Amber Alerts
Damian was sitting next to Peter on the edge of the ambulance while the paramedic cleaned the small gash still bleeding on his head.
“This is going to sting a bit” she told him as she sprayed antiseptic into the small gash on the top of his head, “Good news is that it’s not too deep, you will need a few stitches though.”
I told you it was okay,” Peter said, kicking his legs back and forth over the edge of the ambulance, “It doesn’t even hurt that much anymore.”
“You still have a concussion,” she told him, “and you inhaled a lot of smoke. Usually we’d already be on the way to the hospital but considering it’s not severe, we should wait for your dad first.”
“How do you even know I have a concussion?” Peter complained, the threat of his ‘dad’ showing up stressing him out further, “It’s just a small cut, and head wounds bleed a lot anyways so it just looks worse than what it is.”
“You’re pupils are different sizes” Damian cuts in, “And you couldn’t even walk to the ambulance, they had to carry you.”
“I was just… in shock.”
“And your pupils?”
“They’re always like that.”
“No they're not.”
Peter rolled his eyes and pouted. He looked out at the scene, the fire was mostly under control, the smoke was dying down and the rain had begun to fall which helped suffocate the smoke further. He wasn’t feeling as disoriented as before, his head and whatever broke inside him were already healing, the itching of his healing factor working quicker than last time. He had Damian to thank for that. Almost 48 hours of good food and sleep and his healing had enough energy to work properly again.
That being said, it still wouldn’t sustain him for long. The calories would be burnt through on the healing alone. His body would crash as soon as he stopped running, he just hoped he still had enough fat reserves to get him through another night or two. Looking down at his hands, Peter let out a sigh. He didn’t have much weight still on him, since he had woken up in that alley he was already severely underweight, and in the few days since he had only managed to grow skinnier. It wasn’t necessarily the running that was consuming his fat, it was the healing. Constant healing. He didn’t even want to think about how much protein was needed for his biological webbing, and how that was factored into his weight loss. If they had just left him alone, if he didn’t have to keep running every five minutes, then maybe he would have been in a better situation to whatever he was in now.
Peter was tired.
And to top it all off Batman was ‘close by’. For whatever reason, Bruce had begun claiming Peter as his. He knew that he was in another dimension but the kid he saw in the reflection was him. The same hair, the same eyes; he was still Peter Parker. Peter Parker had a mum and a dad, he had a life. Even if they were dead or had forgotten him, he wasn’t about to play house with a bunch of strangers. Random adoption or something else, Peter wasn’t going to stick around and humour them.
“I saved a goldfish,” Peter mumbled.
“You also saved an elderly man,” Damian said, “It was stupid to run back in for a fish.”
“Yeah, but then the goldfish would have died,” Peter turned to Damian, “I mean really? How unfair is it for a fish to die in a fire? They’re supposed to be in an ocean somewhere, literally the opposite of a fire.”
“Goldfish are freshwater fish, they don’t live in the ocean.”
“Semantics. My point still stands.” Peter turned back to the paramedic, “Do you have any water? My mouth tastes all ashy.”
“Yeah, one second.” The paramedic stood back up and headed into the ambulance, Peter turned to Damian.
“Sorry.” He said as he shoved Damian off the edge of the ambulance, before jumping down himself and legging it.
He could hear Damian chasing close behind, the fall not creating enough of an aversion as he liked. Then again, Peter could lose him; he was on home turf and no one could out run him in his own streets. As he turned down an alleyway, he shot a web up to the roof, quickly pulling himself up and peering over the edge. Damian was already pulling himself up onto the fire escape with a practiced ease that left Peter certain that he had to be Robin or just insanely good at parkour as he sprinted up towards him. Not willing to lose the distance between them by watching any longer, Peter ran to the other side of the building and shot a web out, swinging from building to building like second nature, leaving a disgruntled Robin alone on an empty roof.
Bruce had arrived to chaos.
