Stuck in a Web

“You must be Peter.” Clark said, holding a hand out towards him.

“How do you know my name?” 

“Damian’s dad mentioned Damian was staying here with a friend; a Peter.” Clark put his hand back down as it was clear Peter wasn’t going to shake it. “Considering the bird's nest on your head, I’m guessing you’re Peter.”

Peter nodded, hands quickly attempting to pat down his hair into something more presentable.

“I’m Clark, Jon’s dad.” Clark gestured to the two boys behind him; Damian was trying his hardest to pull Jon away from the breakfast he had ordered earlier through roomkeeping. “When Jon heard Damian was here, he tagged along.”

“So is Damian’s dad not coming?”

“No, well; not if he doesn’t have to, ” Clark sighed, “He asked if I could keep an eye on his youngest while I was here.”

Damian had made his way over to the pair, standing between Peter and Clark. 

“I hardly see a reason for you to be here.” Damian hissed, “Let alone for you to drag the brat with you, Peter and I are managing just fine.”

“I didn’t say you weren’t,” Clark said amused, he was used to Damian by now, especially after the numerous times Damian had stayed over at his for what he called “training”, Jon called it sleepovers. “Your dad just wants to know you’re safe, he said you turned your phone off.”

“It’s his fault I’m here,” Damian crossed his arms with a glare, “I dont want his colleague ruining everything”

Peter stood there awkwardly as Damian attempted to shield him from the much taller man. Damian was clearly going through something and Peter did not want to get roped into whatever family drama was going on.  Usually he would feel bad about leaving a kid with someone so dangerous, but Damian clearly knew them and was more worried they’d ruin whatever he was doing as opposed to them attacking. Peter wasn’t sure what madeClark dangerous, he looked like such a nice person but his senses were clearly picking up on something, and his senses were rarely wrong.  Looking back towards the window, Peter realised he had wasted a lot of time in New York already, he had to make some progress in getting home, and it was going to be nearly impossible with these three with him.  He had to shake them off. He moved towards his bag that laid beside the bed he had slept on before Jon, mouth still stuffed with stale toast, skipped over to him.

“Are you from New York?” Jon asked him, “I’ve never been to New York before. I’m from Metropolis, have you ever been to Metropolis before?  It's way cleaner than here but there’s way more people here so that makes sense.  I heard the pizza is the best here, they always say that on those tv shows-”

Jon was the absolute opposite of Damian, a complete ray of sunshine as he asked Peter question after question about New York, not leaving Peter a chance to respond as he slipped his bag on his back.  

“Are you two hungry?” Clark interrupts them as Damian stands in the corner of the room angrily texting someone on the phone, Peter assumes it was his father, angry that he had sent Clark to babysit him. “There’s this cute cafe across the street that Jon has been asking to go to since he saw it.”

“...Are you paying?” Peter asked.

“Of course I’m paying,” Clark said, “You can’t expect me to let a kid pay. Go on, get your shoes on.”

Slipping on his shoes, Peter followed Clark and Jon out of the hotel room, Damian following close behind as he continued texting his dad.  Peter would slip away after breakfast, who knows when the next time he’d be able to get hot food into him would be.

Slipping into the booth he put his bag between his feet, as Damian slipped in beside him.  Jon sat across from the pair, already picking up the menu. 

“I have to make a call,” Clark said after the three kids got comfy, “I’ll be back in a minute, I’ll be outside if you need anything.”

Peter was sitting next to the glass window that looked out onto the busy street, he could see Clark cross the street, leaning against the wall before he took out his phone and dialed a number.

“I’m gonna get the pancakes with apple and cinnamon with the side of bacon.” Jon tells the two, kicking his feet against the wood of the booth, excitement pouring off him. Damian looks towards Peter, noticing him keeping an eye on Clark outside. 

“I’ll just get the waffles,” Damian puts down the menu, “What are you getting Peter?”

“Oh, I’ll get the same as Jon,” Peter said, not paying attention as he focused on listening into Clarks conversation with Damian’s dad, a person Peter guessed could be Batman and he needed to know if Clark was about to rat him out.

“No you’re not.  Cinnamon isn’t good for you.” Damian says, picking the menu back up and looking for something else for Peter.

