here…"

Deadshot considered her words for a moment, the cold chill of the December air whistling around them as time seemed to slow.

"Well? Anytime tonight, this wind is hurting my bullet hole!" Spider-Man asked as he used the brief respite from violence to concoct a makeshift bandage with his webs.

"Shut up, I'm thinking…" Floyd responded, snapping his head towards Spider-Man, before turning slowly back to face Batgirl who was looking at him expectantly, "I'm a professional. I have a reputation to uphold…"

"Did Mask give you a contract?" She asked, simply, directly.

"No. It's an open bounty you know that…"

"Then it doesn't matter, maybe you decided the money wasn't worth the hassle, no shame in that… Am I right?"

She was right, this was becoming more of a struggle than anticipated, especially for an open contract that was much lower than his normal contracted rate. At least that would be true if he hadn't only just escaped from under Waller's thumb, he actually could do with the money. It wasn't just his mouth that needed feeding...

He looked between the two young heroes as he considered his options, landing his eyes on Batgirl once more as he asked, "You being honest? About letting me go. Pretending I wasn't here."

"…Yes." There was a mild flicker of hesitation in her voice.

"You're a bad liar, kid." Deadshot responded as decided to take the risk, pulling the trigger and firing once more at Spider-Man.

Peter ducked out of the bullet's path as he lunged at the assassin, tackling him and sending them both over the edge of the building. As they fell, they crashed into the Christmas decorations that were hanging between the streetlamps, causing an explosion of festive light as their bodies destroyed several bulbs and tore the frame.

As they continued their descent they grappled, Spider-Man easily overpowering Deadshot, wrenching the gun from him and throwing it back to the roof, before catching them both with a webline. Swinging himself to the ground, he unceremoniously tossed the mercenary to across the road, shooting a barrage of webbing at the mercenary as he rolled, stopping his movement and fixing him to the street.

The mercenary was struggling against the webs grunting and writhing as he remained fastened to the floor. The late afternoon traffic stopping as the road became littered with a mercenary and the remains of the overhead decorations.

"Nggh. Ugh… Arrggh. Get this off of me, what even is this stuff? God, when I get out of this, I'm gonna-"

"Hey, don't take it personally! I'm just doing my job as a friendly neighbourhood, Spider-Man."

Deadshot stopped struggling before looking at Spider-Man and laughing, "Hahaha… I like you, kid. Fair play, you got me. I surrender. Damn! I really thought this would be an easy one… Guess I'm off my game."

"Or you just got outplayed?" Spider-Man offered.

"I admit. I underestimated you, so… You gonna' get me out of this stuff? Or What?"

"Depends. You gonna' admit you missed?"

"Not a chance…"

"Agree to disagree, I guess… But um, just to be safe I think I'll let you stay there for a while."

As Peter hobbled slightly to the side of the road, a car horn blared through the air, causing him a minor shock, "Like hell you are! Get him out of the road! And what do you think you're doing busting up the lights? What, you hate Christmas or something?" the voice of the disgruntled driver called out from their window.

Peter looked at the face, it was the same woman from earlier, "Great…" Peter sighed to himself as Batgirl rappelled down and landed next to him, they looked to each other before he responded to the woman, "Sorry! We won't be long. Also, for the record, I don't hate Christmas!"

Peter thought to himself, 'Although, I'm not really feeling the Christmas spirit right now…' his lack of festive mood most likely a result of the date having been April for him less than a week ago.

"Well, you've ruined mine!" The angry civilian called back.

"Okay, ma'am we apologise for the inconvenience, but let's not be dramatic. It's only December Eighth…" Batgirl responded, standing up for her ally.

The woman simply harumphed as she shook her head and rolled her window back up. Batgirl turned to Spider-Man and shrugged with sympathy before her expression became harsher. Her eyes, piercing his even behind their masks.

"I have a feeling you're annoyed at me…" Peter responded.

"You rushed in! Didn't even check the area, and you didn't wait for me, like I said! Come on, you said you've worked with a team before, so stop acting like a solo act! Nightwing said you did something similar last night… I know you're still pissed about the whole…"

"Spying?"

"Yeah… That. But you've gotta' try to trust us. We're only trying to help…"

"You're right… I'm sorry. I guess, it's been a while since I was on a team and now, I'm just too used to working with other Spider-People, we usually go off instinct. Our tingles… align." Peter shifted his head as he spoke, truly considering how weird of a statement that was.

"Well, um... I can't relate to the tingles… But instinct's good. But you have other senses you can rely on," She softened her expression and smiled, "Other people… Try to listen and communicate from now on, okay, for my sake at least?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sorry… I got ahead of myself, still not fully back on my game yet. This whole week has been a rollercoaster… Thanks for looking out for me…"

"No problem, how's the leg?"

"It's got a bullet in it."

She rolled her eyes and stared at him, he was slightly leant to the side, putting his weight on his other leg. It clearly hurt, understandably, but they both knew he was tougher than most people so for the time being he could carry on as long as he didn't push himself too far.

"I've had worse. It hurts a bit, but I'll be fine." Spider-Man eventually responded, sincerely.

"Good. Serves you right for being reckless…" She softly smiled as she playfully punched his shoulder.

A moment was held between them. One of comfort and ease in each other's presence. A smile on each of their faces, although only one could be seen, the energy of both was felt. It was a kind, merciful moment for them, one that took them both away from their many problems upon problems.

Floyd's voice shattered the sincerity of the comfort between them as he called out. "Ugh. This is making me nauseous... I can feel you two making puppy dog eyes at each other from here! Can, you please stop flirting and get me out of this shit already?"

Both the heroes straightened their postures, looked to Deadshot and then around them. The lady in the car staring at them with annoyance as she raised her arms in expectance. Both heroes' blushing under their masks, which thankfully for Peter, allowed him more privacy. Batgirl's rosy cheeks that were evident even under her half cowl.

"…Errr. Right. I'll get Deadshot… You got the lights?" Batgirl responded as she reached into her utility belt and pulled out one of the small vials of anti-web formula that Peter had given the Batfamily.