The road had been closed off to keep traffic away from the scene so he had to park a block away before running down. The crowd watched on from the road, huddling under umbrellas as the rain grew heavier, while the firefighters hosed the last of the flames. Looking around, he spotted the ambulance and the two paramedics. An elderly man was sitting by it with one of them, an oxygen mask laid beside them, obviously no longer needed. The other paramedic was standing to the side and talking to two police officers that were taking her statement. Damian had texted barely ten minutes ago that Peter was being treated for a concussion and smoke inhalation at the scene. And yet, as Bruce turned back to the crowd to double check if he had missed the two of them, he realised neither was present. He ran towards the paramedic talking to the officers, he had a bad feeling it involved his two sons.
“What happened?” Bruce asked, looking between the three of them. “Where’s the kids?”
“Are you the parent?” the officer asked, flipping to a new page of the notebook.
“Yes,” Bruce said, “Are they okay? Did they run off?"
“I’m really sorry,” the paramedic turned to him, hand held to her chest in worry, “I don’t really know what happened, I just turned around and they were gone.”
“Did you see which way they went?” Bruce asked, worry seeping into him. He knew Damian would be fine but the idea of the two of them missing in the streets of New York in the heavy rain was anything but reassuring. There was also still the risk of Peter biting Damian, leaving him exposed to this weather while unconscious could be a death sentence. Peter, on the other hand, had a habit of running into dangerous situations with no regard for his own safety.
“Can I get your name?” the officer with the notebook asked.
“Bruce Wayne,” Bruce said, still looking at the paramedic, “Did you see which way they went?”
“Bruce Wayne? The billionaire?” The officer interrupts, taking another look at him. “And the kids?”
“Peter and Damian.” Bruce raised a hand to his temple, he wasn’t fond of the police getting involved but he couldn’t exactly shake them off. Not without alarming them. At the moment it was an investigation; two missing kids, the youngest one needing medical attention. They were only doing their jobs. “Look, I should be out looking for them, I don’t really have time for this.”
“Mr. Wayne, I know this is very stressful but we have to do our jobs,” the officer explains, “As we don’t believe the kids have been abducted we can’t issue an Amber Alert however we can file a missing persons case. I need some information first: age, height, weight, and any distinct physical features?”
“Damian is 14, 5’4”, and about 120lbs.” Bruce says, trying to speed up the process, “Peter is 9, 3’9” and around 60lbs.”
“60lbs?” the officer asks, writing a few notes down. “Is there a reason he’s that underweight?”
“He was…” Bruce was really not trying to turn this into a child abuse case, especially not when Barbara and Tim had just forged the birth certificate and paternity test. “I have only received legal custody this morning. That’s why I’m here in New York: to collect him.”
“And the mother?” the officer asked, continuing to write in his book, “Is she in New York?”
“I’m not sure, she doesn’t have custody if that’s what you're asking.”
“Could he have gone to his mothers place? I’m assuming Peter was staying with his mother before?”
“I’m not certain,” Bruce said, still rubbing his temple, “I don’t know where she could be staying."
“You do have legal custody, correct?”
“Since this morning, yes.” Bruce said, “Emergency custody.”
“Considering Peter’s physical state and the custody situation,” the officer continued, “We have enough grounds to issue an Amber Alert. Could you tell me more about his mother? ”
“I don’t...” Bruce sighs, this was becoming a bigger mess than he planned, but he hadn’t lied about the custody. “She was a one-night stand, I've had no contact with his mother since then. Is an Amber Alert necessary? Damian may still be with him.”
Bruce had received emergency custody from Gotham Family Court under the grounds of severe neglect, Peter not being present wasn’t an issue with the bribery that took place. Full legal custody would still take a couple of days to process; a wait period was customary in order to give both parties time to gather evidence. As Bruce was the biological father and extremely financially stable, it was unlikely for him not to receive it, even if the biological mother appeared. If she were to turn up, she would have to provide a maternity test, as any documentation would not match Peter’s new birth certificate and Peter could not provide any conclusive results for a DNA test of that kind. He’s done this before, minus the forged paternity test, with Damian. He knew the system and he knew how to get the results he wanted.
“Do you have any recent photos of the two?” the officer asked.
“Of Damian. Peter hasn’t been in my custody long enough for a picture to be taken.”
The officer nods and talks into her walkie talkie, informing the person on the other end about an Amber Alert and that CCTV footage of the area was needed to get a recent photo. As the first officer shared the information about the two kids, clothes they were last seen in etc., the other officer approached Bruce.