“Cinnamon’s not good for you?” Jon asked, looking towards Damian as if personally betrayed, “So you’ll let me order it but not Peter when you know it’s bad for me?  Is it going to give me cancer or something?”

“You could eat roadkill seasoned with asbestos and be fine Kent,” Damian huffs.

“It’s the thought that counts!” Jon complained.

Peter tuned the pair out, focusing on Clark.

“-We’re getting lunch now, Peter’s with us.” Clark says into the phone.

“Were they alone?”

“Just Damian and him,” Clark tells Bruce, “He’s jumpy though, too wary for someone his age; You might be right about LexCorp being involved, something has definitely spooked him.”

“See if you can get him to tell you any-” Clark made eye contact with Peter across the street and quickly cut Bruce off. 

“Brucie! I’m telling you, you’ve nothing to worry about Damian and that silly school trip."

“What are you-”

“I get you’re overprotective but if something happened then the teacher’s would’ve told you.” Peter tilted his head, the conversation didn’t really align, but there’s no way Clark would’ve known that Peter could hear him, he didn’t think Batman knew he had enhanced hearing, so how could this Clark?

Clark waved friendly at Peter, still smiling into the phone.

“I should head back in now, I’ll call you later.”

“Clark-” Clark hung up the phone and jogged back towards the cafe.

Sitting down next to Jon, he glazed at the menu before turning to the three kids.

“Have you all decided yet?”

“Peter and I are getting the waffles with strawberries, Jon was supposed to get the pancakes but he is being a baby about it all of a sudden.” Damian informed Clark.

“I am not- Dad! If you thought something was bad would you let your friend eat it?”

“What do you mean?” Clark asked Jon amused.

“Damian said cinnamon is bad for you but he said I should eat it.”

“You can eat cinnamon Jon.” Clark reassured his son, “You’ll be fine even if it was bad for you."

“That’s not the point!” Jon huffed, “I don’t want the pancakes anymore, I want the same as them.”

“Then we’ll all get the waffles,” Clark sighed, “And for the record cinamon isn’t bad for you.”

“You should get Peter a protein shake too” Damian said, “He needs protein.”

“Why do I need protein?” Peter asked, confused.

“How come Peter get’s protein and I don’t?” Jon asked Damian, “You’re being a very inconsiderate friend right now.”

“If you want a protein shake you can ask for a protein shake.” Damian snaps.

“But you didn’t offer me one,” Jon whined.

“You’re dad’s the one who’s paying, why would I offer you one?”

“It’s the thought that counts.” Jon complains, “Dad can I get a protein shake too?”

“Of course you can,” Clark sighs. “Do you want one as well Damian?”

“No, I’ll get a milkshake”

"Wait, I want a milkshake too," Jon turned Clark, "Don't get me a protein shake, I want a strawberry milkshake!"

Clark was used to people with enhanced hearing, his whole family had it, it came with the surname.  What he wasn’t used to was people outside the family with it.  Clark wasn’t a stupid man, he could tell when someone was looking at him and he could definitely tell when someone was listening to him and Peter was definitely listening to him.  He’d have to tell Bruce about the addition to Peter’s abilities.

Bruce had called him last night; turns out the LexCorp situation hit a lot closer to Gotham than either could expect.  A kid had shown up in Gotham, biologically Bruce’s without obvious signs of cloning.  Severely injured and malnourished.  Bruce had theorised it was linked to LexCorp, informing them of Peter’s possible file, and subsequent experimentation, and how he had not only managed to escape Batman multiple times but had managed to get out of Gotham entirely.  A flight risk, Bruce called him. Someone that was extremely difficult to keep in one place.  

He had told Clark that Damian had somehow managed to tag along with Peter and they had just checked into the GreenWay Hotel in Queens, New York.  He wasn’t sure how long Damian would be able to keep Peter from disappearing, and had asked Clark for help. Had even suggested bringing Jon along as Peter had an obvious distrust of adults, even the vigilante kind.  Peter needed help, he had no paper trials after LexCorp, returned to the traffickers within an hour, and three weeks later; he had shown up in Gotham.  They didn’t know where Peter was trying to go, but wherever it was, it couldn’t be good.  They had theorised Stockholm syndrome, wanting to return to his abusers due to knowing nothing else.  Whatever Peter was trying to do, he couldn’t, not with his mutation. 