"Um. Yep. I got the lights. Lights are on me. Want the lights back, I'm your guy. Yes, siree bob, you got it." Peter turned away and began limping forward for a couple steps.

Peter leapt onto the lamppost, ignoring both the shooting pain that pinched his thigh as he landed, and the embarrassment that was causing a hot flush to course through his body.

He webbed up the debris of the decorations and, using his new longer lasting webs, tried his best to reassemble it. Sending a message to the Batcave to alert the city as soon as possible for repairs. After he had finished, he dropped softly down from a web, not wanting to strain his leg further. He was approached by Batgirl who was holding a cuffed Deadshot by the arms.

The events that followed consisted of allowing the traffic to resume on their journeys, a call to the GCPD for Floyd's pick up and eventually a quick bike ride back to the Batcave for debrief and medical attention.

Batgirl left the cave again shortly after dropping Peter off, to go back on Patrol while Alfred began tending to Peter's wounds, to which the younger man constantly protested, insisting he was fine.

As Peter sat there, unmasked and bandaged on his chest and shoulder, he gripped tightly to the arms of his chair as Alfred probed inside his leg with his tweezers. Finally wrestling the bullet out of Peter's leg and placing it in a metal basin.

"Jeez… Thanks for the help, but you could be a little gentler, Alfred."

"And you could be less of a baby Mr. Parker. I've heard more crying from you in the last five minutes than I have from anyone else here combined…" The older man replied, simply.

"Wow… I think that hurt more than the bullet."

"Chin up Mr. Parker," Alfred continued as he began to wrap several layers of bandages around Peter's leg, "It's refreshing that at least one person in this cave doesn't feel the need to put on a tough façade…" The British man cast a look over to Batman who ignored the comment and continued studying his computer screen.

"Heh. That's cause' I don't need a façade, I'm tough as nails…" Peter spoke as he beat his fist on his chest, immediately regretting the action as he thumped his other wound very hard. "*cough* Ow! Forgot about that one…" He began softly stroking his chest over the bandages trying to ease his self-inflicted sting.

Alfred simply smiled and begun collecting his utensils placing them on his metal trolley before beginning to pick up Peter's discarded costume, "Either way Mr. Parker. No Spider-Man for a few days while your wounds heal…"

"What? Hey! Come on I'll be fine in the morning. I told you I heal fast!"

"That's precisely why I'm not saying a few weeks."

"What come on, Alfred. I'm going to New York tomorrow. You gotta' let me swing about my hometown…Kinda, at least for a bit!" Peter hopped out of the chair and was hobbling around behind Alfred as he pleaded with him.

"That would have been a compelling argument if you were able to stand still and tell me…"

Peter fixed the older man with a stare of determination as he put his weight on his leg, wincing in anguish before trying to hide his pain with a visage of nonchalance, "See. I'm perfectly fine." He spoke through gritted teeth.

"As convincing as that display was, my decision is final. A weekend of rest will do you well…"

"What? Please. I swear it's not that bad. A little swing about this New York will be fine! You know, I once took down Taskmaster with a knife sticking out of my stomach!"

"Mr. Parker… All that anecdote does, is prove to me you haven't the best sense when it comes to healthy lifestyle choices."

A third voice called out, indignant and snide in tone, "I think you should let him."

"Thank you!" Peter responded, still looking at Alfred while gesturing towards the voice.

"It only allows him to prove his incapability farther…" The voice continued.

Peter turned to the person who spoke, 13-year-old Damian Wayne AKA Robin, and sneered at the young boy before stopping himself and thinking, 'He's a child Peter, don't stoop to his level…'.

"Okay. Ignore the second part of that statement…" Peter said as he looked back to Alfred, "Look I know my limits, I'm good. I can do a little exercise; I'll mostly be healed by tomorrow morning!"

"Enough, Peter." Batman finally spoke as both he and Robin began moving towards the Batmobile "Even if you weren't injured. I'm uncomfortable letting you run around another city without one of us to supervise."

Peter held back a look of disdain 'Supervise…'. He had only been here for a few days now and was thankful Batman was allowing him to continue being Spider-Man in Gotham, especially while he was on lookout for his villains.

But he'd be lying he said he didn't feel suffocated by the constant presence of at least one Batfamily member while he did his Spidey thing. It made him feel like less of his own hero and more like a sidekick to Nightwing, Red Robin, Batgirl or whoever else they would stick him with next.

Peter had been part of a team before, but as a leader of his peers, and he could still do his own thing every now and then. And sure, he had been partnering up with Miles a lot more lately, but that wasn't always the case. He was still mostly a solo act back home, but this week he'd felt less independence than he ever did even working with S.H.I.E.L.D.

As such he'd been extremely excited, among other more stressful emotions, about his upcoming weekend in New York. Not just because he could stay with Ben, or meet Teresa, but also because he could gain back a sense of freedom and do his own thing again without feeling Batman's breath on his neck.

"I'm starting to get real sick of everyone treating me like a child…"

"Have you considered not acting like a child?" Robin added as he walked past Peter, his tone harsh and severe.

"Have you considered not being a child?" Peter whipped his head to Robin and responded with mild annoyance "I mean seriously, he's like eight! Why is he allowed to go out on his own and I'm not? I've been Spider-Man for five years, and I know New York, it's my home. Even here..."

Batman stopped near Alfred and Peter and looked the younger man in his pleading eyes before speaking "Hmm. I'm too busy to argue this. Alfred, for all intents and purposes, he's your patient so it's your decision."

Peter was actually taken aback by how quickly Batman changed his tone, perhaps Spider-Man's actions this week had actually helped to convince the Dark Knight of Peter's competence as a hero. Bullet wounds notwithstanding but, considering that was actually his first real injury since his arrival here, there was a level of leniency.

Also, Peter had made it very clear he was only accepting the conditions from Batman as a means of showing good faith. He could obviously leave whenever and they would struggle to stop him, but seeing as Bruce, and Barbara as Oracle, had handled all the details of Peter's new identity in this world, essentially taking his doppelganger's place, he felt somewhat obligated to allow the supervision.