“You’re from Gotham right? The Wayne’s are famously Gothamite and proud,” the officer began, “Where are you staying in New York? It could be possible that they could return there.”
“The GreenWay Hotel in Queens,” Bruce sighs. “Himself and his brother were returning from the library before this.”
“I’ll grab your contact information so we can contact you when we find them,” the officer began, “You should return to the hotel, it’s a possibility they’ll both return so we recommend an adult remain at the property.”
“You’re right.” Bruce said, as he gave his number to the officer, it was clear they weren’t going to provide sufficient help. He doubted any parties even knew the direction the two left in, the impending Amber Alert would leave Peter fewer places to hide. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Leaving the scene, Bruce pulled out his phone, and called Damian.
Damian hated this.
If his family stayed out of it, Damian was convinced his plan would have worked. If they hadn't sent in Jon and Clark, then Peter wouldn't have run into a burning building alone. His approach on Peter, treating him like he would a stray animal, worked. He had got Peter to stay with him for over 24 hours. He was the one making sure Peter was eating enough, sleeping enough, he was the one that was looking after Peter perfectly fine until they got involved. If his family had more trust in him, Peter could have been back in Gotham within the week. Trust was built with time and repetition and his family ruined it. Now he was standing alone, drenched from the rain on a random New York rooftop, having lost Peter for the second time that day.
He liked the idea of having a younger brother. The idea of Damian being the one Peter looked up to, the one Peter looked at the way the same way the others looked up to Dick. Damian wanted to be that. Not the temperamental kid everyone saw him as. Peter was an opportunity to prove himself, to show he wasn't a child anymore. He was someone to rely on. Someone Peter could rely on. He felt as though he had failed him, failed as an older brother. It wasn’t just that Peter had run away, it was like a timer had begun ticking.
It was clear Peter had an enhanced metabolism of some kind, the speed of his healing playing into it. Coupled with the webbing, something Damian had read was a protein based structure. The speed he could run and his enhanced strength. It all meant that Peter was burning through a lot more calories than a normal person. A lot more was needed to keep him going. He didn’t think he could survive long if he was alone, not with the little weight he had on him. His brother would die, and Damian believed that it would be his fault. Damian sniffled as he answered his phone.
“Damian?” Bruce called after a moment of silence. “Where are you?”
“I lost him,” Damian said softly, “I lost Peter.”
“It’s okay,” Bruce said, “Go back to the hotel, I’ll find him.”
“...okay”
Peter found himself on the roof of his old apartment building. The one he lived at with Aunt May before everything happened. He hasn’t been back since she died, he couldn’t even swing by on patrol, it hurt too much. A place that he once called home was now just a building. There was a strange comfort to it. Peter never lived in this building, the people here didn’t know him. Just like in his own dimension, it was a building with memories that only Peter had. It was just like home. Peter was curled against the edge of the rooftop entrance as he listened to the occupants below him. Kids arguing about bedtimes, movies playing in the living rooms, young couples enjoying each other's company. Noises that he fell asleep to every night when he was younger, noises that had him missing home even more.
He had spent the last year building a new life for himself. Different friends and different responsibilities. The only thing that remained was Tony. When Peter was trying to build a new life for himself, Tony Stark had managed to weasel himself back into it. He had tried at the beginning to keep Tony away, fearful of the Parker luck spreading to Tony, but Tony wasn’t someone you could keep away. It was strange, the first time around it was Peter who was constantly following around Tony, but this time it was the other way. No matter what Peter did, insistent on his own solitude, Tony had always showed up. Sending groceries to Peter’s apartment, paying for his rent, or creating a new legal identity. Tony had ingrained himself so fast into his life that Peter couldn’t stop it.
Now, crying on the roof of his old apartment building, he could only think of Tony. He wasn’t ready to lose him too, not when he had lost everything else. He didn’t know when he stopped shivering, but he knew he was losing the battle of keeping his eyes open. The scratching of his healing had stopped, he wasn’t sure if it meant he had already healed or if he had just run out of energy. His clothes were soaked through with the rain, no longer protecting him from the cold but only adding to it. He was tired. The threat of going into hibernation went ignored as he finally fell asleep.