Spiders.

A non meta-gene mutation coupled with radiation had left him a hazard to those around him.  Climbing walls, webbing from his wrists, enhanced strength and healing, and venom.  It was hard to believe that this small boy in front of him could be so dangerous, enough that Bruce had to warn him about Peter’s venom.  A strong paralytic, not necessarily deadly unless the individual already had heart conditions, but enough to induce a coma for weeks.  Clark wouldn’t have to worry about it, his own metabolism rendered most poisons useless, but Bruce had told him about the possible effects of the radiation in the venom.  Something that could slow down Clarks own cells from properly breaking down the venom, while he may not be put into a coma, he would be paralysed for hours.  Clark made sure to warn Jon beforehand to not get bit from the kid. 

Now, on a Sunday morning, Clark was on babysitting duties.  

“So Peter, what school do you go to?” Clark asked, unlike Bruce, he could get information without a full blown interrogation.

“Oh, I’m…” Peter thought carefully not wanting the man in front of him to attempt calling CPS on him for negligence, “I’m homeschooled.”

“Yeah, I heard it’s very time consuming for the parent’s involved,” Clark asked, “Is it your parents teaching you?”

“No… it’s a family friend; Tony.”

“Tony?”

“Yeah he’s like this big shot engineer… not really big shot actually,” Peter backtracked, “More of like a small time engineer but he’s really smart.”

“How are you finding it? Do you enjoy it?” Clark asked, taking note to text Bruce any information later, he could see Damian beside him paying full attention to Peter’s every word.

“Yeah! He's so cool, he lets me in the lab sometimes to help out.”

“Is he in New York as well?”

“Um… he is but he’s…” Peter thought carefully, “He’s away at the moment, on a business trip.”

“And your parents?”

“They’re in Queens.”

“Are they okay with you spending the night out?” Clark asks, preparing to drop the subject at any sign of Peter’s discomfort. 

“Yeah, they think I’m staying with a friend at the moment.” Peter said, picking at the food in front of him, Peter lied about being Spiderman for years, he could lie about dead parents just fine, “I gotta go back soon before they find out I’m not at my friend’s place.”

“We can walk you home if you’d like?”

“No thank you.”

“I'd like to meet your parents,” Damian stated.

“They don’t want to meet you though.”

“Tt” 

“Do they need you home straight away?” Clark asked, not wanting to attempt to chase the kid so quickly. “I mean, Jon would really like if someone could show him around for a bit, I have to head into work for a few hours and would hate to just leave these two in a hotel room.”

Peter pouted as he looked to the food in front of him, the food Clark had just paid for.

“I mean I have to go the library-”

“I wanna go!” Jon shouted.

“Then that’s sorted, do you want me to drop you off or will you three manage?”

“It’s not that far, the subway takes us just outside the building anyways.” Peter explained.

Clark watched them head into the Subway, listening to them from the street above before he heard all three of them finally get onto one of the trains and leave the station.  He wasn’t sure how good Peter’s hearing was but he wasn’t going to take any chances. Pulling out his phone again, he called Bruce.

“I’m sure you had a good reason for that earlier phone call?” Bruce asked.

“Your kid was listening in, and I didn’t want you to be the reason he ran off again.” Clark explained, “Enhanced hearing, I’m not 100% certain but the way he was watching me definitely gave me the impression.”

“...I’ll add it to the file.”

“He thinks somethings up, already making excuses to leave as soon as I appeared.” Clark continued, “It’s in his blood I guess, being scarily accurate in his suspicions and all.”

“Where is he now?”

“The three of them are off to the library, I managed to convince them to give Jon a tour.”

“Did he tell you anything?”

“He did, lying through his teeth though; parents live in Queens, homeschooled by a family friend.” Clark said, “He did mention a Tony though, said he was an engineer, let Peter into his lab a few times.”

“What sort of lab?”

“Hopefully an engineering one and not like the ones in LexCorp.  Peter’s fond of him, whoever he is, said he was away on a “business trip” at the moment.”

“Did he say anything about Gotham?”

“Not a word.”

“And his parents?”