There was odd moral sensation within Peter about resuming the life of the other, deceased, Peter Parker. No matter how many times his 'Uncle Ben' told him that both he and Teresa, the latter more reluctantly, had agreed to the idea. Regardless of his own ethical concerns, he still felt an immense sense of gratitude to the Batfamily for sorting out his life is this new world.

Alfred was considering his options in this moment, staring unphased at Peter who was fixing him with desperation and a pitiful attempt at puppy dog eyes, pleading with the older man…

The next day Peter awoke early. His night dreamless yet again, as they had been ever since his first night in this universe. It was an odd sensation, unlike any normal dreamless sleeps, as in those rests, dreams most assuredly did happen, they were just unremembered.

But in this reality, it was as if his mind itself was incapable of producing any dreams, like they were locked away within a realm unto themself, one which he was barred from entering…

Nevertheless, he pushed away his ruminations as he stretched and yawned out the morning drowsiness. He felt up his leg and peeled of the bandages. The bullet hole had sealed itself fully and there was now a faint red mark where the wound had been.

It lightly stung but was mostly healed, within a day or two, the mark itself would be faint. A minor scar to join the growing gallery of cuts and marks across his body, symbols of history's battles.

Peter jumped out of bed and stood, testing his weight on his injury. Mild pain but nothing he was unfamiliar with, and so, after donning some clothes he casually strolled the halls. The mansion seemed mostly empty, it was about 9 AM and so most of the other occupants of Wayne Manor would either be resting from their nightly exploits, or already up and about.

After sorting himself some coffee and a quick breakfast he was casually scrolling his phone in the kitchen. After connecting his phone to this world's services a couple days ago, he finally had Wi-Fi and signal. But he still found an odd and grim fascination in checking his social media feeds, nearly all of the accounts he followed, along with his own, no longer existing.

Because of this Peter had a fresh online presence and used his off time to read up on the history of this world and its more prominent figures. Nearly all of them complete strangers to Peter's alien mind, but there was a weird sense of dark relief to find a lot of familiarity when it came to some celebrities and politicians, even the bad ones.

It was odd comparing the works of this world's figures compared to their doppelganger's back home, for example entire albums by Blink 182 that existed in this realm that were entirely non-existent his own.

Famous movies like the Lord of the Rings featuring a difference in casting, Peter shuddered when he found out that in this world Christopher Lee was cast as Gandalf while Ian McKellen played Saruman. 'Not sure how I feel about that… Gonna' have to check that out when I get time.'

As he mulled over his research into the pop culture of this society, Alfred entered the kitchen and sighed.

"Mr. Parker… Apologies, if I had known, you were awake I would have fixed you a proper breakfast." Although courteous there was a hint of frustration in his voice, as if he was disappointed Peter had fed himself.

"I appreciate it big Al. But I can sort myself out."

Alfred simply rolled his eyes at the repeated conversation; this was the third time Peter had 'sorted himself out' and Alfred was getting tired at his refusal to accept his help. His independence reminding him all too harshly of Bruce's own rejection of his services, at least before Alfred started 'insisting' in a not unthreatening matter to his surrogate son.

Changing the subject, the brit asked, "And how is our leg feeling today, Mr. Parker?"

"Leggy…" Peter saw the unamused expression on the butler's face and decided a demonstration was needed, "Look! I'm fine." Peter continued as he hopped off his stool and started jumping up and down to communicate his healed status.

"Hmmm… Wobbly jumps aside, I suppose I'll just have to take your word for it. Your suit is in the Batcave, repaired and cleaned. You'll need it for your appointment with Dr Palmer."

"And…?"

Alfred sighed out a reluctant response, "And New York… Against my better judgement."

"Yes! Thanks Alfie, you're the best!" Peter raised his hand to the older gentlemen for a high five to which Alfred simply stared, stone faced.

Peter clicked his fingers and turned his upturned palm into a finger gun, pointing at Alfred as he spoke, "Got it, we aren't there yet… That's cool."

Alfred let out yet another sigh, a noise which was becoming all too familiar to him any time he interacted with the young 'Mr. Parker', "I have some other errands to run today so I doubt I will see you before your departure for New York. I hope you enjoy your weekend with your family and please try to get some rest. For the sake of my sanity at the very least…"

"You got it! See ya' later, Jarvis" Peter called as he began to exit the kitchen, Batcave bound.

"And if you could refrain from calling me 'Jarvis' that would be appreciated." Alfred called out to the young man who was already some distance into the hallway.

"Never gonna' happen!" Peter called back as he continued towards the Batcave entrance.

Before he reached the piano where he mostly entered the cave from, Peter realised something annoying, he had yet again forgotten the sequence of keys needed to enter Batman's base of operations. So quickly turning on his heel he approached the one room where he knew another of the manor's occupants would be.

When he approached the door, he heard muffled giggles and talking from two voices of decidedly opposing genders. Hesitating for a moment as he considered finding another way in, he eventually conceded to himself and knocked lightly at the door.

"Hey Tim… Sorry but, you got a moment?" He called as he knocked.

The voices stopped for a moment before the door swung open and Peter was met by a face that definitely wasn't Tim's.

The young girl who opened the door was blonde and smiled as she greeted a very befuddled looking Peter, "Hi! You must be Peter, right? I've heard a lot about you."

"Eh heh… Hi. And umm, you must be Stephanie? Tim and the gang have told me about you, Spoiler, right?"

"Yep! That's me, nice to finally meet you, Spider-Man! Gotta' say I saw some of the videos, I like your moves." She beamed as she stuck her hand out to his, inviting him to shake it.

As he reciprocated the invitation and shook her hand he replied, "Same here, about meeting you I mean, can't say I've seen much of what you can do, sorry…"

"No stress, you'll find out on Monday anyways…"

"Why what's happening Monday?"

"I'm gonna' be on Spider duty." She smiled brightly as she spoke.