Bruce picked Damian up and dropped him back at the hotel. Bruce was gentle the whole ride, speaking softly to Damian about the situation. He explained that Damian had done a brilliant job but Peter was difficult. That it wasn’t Damian’s fault he ran, Peter was going to run at some point, and he wasn’t going to stay put for long. He had explained how Jon and Clark were back at the hotel, Clark had been bitten but was no longer paralysed, he was still weak though and Bruce had insisted he slept off whatever residual toxins may remain. Jon was freaking out and had refused to leave his fathers side since finding him.
“He’s not difficult,” Damian said, staring out the window as Bruce parked outside the hotel, “He’s just sick at the moment.”
“Sick?” Bruce asked gently.
“His mind’s not… right. He’s confused.” Damian said, “He remembers New York, just the physical place though. He doesn’t remember people, he doesn't even know Superman.”
“Has he said anything else to you?”
“He was… defensive when I tried to bring up his memory issues.” Damian said, “Mind control maybe? I’m not sure, he seems fully in control of his own actions but jumpy when you try and poke holes in his story. It makes sense. If you wanted to make sure someone couldn’t remember you then you wouldn’t have to worry about being found out if they escaped.”
“I’ll have Tim look into it.” Bruce said, “Did he mention anywhere specific to you? You said he remembers places, anywhere specific?”
“He said he was from Queens. You can’t scare him off again.” Damian said, turning towards him, “I don’t think he’ll survive another runaway. He’s not… healthy. I don’t believe he remembers what happened so any attempt to interrogate him will only make things worse."
“I’ll keep that in mind, at the moment I just need to make sure my two youngest are okay.” Bruce said, reaching over to unclip Damian’s seatbelt. “The police are issuing an Amber Alert for the both of you tonight, that means no going out. You have a shower and get to bed. I’ll keep you updated if I find him.”
“An Amber Alert?” Damian asked with a raised eyebrow. “Why would you do something so stupid."
“It’s not stupid. When two kids run away from an ambulance the police get involved.” Bruce explained, “They decided it was best considering the situation. Now, you need to get inside and have a shower, you’ll get sick.”
“I won’t sleep, you have to text me as soon as you find him. I need to know.”
“I will,” Bruce said, “Now get inside.”
“Tt”
After dropping off Damian, Bruce had quickly changed into his Batman gear before he began his search for Peter. Countless escape attempts had given Bruce a pretty good idea of how Peter approaches situations like this. Peter tended to hide out of sight, somewhere with low foot traffic that was hard to get too. He wouldn’t show up again until he had found a quick way out of the area. That being said, Peter had tried so hard to get home that Bruce doubted he would leave as quickly as he did Gotham. He hoped Peter wasn’t silly enough to hide in the sewers especially when the New York sewer system and storm drains were connected. The rain was getting heavier by the hour, the forecast predicting it would continue until midday tomorrow.
Abandoned buildings were the most likely place Peter was hiding. Oracle had already sent him a list of abandoned buildings located in Queens and had marked off places that were known to be used as shelters by the homeless population. Peter avoided people, he wouldn’t hide somewhere already occupied. And so, for the last four hours, Bruce had searched every abandoned building on the list. He had learnt from finding Peter the last time that Peter could very easily slip into places he couldn’t reach such as ventilation shafts, so he had come prepared. The heat vision in his mask made checking the buildings for any signs a much faster process, but as he cleared the last building on the list with no sign of Peter, he realised he had to rethink Peter’s movements.
Looking up at the dark rain clouds, a sinking feeling filled him. He really hoped Peter wasn’t exposed to the rain. His clothing wasn’t waterproof and he knew just how quickly hypothermia could sink into someone, especially someone as small as him. Damian had been right; Peter couldn’t survive another runaway. He reached up to his com and with a click he began talking.
“Oracle. Still no sign of Peter,” Bruce said, “Superman is still… compromised, contact his son, I need eyes in the sky. I’m going to check below the city.”
“Will I inform Robin?"
“No. He needs rest,” Bruce said, “Send me a map of the sewer system below Queens.”