“He said they live in Queens and they think he’s at a friend's house, they expect him home tonight apparently.” Clark sighs, “I wouldn’t try and find them though, he was just looking for an excuse to leave, I doubt there’s any family in Queens for you to find.  That Tony guy though, he likes him, likes him too much to be a lie.”

“I’ll look into it.  An engineer? Anything else?”

“Said he was smart, had a lab, was a small shot engineer, a family friend that tutors him.  That’s all he said, I couldn’t fins out anything else, not without Peter making a break for it.”

“See if you can trail him when he leaves.  I’ll get a visual from inside the library. Text Jon to keep an eye on him as well.”

“Why not text Damian instead? Or is he still ignoring you?”

“He blocked me, unblocks me just to complain about how we’re interfering with his reconnaissance mission before blocking me directly after.”

“Sounds like him. How did he even get out?  You told me you had him at the batcave at one point.”

“...He broke the door.”

“Good for him. Try to be less scary the next time you see him and he might actually stay put.”

Bruce hung up the phone.

Bruce realises his approach wasn’t as gentle as it could be.  With the assurance that they had Peter in the batcave, somewhere that Peter couldn’t slip away again; he had allowed himself to be impatient, believing that Peter wouldn’t be able to slip out again.  Not with the thick steel door or the skilled vigilante’s surrounding him.  He had meant to approach the situation carefully; Peter was closed off.  Skittish.  He appeared to show no recollection of any of the images shown to him, and the mystery of the kid grew further and further.  His only clue of where Peter was before they found him seemed more unlikely to be true with every image gaining no reaction from Peter.  As the seconds ticked on, Bruce’s impatience grew; the idea that he had nothing on the kid irked him more than the idea that he was at LexCorp.  At least if they had confirmation he was there, then Bruce had a lead.  If Peter was never there, then Bruce had nothing. 

Then there were the spiders; a few images of the spider enclosure at LexCorp.  Large sealed containers containing hundreds of mutated spiders.  Only then did Peter react, a look of shock before he had turned away from the screen. Self-soothing actions such as rubbing his neck, and refusing to look at the screen after the first glimpse; Bruce had a definite lead.  Right in front of him, Bruce forgot he was talking to a child.  He pressed further, asking more questions, anything that could give them any more information.  Who was involved, how Peter got there, what happened.  Peter just sat there, shaking his head, and denying everything.  It wasn’t until Jason pushed him back away from Peter, did Bruce’s resolve falter.  Bruce knew interrogation, he knew how to get people to crack, the more pressure, the more their resolve would crack until the truth shone through.  Just a little more pressure and he was sure he’d crack him, that the truth would finally be revealed; that Bruce could finally help him.

Then he ran. Broke right through the door and crashed through the window in the office.  Gone within minutes.  They searched the whole night and found nothing, he had left Duke behind, thinking it would stop Damian from chasing out as well but when they returned early that morning; Damian was missing.  Barbara tracked Damian’s phone, finding him on a Gotham bus already having left Gotham.  He had tried to call him but Damian had turned his phone off after the first attempt, unable to track him without the phone on.  Jason was furious, he had returned with them to the manor that night, a one sided screaming match took place before Dick had convinced him to return to his place.  To keep an eye out for Peter at Crime Alley, and to more importantly get some sleep in.

Bruce was asleep when he got the call, Damian had called him asking to call a hotel in Queens; GreenView, and allow them to check in.  He hardly allowed Bruce to get a single word in; telling him that he was with Peter and would return when the time was right, that he would send a list of requirements that Bruce should provide when Peter willingly returned with Damian.  It wasn’t hard to allow them to check in, and Bruce was proud, Damian had not only managed to find Peter but had apparently spent the whole day with him and even would stay the night together.  It was clear Peter wouldn’t stay anywhere unless he wanted to. Bruce briefly entertained the idea of going down there, or sending one of the other boys down to keep an eye on them when he remembered how Peter had drawn the connection with Dick. He couldn’t risk spooking Peter into running again, not when Peter already had a trail willingly with him.  But he couldn’t leave Peter and Damian unsupervised, especially after learning that Peter had a paralytic bite.  Peter could slip him far too easily, he needed someone who Peter couldn’t shake off as quickly.

A quick phone call to Kent, and Peter was as good as trapped.