'Spider duty, like they take turns babysitting me… I need to talk to Batman about this, I'm Starting to feel insulted now. I mean I'm my own hero! Plus, I'm older than Tim and Steph, and I'm the one being Spidey-sat?'

"Oh… Right. Well, looking forward to it I guess," He was being polite, in truth he was quite aggravated at the prospect of still being under probation, especially when his 'Spidey-sitter' was a full three years his junior, "anyway sorry to interrupt but can I borrow Timmy boy for a bit?"

Stephanie read his apprehension, she didn't take it personally, it must be annoying constantly being under watch in this city, especially if Spider-Man had been his own hero for five years like she had heard.

"Sure thing, man. What do you need." Tim spoke as he approached the other two, holding his fist out to Peter to which the older hero dapped.

"Nothing major I just umm…"

"Forgot the code, again?"

"Heh… Yeah, got too many other things in this here brain o' mine. I'm sure I'll remember it this time." He probably wouldn't.

"Hey, it's no stress, I get it… Let's go." Tim replied, optimistically as he gave Steph a quick kiss to the cheek before leading Peter down the hall.

"Nice meeting you, Peter! I'll see you later!" Steph called out as she observed the other two moving through the hallway.

"Yeah, you too!" Peter called back as he waved goodbye to the younger girl.

After Tim helped Peter by opening the passageway he gave Peter a smile of understanding and left him be. Returning to his room and girlfriend.

Tim could read Peter like a book, same with most people. He was an impressive detective in his own right after all. Although Peter had settled more and had become better at masking his stress, it was clear there was a lot troubling him. Understandably.

For one still was under 'probation' while operating in Gotham. Then there was the bounty, the very reason for the probation. He was a target for every criminal in Gotham, which was a lot of criminals.

And considering his lack of experience in this world, and with the more dangerous villains that might see him as easy prey, Deadshot being a prime example, Batman felt the need for someone more versed in the Gotham scene to be watching his back when on patrol.

Then add on to that the search and lookout for any of his own villains, for which there was still no sign of. They might not even be in this world, but then how could they even check if that's the case? And if not, where are they? Peter clearly feels they are his responsibility regardless.

Then he still had to wrestle with the notion he was stuck in this world for potentially years. The stress of the dormant symbiote still latched to his body. And finally, he had this weekend visiting the doppelgangers of his family, one who was dead, and the other who didn't exist at all in his home world.

Compared to that, Peter's new life as… Himself, kind of, starting/continuing as a student at ESU, and the attached internship at Wayne Enterprises next week must seem like small fry for Peter.

When Tim counted the reasons that Peter must be feeling stressed, he felt himself becoming stressed by proxy. He shuddered at the prospect, considering the entourage of problems playing their part in Peter's psyche. Tim felt his sorrow and admiration for the older hero grow.

Peter had now descended into the empty cave, equipped his suit and entered the teleportation pod. Quickly finding himself yet again at the bridge of the Watchtower. A few heads turned his way as he wandered the halls, many had heard of him, fewer had actually seen him.

He waved and nodded back to all the unknown costumed heroes who greeted him. By this point he had formerly met all seven of the core members in a meeting where Batman briefed them all on his situation. He had been granted membership by them and could now freely go about the watchtower, but his presence was still a novelty to most.

Although his extra-dimensional origins weren't common knowledge to all Leaguers it still wasn't really a secret. Everyone that did know had a reason to know, but much like many other members, his identity and origins weren't considered necessary pieces of information.

So other costumed heroes who kept their identity close to their chest just saw Peter as a new member, an up-and-coming rookie who had proved his worth and was now counted among this world's protective force. Not that he had actually participated in any League missions yet.

He found the lab he was looking for and entered, the doors sliding opened as he looked at the shrunken skyscraper on the desk. He called out, "Hey doc! You here?"

Peter was shocked when he initially encountered the miniature version of Fisk Tower, but by now he had adjusted as this was his third meeting with the scientist and hero who had shrunk and transported the building for study, Dr Ray Palmer, AKA the Atom.

As Dr Palmer re-materialised before his eyes, he greeted the other hero and responded, "Ah, Spider-Man you're here. Good to see you. How's the leg?" Shaking the younger man's hand, he felt the pause in his form, "Batman told me, said I should go easy on you. But hey, I need your mind not your legs."

"Oh… Well both mind and leg are good, thanks. I bounce back quick."

"Good to hear, still though, watch yourself. Don't want to make yourself worse by ignoring sound medical advice…"

"I will. But what can I help you with today, doc. Reconsidered your position on the whole talking to Ants thing and want my help with the frequency?"

"Thanks, but no. Staying Ant free for now… But as for this," He gestured to the tiny tower behind him, "Mr. Terrific got all the readings he needed and we've catalogued and stored most of the building's inventory, by now. Some of the documents we found… This Fisk guy sounds like a real piece of work.

"That's one way to put it, yeah."

"Well, you'll be happy to hear his file on you was pretty sparse. Seems he still doesn't know your identity so all your family and friends back home should be safe."

"Wasn't a major worry honestly, he didn't seem to know me as anything more than a thorn in his side, but still a relief to hear. Can't help thinking that you wouldn't call me up here just to tell me that, though."

"You're right, I didn't. We've found something else, something… Interesting that I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on."

"Cool. Hit me."

The Atom looked at Peter curiously, with an expression of grim fascination that gave him goosebumps as he led Peter through his lab and into another room further in. There was another worktop sitting atop of which was a strange rock. About a foot squared in sized, it was dark and grooved with a red spiral in its centre.

As soon as peter neared the workspace his Spider-Sense blared violently. A ringing that wasn't like its normal pitch. As Peter gripped his head and stepped back the sound in his skull softened. Enough for him to realise that it wasn't his Spider-Sense ringing at all, but instead The Other, the baby symbiote inside his subconscious screeching in agony.

"Woah, are you okay?" Dr Palmer asked as he observed Spider-Man's reaction to the unidentified material.