“Sending now,” Barbara said before a digital map appeared in the corner of Bruce’s vision, “Be careful down there, certain areas are at risk of flooding.”
“Contact Dick, have him arrive shortly with the proper equipment,” Bruce said as he made his way over to a manhole cover, “If we do find Peter, he’ll be in bad shape. Tell him to bring that old family van of his, Peter will need to be brought to a confidential medical wing when found. Bring the anti-venom along with the incapacitating drug for speeders, we may need to sedate him and he’s been shown to burn through sedatives quickly.”
“Hood won’t be happy you’re planning on drugging him again.” Oracle said.
“He doesn’t need to know.”
Bruce was quick as he raced through the tunnels, the water level was slowly rising and the current of the sewage stream was fast as it flowed towards what Oracle called ‘Relief Structures’. Unlike Gotham, New York’s system wasn’t designed for heavy rainfalls, in order to deal with the influx of water, certain areas were designed to overflow and slowly release water into smaller pipes that lead out of the city into nearby water reserves. Bruce sped to each ‘Danger Zone’, fearful of the outcome if Peter had fallen asleep in one of these areas.
Clark had given permission for Jon to check the roofline of the city, being too sluggish in his own movements to risk going out himself. A lot more effort was needed to walk let alone fly, he had to fight the venom with every movement. The more he fought it, the stronger its hold became. He had to force his body to relax, to calm his mind and allow the venom to travel through his system unaffected. He had told Jon to not approach Peter if found, to stay high and to contact Bruce if spotted. He didn’t want to risk Jon being incapacitated as well.
It wasn’t long until he was found.
Bruce was still in the tunnels when he got the message from Oracle. Jon had found Peter on the roof of an apartment near the center of Queens. Unconscious and completely exposed. Peter wasn’t one to hide out in the open so Bruce had neglected those areas in search of the more concealed spaces. Oracle had already sent Bruce the coordinates.
“E.T.A on Nightwing?” Bruce asked, as he climbed out of the sewers.
“10 minutes.”
“Have Superboy collect the anti-venom and sedatives,” Bruce said as he grappled himself between buildings making his way to Peter’s coordinates. “Send Nightwing to pick up Robin before getting here. We’re heading back to Gotham tonight.”
“What about the Amber Alert?” Oracle asked, “They’ll have questions.”
“We’ll deal with them when we get to Gotham.” Bruce said.
Arriving at the site, Bruce was hit with a wave of deja vu. There, curled up on the ground, layed the body of his son. For a moment it wasn’t Peter he saw, but Jason. Dried blood and motionless. Was he too late? Had he failed another one of his sons? He could only stare at the scene, as grief and regret filled him before he heard the distinct sound of footsteps land behind him. Looking back he saw Jon, hair flat from the rain. He held out the small med-bagt that contained the two syringes and vials.
“Batman?” Jon looked heartbroken towards Peter, “Is… is he okay? Was I too late?”
“No.” Bruce said breathlessly, quickly grabbing the bag off Jon and racing towards Peter. Not caring for the risk of being bitten as he scooped Peter up, hand going towards his pulse point on his neck.
It was weak, three full seconds between each dull beat. He couldn’t risk the sedative, not with him like this. Hours Peter had been lying out in the rain, who knows how many of those he had been unconscious for. Pulling Peter as close to him as possible, a vain attempt at warming Peter’s frozen body. Peter didn’t react. He stayed un-moving as Bruce pulled his cape off and tried to shield him from the ongoing rain. Peter was a cold lump under Bruce’s cape, held tightly against Bruce’s form as he stood up. Bruce wasn’t too late. Not this time. He was going to keep his kid alive. Whether Peter would comply didn’t matter. Whether the rest of the family agreed with his methods or not didn’t matter. Until Peter could prove he could stand on his own feet again, Bruce couldn’t let him go. He couldn’t let him go if this was the outcome. He couldn’t bear another of his kids dying alone. Not like Jason.
Oracle chimed through the coms informing Bruce that Nightwing had picked up Robin and was fast approaching the location. Turning towards Jon, who stood there fidgeting with his hands in worry, he nodded towards the discarded med-kit.