Peter had managed to find an unused computer on the second floor of the library.  Jon was flitting around the building, insistent on helping the elderly librarian with collecting abandoned books and putting them in their correct places.  Damian was sitting on a chair against the wall behind him reading a National Geographic magazine about spiders, a fact that surprised Peter, but overall he didn’t care about.  

Peter began looking up local superheroes, surprised to find absolutely none that actually stayed  in New York for long.  It irked Peter, all this trouble to get to New York and there was not a single super hero to help him.  There was a brief mention of someone called Man-Bat who had been spotted a few times in Manhattan, but Peter would rather eat his own foot then go to him for help if he even was in Manhattan to begin with.

Next, Peter looked for magic users.  Anyone in America that reminded him of Doctor Strange, there were a few mentions that might prove promising; a mention of a guy called Constantine that lived in England, and a woman called Raven. Unlike in his universe, there wasn’t much information on heroes; just rumours and theories of what they could do, rare footage of them in action that usually cut off early on when the person recording would realise what kind of situation they were in and quickly turn tail and run. Peter sighed, choosing instead to look up tech related hero’s; someone that was like Tony.  Tony who invented time travel to save the world.  

As he scrolled through article after article of hundreds of heroes and their assumed abilities, Peter let his mind wander.  After his world forgot Peter, he had lost everything.  Even Spiderman had to recreate a name for himself.  He remembers Tony, he had continued his life like nothing had happened, a press release of him saying that whoever this new hero was, should leave it to the more experienced hero’s like the Avengers.  That Spiderman was harmless, just a wannabe big shot that was a glorified fireman, saving kittens from trees and what not.  It hurt knowing that whatever connection he had with Tony was gone, that when he came back from the snap, when Tony hugged him, it all meant nothing.  Then one day, like deja vu, he had come back to his shitty cash in hand apartment to Tony sitting on his desk, reading through an old magazine Peter had taken home from his work at the bodega when a newer release had come in and he had to throw out the old copies.  

Peter was so hesitant when Tony, with all the confidence as the first time, outed him, quizzed him on his abilities, pulling up recordings of Peter stopping cars.  When Tony asked about his suit, Peter froze.  Tony had called it stolen tech, clearly Stark property.  Peter asked if Tony wanted it back and Tony backtracked, claiming he never made it, but it was definitely his work. Tony fell into the same routine he had with Peter before everything, pulling Peter into fights he had no business being in, giving his suit upgrades, letting Peter back into his lab.

It was one of those days, when Tony and Peter were in the lab, that Tony asked him; why does no-one remember Peter Parker? Why he just suddenly appeared one day with no history, and Peter almost caved, almost told Tony everything.  But he didn’t.  He couldn’t, didn’t want to risk the strength of Strange’s spell, didn’t want to risk the world all over again for the selfish reason of being remembered. ‘Stuff happened’, he had told him, ‘Just stuff’.

Peter  took a shaky breath as he clicked off the article.  There was no Tony Stark here, no-one similar in any regard.  Next Peter looked into tech companies but once again came up empty handed; this universe’s technology was so far behind his, no Tony Stark to make leaps in development.  Peter would need to rely on magic; Constantine and Raven.  Those were his best bets, Constantine was probably in England and Peter didn’t have the funds to travel there, or a visa.  Raven on the other hand was American, but just as hard to track.  There was an old team; the Titans, maybe Peter would have an easier time tracking one of them down but his heart fell as he noticed the leader listed as Robin.  Sighing he clicked on the link; rumours that this Robin, the first one, had become Nightwing and was the local hero of Blüdhaven but would often be seen In Gotham.  Peter really didn't want to get involved with that again, especially considering he just got out.

Peter logged out, and stared at the ceiling of the building.  He had to come up with something, maybe he could stay in New York.  Make a name for himself here, as the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman, and one of the other heroes would inevitably cross paths with him, then he could ask.  That would take so long though.  He’d have to make a suit, do enough that he could build a name for himself, find somewhere to stay and food to eat.  He’d have to do all this with less than six dollars to his name.  He groaned and could feel Damian look at him from his spot behind him.

“What are you doing?” Damian asks.

“Thinking.”

“Do you always think by groaning?”

“Yes.”