"…Yeah. Ow. The symbiote does not like that thing at all. Can't say that I'm too fond of it either…"

"You know what it is? It's molecular structure is unlike any known material in this world."

"Same as back home, that rock there," Peter pointed at the meteor, he recognised it completely now, "Is the meteorite that brought the Venom symbiote to my earth."

"Wow. I've gotta' be honest with you, Peter," The Atom continued as he turned between Spider-Man and the rock, "Your reaction hasn't helped ease my mind all that much, I was putting off several tests on it because, and I'm speaking purely scientifically here, the thing gives me the creeps…"

"I'm not surprised. Even Reed Richards said it made him uncomfortable, couldn't figure out its origins, either. I don't even want to know how, or why, Fisk had this in his possession before his arrest."

"Right. Well good thing it's in safer hands now I guess. But tell me, this Reed Richards…" The Atom had heard about Mr. Fantastic from Peter earlier, but had no knowledge of his work with the Symbiote, "Did he ever mention anything about the rock…" He trailed off as he stared at it intensely, clearly unable to vocalise the rest of his thoughts.

"'About the rock' what?"

"… Whispering to him?" The Atom tore his eyes from the strange meteor. It hurt to look at, as if its very existence was an assault on all his senses and scientific rationale, yet whenever he was near it, he felt his gaze being drawn to it.

"No. Please don't tell me it talks…"

"I could be imagining things… But yes. Not in any language I recognise mind you, but still, can't say I've enjoyed these last few hours alone in the same as lab as it." Ray Palmer shuddered slightly as he spoke.

"Doc, I think we need to lock 'The One Ring' over there away. Somewhere safe, any information we could get out of it isn't worth the risk. Trust me. If something is symbiote related, it's probably bad news…" Peter turned his head as he spoke aloud to himself and his body's guest, "No offense, buddy."

Peter was still a little uneasy about the presence of the dormant slice of symbiote grafted to him, but after a couple more psychic counselling sessions with M'Gann, he and The Other had actually come to an understanding.

He knew The Other would actually leave him if it could, seeing as that would help make Peter happy and that truly was its only concern. But seeing as it couldn't be removed without both symbiote and host dying, instead Peter had conceded to semi-regularly checking in on his stowaway. Promising to keep his emotions in check even more than normal, now he knew of its presence, for both their sakes.

He felt a soft rumble of acceptance from the symbiote as it heard his last words. Taking no offense from the remark as it too felt nothing but pain and hate emanating from the meteor.

"I hate to turn away from potential answers, but for now I think you're right," Dr Palmer replied, "I'll find a dark corner in the Watchtower's evidence storage and keep it there. Regardless of whatever this thing may be, I don't want to find out what it could do in the wrong hands… But hey, maybe a 'Mount Doom' will present itself in the future and we can deal with it properly." He smiled back to Peter as he reciprocated the younger man's Tolkien reference.

"I wouldn't hold your breath doc. Even if there was a solution, I don't we'd find it in this dimension. This thing is even further from home now…"

"Yeah but, what can I say, I'm an optimist." He smiled again as he led them out of the back room of his lab and back into the main area.

"Well, if your glass ever overflows, feel free to share some of that optimism with me. Mine has been half empty for a while now…"

"Try not to stress too much, Peter. I'm sure things will start to turn around for you soon enough." Ray spoke cheerily as he patted Peter softly on the back.

"Yeah well, don't take it personally if I don't take your word for it. Anyhoo, moving on from… That whole experience. I still have a couple more hours. You have anything else I can help with? Preferably something less Lovecraftian."

"Hmmm… I'm sure I can think of a few things, always helps to have another perspective."

Although only his third time here, Peter enjoyed helping Dr Palmer around his lab, regardless of whether the work was related to himself or not. He liked the older hero's company; he was a positive presence and a great lab partner. Getting to talk science with someone else without any pressure was always a welcome experience for Peter.

As he idled away his free time with Dr Palmer, Peter found himself softly coaxed into a feeling of something akin to serenity. Working his brain on little problems and puzzles of a scientific nature drew his thoughts away from the constant hum of stress which had been steadily whittling away at his self-esteem.

Soon though, the hours passed, and Peter had to leave. He said his goodbyes to The Atom and, using the teleporter, returned to the Batcave. When safely back on solid ground he noted the time and had to rush a bit, no matter what earth he found himself on, his time keeping skills still needed improvement.

Returning to his room, he quickly changed and grabbed his bag of weekend supplies, stuffing his costume inside it. He rushed back down the maze-like halls and to the piano where he stood impotently before facepalming. 'How, Peter? How the hell have you already forgotten the sequence? Again!'

After sheepishly collecting Tim for the second time today, to which both Steph and Tim found immense amusement, he continued on his path to the teleporter through the Batcave where he found Dick and Barbara, in their civilian clothes.

"Hey guys, gotta' run, sorry can't stay and chat." He said as approached them, making a beeline straight for the teleporter.

"Calm down, Pete. You won't be late. Besides you didn't think we'd let you run off without at least saying goodbye, did you?" Dick said as he stood up from the rail he was leaning on and closed the distance between them.

"Huh?" Peter said as he paused his movement.

"We were waiting for you, dumbass…" Babs added with a smile as Peter looked between her and Dick mildly stunned.

"Umm… Guys I appreciate it, really. But like, I'm only going away for the weekend, I'll be back Monday."

"No duh. But, come on Pete. Cut the crap…" Dick said softly before continuing, "We can tell this weekend's been stressing you out."

"Heh. I don't know what you mean..." Peter rubbed the back of his neck; a tell-tale sign Dick and Babs had picked up on that communicated whenever Peter felt embarrassed or uncomfortable.

"Oh please! You're really not as good at hiding your emotions as you think you are, Pete… That's why we're here to tell you, you got this. It'll be fine, so stop worrying and try to enjoy the weekend. Even if they aren't technically, you're family, their still you're family. They're gonna' love you… No matter what." Barbara added as she approached him.

"And hey, if they don't you still have us!" Dick joked as he placed his hand on Peter's shoulder.