“The red vial, give it to your father, it’s the anti-venom.” Bruce said, one arm holding Peter firmly, “I’ll contact you both in the future. It’s time for everyone to go home.”
Bruce made his way to the rooftop entrance, with a firm kick the door flung open. Turning towards Jon who had made his way beside them both holding the med bag tightly in his hands.
“Is he going to be okay?” Jon asked, worry seeping through every word as his eye’s kept flashing between Peter and Bruce. “I’m sorry I didn’t find him sooner I-”
“You did good.” Bruce said gently, “You found him. That’s all you needed to do. Everyone’s going to be okay.”
Jon nodded, sparing Peter another quick glance as he took out the red vial and flashed away to his father still in the hotel.
By the time Bruce had made it outside, Dick and Damian were already there, the car parked right outside the entrance. The two of them quickly jumped out as Bruce approached.
“What happened?” Dick asked breathlessly, hands reaching out to the lump under Bruce’s cape.
“Is he…dead?” Damian asked, wide eyes at the unmoving lump.
“Not yet,” Bruce said, slipping into the back seat as Dick held it open. Damian jumped into the back with them while Dick quickly got into the front, the engine still running as he turned the heating to the highest and began driving, “Hypothermia most likely.”
“There's spare clothes in the trunk,” Dick said, eyes on the road as he quickly navigated the streets heading for the highway, “Damian, you can reach, he needs to get out of those wet clothes as soon as possible.”
Damian nodded, reaching into the back and pulling out a small duffel bag. The clothes were clearly too big for Peter, obviously being Dick’s own spare clothes, but Peter wasn’t in much of a position to complain. Bruce and Damian helped strip Peter, maneuvering him to remove the heavy clothing. Bruce dried him quickly with one of the spare shirts before discarding it to the floor as Damian tried to get as many new layers onto him as possible. The glimpses of Peter’s nude body, pale skin, old bruising and protruding bones had the three of them panicking further. Damian’s stoic persona crumbling as shaking hands tried to pull a second pair of gloves over Peter’s frozen hands.
The trip was long and Peter showed no signs of waking. Bruce had slipped off his mask at some point, taking off his first layer of gear until he was only wearing a black tank top and the black armoured pants. Dick hadn’t driven into the cave but instead pulled up outside the manor’s entrance. Alfred had barely opened the door as the group bounded inside, Bruce carrying Peter to the first empty guest room. Dick pulled the covers back as Bruce set him on the bed.
“Master Bruce.” Alfred said, standing at the entrance of the room glancing towards Peter in the bed, “Miss Barbara has already contacted Dr.Thompkins, she has agreed to do a house-visit due to Master Peter’s… circumstances.”
Bruce nodded as he sat down on the bed.
“Damian, grab the sedative from the car."
“Father! I don’t think that's necessary-” Damian shouted, before Bruce cut him off.
“We won’t use it unless his condition improves.” Bruce sighed, “If he becomes conscious before or even during the examination he’ll end up hurting himself. It’s just a precaution Damian, he needs this.”
“Tt” Damian left the room on route to get the vial left in the car.
“How long has he been like this?” Dick asked, placing a hand to Peter’s forehead. “He’s frozen, maybe we should get him in a shower first, get him warmed up a bit.”
“Maybe,” Bruce said, “I’m not sure how long he’s been like this, It’ll be best to wait for Leslie.”
“Master Bruce is correct,” Alfred said, re-entering the room holding a small med-kit and placing it on the bedside table before taking out a mouth thermometer, “In cases of hypothermia it is heavily advised against re-heating the patient quickly via a bath or shower. Master Bruce has had a few cases in his younger days, often getting caught in the rain but refusing to come home until hours after.”
Placing the thermometer in Peter’s mouth before reaching over to further tighten the blanket around him.
“I shall collect another vial of antivenom from Master Timothy. He has just returned from his patrol so he should be in the cave.” Alfred said standing up straight, “I heard the last time Master Peter had been incapacitated it had triggered him into releasing a large quantity of venom despite his consciousness.”
“I’ll go with you,” Dick said following Alfred out, “I’ll have Tim update me on any side effects of his mutation, his enhanced healing should have kicked in by now unless something else is blocking it.”
Bruce was soon left alone in the room with Peter.