"Dick!" Barbara snapped with exasperation at the unhelpful addition.

"Sorry. Sorry. Dumb joke… For real, though, man. I'm sure this'll be good for you, all of you."

"Thanks guys, but I really don't know. If it was just Uncle Ben I could deal with it, but Teresa as well… How the hell can I just take her brother's place? I don't even know her…" Peter still hadn't met his doppelganger's younger sister and from what he had heard, she was far less enthusiastic about the whole situation than Ben.

"It'll be weird, sure. We aren't saying it won't be, but just try to stay whelmed. Don't get hung up on trying to be their Peter… He's gone. You're not him, you're you. So just be you. You know?" Dick was calm and controlled with his speech, trying to ease Peter's worries, "Plus we got you something to remember us by while you're there. Babs, show him the thing."

"Jeez way to ruin the surprise, Dick." Barbara rolled her eyes she presented Peter with a brown paper bag she'd been holding behind her back.

"Wow… You guys. I don't what to say."

"Don't say anything, just open it."

As Peter unravelled the contents from their Paper container, he inspected the gift as he was bombarded with waves of sincere gratitude and heartfelt appreciation. Inside the bag was a snow globe showing Gotham city in the winter, tiny representatives of its landmarks and iconic buildings such as Wayne enterprises, the One Gotham Centre and the Knights Dome.

A miniature of the monorail, complete with a spattering of static cars, weaved through the little city. There were a couple of tiny model blips suspended by thin, barely visible wires above the buildings and there was even a little Bat symbol painted on the backdrop's moon to represent the resident hero.

What really touched Peter was the engraving which read in big letters: 'Greetings from Gotham', below which there was a smaller body of text, clearly added by hand, reading: 'To Peter, The Big Apple isn't the only city that never sleeps. There's a home here when you need it. From Alfred, Babs, Dick and Bruce.'

"Wow… From the big man himself as well, huh?"

"Actually, it was his idea…" Dick added.

"Really?" Peter couldn't hide his shock.

"Uh-huh. The engraving was done by him too…" Barbara added.

"Woah, I'm actually speechless… No, I'm not. Wow. The Batman really is a big teddy bear deep down isn't he."

"Ha! Don't let him hear you say that." Dick replied as he chuckled.

"Thanks, guys. I feel a lot better now…"

"What else are friends for?" Barbara added as she pulled him into a hug, "Just be yourself and everything else will fall into place."

After Barbara released Peter from her arms, Dick took his turn and gave Peter a big bear hug. The squeeze of which would have probably been quite suffocating if Peter wasn't superhuman.

'Friends.' The word rang in Peter's mind as his lips curled into a giant smile. He truly did have friends in this world. The pain of his friends back home being locked away from him was still there, but the sting was softened as he looked at Dick and Barbara in front of him. All things considered, he really lucked out by meeting them.

Perhaps in another story they may have met under less painful circumstances, but as it stood, he began to realise he could actually see himself building a life here knowing he had people like them to rely on.

"Now go get em', tiger!" Dick said as he softly punched Peter's shoulder.

After saying his, very nearly teary, goodbyes to the other two. Peter thought about Dick's last words to him. It wasn't an uncommon phrase, but hearing it here, he couldn't help but think of his ex-girlfriend/best friend from his own world. 'You know, I think I'm gonna' be okay, MJ… I hope you and everyone else are doing alright without me…'

The bittersweet voice in his head sung its tune and Peter felt a slight bristle from within his subconscious, The Other, with its newfound abilities of soft communication, sending out waves of its own peace and satisfaction.

'Hmm-mm. You and me both, buddy.' Peter sent his own message of agreement back to the Slimbiote (a term he had just coined for little slice of Venom inside him). His reluctance to its presence softening as he felt it feeding off his positive emotions, showing its opposition to the Symbiote it spawned from.

DC Universe – Earth Prime

Parker Residence, Queens

After exiting the teleportation base in New York, Peter took the subway and a couple of buses until he found himself at his, new, old home. The similarities were uncanny, and Peter found himself choking up as he was led through the house by Ben, who was watching him with quiet apprehension. Unsure what he could possibly say to calm the whirlwind of emotions that was storming through his mind.

Peter, in spite of his pep talk from Dick and Babs, just couldn't produce any words from the dessert that was his mouth. Several times he parted his dried lips to speak just to find himself choking on oxygen.

Whiplash shook Peter's entire being when he entered 'his' room. It was identical to his own, right down to the posters. Sure, there were different faces on some of the movie posters, some of his knick-knacks were different, but at its core, it was the exact same room. Same layout, same furniture, same bed.

Ben who had also been silent felt a pinch in his heart as he saw the anguish on Peter's face, "You okay, sport?" He finally spoke, the first sentence uttered since their greetings at the door.

"I- Yeah… I think so. This is just all so… Surreal, I guess. Um, thanks again... for letting me stay here, Ben."

"Peter… You can call me Uncle Ben…"

Peter breathed out soft chuckle through his nose, "Thanks. This whole thing is just weird. I mean I still feel the pain from my own Uncle Ben, and then here you are standing there… You must feel the same, right?"

"Little bit. But Peter, you gotta' remember, none of us are here to be replacements for anyone else. We're here for you, Peter. But you gotta' be here for us. I know it's hard but, baby steps, alright."

"Right. Yeah… So, what's the first baby step?"

"Getting to know each other. Properly, not as who we resemble, but who we are. That's why I'm fixing us all some lunch, nothing fancy. But you know, first time eating as a…" Ben stopped his sentence unsure as to whether or not it was too early to say the word.

"I get it… Might be a little too soon to drop the 'F' word…" Peter responded, alleviating the weight from Ben's shoulders, "Um… Can I…? No never mind, it's stupid."

"What is it, Peter?"

"…Can I give you a hug?" Peter felt like a child as he said the words aloud. As if he was a 14-year-old boy yet again, one who should have hugged his uncle more in the week before his death.

Ben didn't respond with words; he simply gave his nephew's doppelganger a comforting embrace. He spoke as he held him, "You never have to ask for this…"

The moment went on for what felt like hours, yet it was over all to soon as they eventually separated. Both men were misty eyed as they looked at each other for a bit. Ben eyed Peter's face, there was still a sense of uncertainty emanating from the boy.

"I can't tell something's on your mind… I'm gonna' go ahead and guess you're still worried about Teresa, right?"

"Heh… Yeah…"

"Well don't be. Listen, kiddo, this is new territory for all of us. I gotta' be honest with you Peter, she hasn't been exactly looking forward to this weekend…"

"Wow. Ummm… You're not really filling me with a lot of confidence, Uncle Ben…"

"I hadn't finished…" The older man softly raised his hand as light chuckle came from his lips.

"Sorry. Go on."

"But no matter what Peter, I never would have invited you to stay here if she hadn't agreed. Don't get me wrong, I would have still reached out, but… This is her home. This," he gestured at the bedroom around them, "is her brother's room… This whole thing is gonna' be hard for her, for you too, obviously. But do me a favour, champ?"

"Anything…"

"Reach out. Introduce yourself, get to know her… I'm sure in time she'll come to accept you. Like I do. Just… Make sure she knows you aren't here to take our Pete's place… Err what I mean is-"

"No. No. I get what you mean…"

Ben smiled as he continued, "I just think it'd mean a lot coming from you… No matter how many times I tell her, she can't quite get a grip on it…"

Peter thought for a moment, his new identity was his old identity. Kind of, with some strategic doctoring of news stories and official documents, Peter, in the legal sense, had become this world's Peter Parker.

Peter had literally taken his place in the world, but to everyone who knew him, especially his family, Peter wasn't Peter. Just like how he knew Uncle Ben wasn't really Uncle Ben. There was a disconnect, one that needed to stay no matter how much it may shrink in the future, because to ignore it would be to disregard all the people that came before…

This world's May and Peter, and his Uncle Ben. They had lived, their memories were all that remained to those that loved them, and although Peter couldn't truly express the joy he felt when he saw that a version of his uncle was alive in this world, he could never let himself forget the grief of his own. And he would never, ever, forget the lessons he learnt from him.

After his momentary journey of thought, Peter nodded as he replied, "I'll try… This is gonna' be so weird…"

"Ha! You're not wrong, son. Hey, lunch won't be ready for a few hours, so how about you get yourself sorted out, then go and make yourself known. Just talk to her for a bit, yeah?"

"Yeah… Umm… Is she here?"

Ben pointed out the door to Teresa's room, it was right opposite Peter's. No doubt she would have heard the muffled sounds of them talking, maybe even their whole conversation. Peter didn't know if it would be better or worse if she had been listening in.

"I'll let you get set up, I gotta' get started in the kitchen. One last thing though…" Ben pulled the young man in for another hug. This one was shorter, but just as tight. "Go easy on her… And try not to take anything personally if she does get a bit… You know?"

"Teenagery?" Peter offered.

"Yeah… Let's go with that." Uncle Ben replied.

After Ben went back down the stairs to the kitchen, Peter began quickly getting himself situated. He placed his snow globe on the shelf above his desk and admired it again for a moment. He thought about the man he was a week ago, the worry and fear he felt that first night.

Each day since that night those feelings had faded just that little bit more. That was until this moment, now he was struck with another spell of absolute dread as he plucked up the courage to walk across the hall and knock on his doppelganger's sister's door. He looked at the miniature Gotham inside the globe as he thought, 'Well, wish me luck guys… I'm gonna' need it.'

Peter swallowed the dryest, largest most painful lump that his throat had ever produced as he stood outside Teresa's door. He knocked softly, and he felt as if he was existing outside his body as he completed the motion.

Somehow, without conscious input, he managed to stutter out a sentence, "Hey… Ummm, Teresa? It's… It's Peter, can I come in."

For what felt like eternity, he stood there, in the hall. Hearing the soft tick of May's grandfather clock down the stairs, counting the seconds he remained motionless in the hallway.

When the door finally opened Peter realised, he hoped the eternity he was stood alone would've lasted longer. 'You know, I think a little part of me would have preferred to have the whole sinister six be on the other side of the door. At least then I'd know what to do…'

The face that did meet him at the door was not an unfamiliar one, though he had never actually seen it before. It looked similar to his own, or more accurately it looked like Jess'. Not completely, but one that was akin to a face she could've had had she actually been a blood born sibling and not his genetic copy.

That made sense, Teresa was, in a way, his sister. But having never encountered her himself, his mind couldn't help but draw connections between the people he was more familiar with. It was desperately trying to tether any kind of link it could, to draw comparisons between the familiar and the unknown entity that was the girl opposite him.

She stared at him expectantly, painfully, with both disdain and care, all shadowed by an expression of complete and utter terror. No doubt, her mind must've been in a similar state to Peter's own.

He felt himself freeze, and he realised they had been wordlessly staring at each other for nearly a minute now, neither of them blinking or looking away from the other's eyes. 'Shit… What do I do, now?'

"Ummm… Hi…" Was all that his mouth allowed him to say.

"Hi…" She replied with an infinitely complex tone, one that Peter had no clue as to how he would even begin to decipher it.

'This is gonna' be a long weekend…'

Peter would eventually realise how incorrect of a thought that was when the weekend finished, but that was not known to him at this moment. Instead, all he knew was that he knew nothing. He had no idea where to go from here as his mind desperately tried to conjure up some kind of active thought.

Gotham City

Black Mask's safe house

As Roman Sionis looked about his office at the incapacitated and injured bodyguards thrown about the floor, he drew his eyes back to the face of one of their attackers. A man in a green, armoured, exoskeletal suit, complete with tail that was holding his assistant, Ms Li, suspended in the air by her arms.

She had stopped struggling once she realised the futility of the act, but her face was red with rage as she stared at her captor's helmeted face. She turned to her boss with an apologetic look, but her eyes were still burning with an impotent rage at her situation.

"So, let me get this straight. You barge here into my office, beat up my men and hold my assistant hostage, just so you can ask me for a job?" Black Mask spoke as he finished his drink, his own rage communicated by the glass shattering in his grip after he drained it of its contents.

"You got it in one, pardner." The other man, who was leaning on his desk spoke.

Roman turned to the other assailant in the room as he realised, the gauntleted man in the red and yellow costume was the diplomat of the two, "And just why the hell would I do that?" Mask asked him directly, a controlled fury in his voice as he slowly reached for the gun below his desk.

"Hey now, don't go getting foolish on us…" Shocker spoke as he spotted the movement by the crime lord, he pointed his fist at the kingpin's face, "Let's keep those hands where we can see 'em."

Black Mask let out a growl of annoyance as he rested his hands on his desk, blood was starting to trickle out of the cuts from the shards of glass embedded in his palm. The man was right.

Whoever his attackers were, they were deliberate with their strikes, none of his men were dead. And it was clear that was by choice, this was meant to be a demonstration, not an assassination. If these guys wanted him dead, he'd be dead. And that pissed Roman off to no end.

"Despite appearances, we actually come in peace…" The costumed man continued in a strong southern drawl, "This here was just a demonstration of our capabilities. Scorpion, let the dame go, I think we made our point just fine…"

Scorpion softly placed the woman back on her feet before releasing the tension in his tail and freeing her arms. She looked over to her employer as she rubbed her sore wrists, still aggravated but waiting for his command before taking any action.

Mask shook his head at his assistant, communicating for her to stand down for the moment, "Consider your capabilities shown. Though, give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you right now?"

"I can do better than that, fella. I'll give you three: One. You couldn't if you tried. Two. We've got a big fella' by the name of Rhino waiting for us out back," Shocker noticed the confusion of Mask's skull, "he ain't here cos' he's got a little penchant for…" Montana paused as he considered his phrasing.

"Squishing people." Scorpion finished his partner's sentence as he crossed his arms.

"Thanks, Scorpy. Couldn't quite find the words… Now where was I? Oh yeah… Finally, one. We heard you've got a bit of a Spider problem. Just so happens we have experience when it comes to that particular bug…"

"You expect me to believe that? I've been running this city for years and I've never even heard of you guys…" Roman questioned as he started trying to fill the gaps in his knowledge.

"Hey, you ain't never heard of the Spider, neither. Not 'till a few days ago… Let's just say we ain't from round these parts and leave it at that."

"Hmm. Alright. You've proved your worth, can't say I appreciate the property damage or the medical costs, but I get the message. Now what is it you want?"

"Like we said, a job. No offense but an open bounty? Seems a little desperate. So whad'ya say ya' close it and let us take on a contract? Say about three hundred? Hundred each for me and my partners…"

"And you'll disappear once the Spider's dead?"

"Unless you got a better idea?" Montana was grinning under his mask; the crime boss had taken his bait.

Roman stood up from his desk and walked around to the front as the man who introduced himself as Shocker stood up from his leaning position.

"I won't lie, what you've done here..." He surveyed his goons, some of whom were groaning as they writhed on the floor, "I should kill you just for the disrespect, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't need more manpower. You two just proved that…" His tone was still laced with annoyance, but a coat of respect was weaved into the sentence.

He continued, "So, consider the Spider a trial run. I've seen what he can do, and as much as it frustrates me to say, I underestimated the punk… So sure, I'll give you a contract, but after he's dead I want you both, working for me… Your friend too if he's as dangerous as you say. You're gonna' help me get this city back under my thumb. What do ya' say to that?"

Scorpion and Shocker looked to each other for a moment. They still had no idea where the other members of the sinister six were, and as such, steady employment was too good of an offer to turn down. They knew Rhino would agree.

"I say, you got a deal, pardner." Shocker looked Roman in his masked face as he offered his hand to the crime lord.

Roman shook the gloved hand offered to him with his own bleeding one, squeezing tight and revelling in the pain. Using the sting of his open cuts to fuel his desire for control.

His hand throbbed as he thought about the opportunity that came barging through his safe house, the physical sensation being his body's sign of recognition of the capabilities of his newest potential employees. If they could cause this much damage just to send a message and cause him this much frustration, then they would be great assets indeed.

Next chapter:

Peter gets to know his sister and starts his life anew as an ESU student interning at Wayne Enterprises.

The villains make their move.

Author Note:

I can't lie, a couple more recent reviews got to me a bit. I like criticism as long as its honest and constructive but a couple of the more recent ones (by the same dude) are a bit harsh to say the least. But hey, haters gonna hate. So whatever. Everyone else I've loved hearing your thoughts, even if its a critique so let me know your thoughts. Basically be honest but don't be mean, it doesn't cause me too much emotional damage (this is only a fanfic after all) but it frustrates me a bit when people just give childish hate reviews without actually engaging in the content properly. Like how am I meant to improve from that? lol.

What I will say as one of the ideas came up a couple times before from other people as well, is that I'm not nerfing Peter. He hasn't lost a fight yet and every time he has been on the back foot is either because he's holding back or not fighting back at all (eg. Bruce and Babs in earlier chapters) or a momentary shock/lapse in judgement (stuns and the Twins etc.). This isn't to make Peter look weak but to make the story interesting, cause him just effortless beating everyone would be boring imo.

Anyhoo, this is my new format approach, gonna try for smaller chapters more frequently and have them move forward in time a bit more now that I'm comfortable Peter's presence has been established... Some people he will like ACTUALLY meet and be introduced to in future chapters, but I filled in some blanks to move the story forward (eg. He met Tim, Damian and The Atom off page).

Hope people enjoy the progress made, was going to continue the chapter and end it with him actually having a convo with Teresa and stuff but I felt it was getting on in words, plus I need something to draw the readers back for future chapters ;)

Also here's a joke to lighten the mood: A horse walks into a bar. Several of the patrons get up and leave, realising the potential danger of the situation.

Hope everyone has a lovely day/week/month/year/decade/life and that one of you wins the lottery or something in the future.

Till next time.

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