A new beginning
“Parker luck” was a thing, okay? It striked whenever Peter got too comfortable, felt safe or got a moment of peace. So, he should have really seen it coming when he finally was getting used to a life after the Erasure.
...
One couldn’t say things were great or good or even decent. In reality, things were fucking hard right now. And Peter wasn’t sure how to deal with it anymore.
The Erasure had worked, too well maybe. Legal records validating Peter’s legal existence were untouched (small mercies), but when it came to people, no one could remember him, the memories where he was supposed to be, replaced or distorted. Even his face in pictures was blurry, if he was there at all.
There was no one to call him or for him to call, there was no one to ask how his day had been, if he was hurt, if he was hungry. No one to count on, no shoulder to cry on.
Peter was utterly, devastatingly alone.
Between being spider-man, struggling to keep a job and studying to get his GED, it was accurate to say Peter was stretching himself thin. He didn’t last long at his jobs (it wasn’t really welcomed when he couldn’t go and he couldn’t exactly say he had broken ribs from fighting the villain of the week), so he wasn’t eating as much as his super-metabolism needed, which resulted in him almost falling off a building when he got light headed.
The nightmares didn’t help. <<PTSD>>, said the voice of the therapist his aunt May sent him to when Ben died. He ignored her.
So, he couldn’t sleep either. Awesome.
It was even more awesome when one day he got to his apartment (not home) from being fired again, tired, hungry and sleep deprived, with what he was pretty sure was a sprained ankle and bruised ribs from last night, which he got during his fight with Rhino. Then, as he was about to throw himself on the couch, a blinding light came out from a circle that appeared right under him.
Peter closed his eyes.
...
It fucking hurt.
It was like he was getting ripped apart, put back together and then tore apart again. He definitely would have a word with whomever had decided it was a good idea to open a portal in the middle of his apartment, swallowing him in the process.
He also definitely did not scream, okay?
“WHAT THE FUUUUUCK????!!!” He yelled, falling through what he could only think was a wormhole.
When he finally stopped falling, he felt dark and wet concrete hit his back.
“Fuck, that fucking hurts”, cursed Peter, deciding again to give the one responsible for this a piece of his mind.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the night sky and was overwhelmed with the smell of smoke (was something burning?). He got on his feet and took a look at his surroundings, he was in a dark alley and could not sense other people nearby.
He was beginning to realize he had no clue about where on earth he was. Peter didn’t recognize the streets, buildings or anything else he could see. He was starting to get worried, what did that portal do to him? Where had it sent him? Was he even in New York anymore?
!!!!!!!
Suddenly, his spider-sense went off, screaming at him to get the hell away from this place. Someone had appeared in the alley, a man wearing a purple suit, had green hair and a really creepy smile on his face… was he supposed to be a clown?
“My, my, my. You seem lost, boy”, the clown-like-man said while laughing. “Hm… You actually may be a nice gift for the Big Bad Bat, with that young and innocent looking face”, said, sounding thoughtful.
“A gift for whom? You know what, I am not looking for trouble, man. And what are you supposed to be? A knock-off clown? You really should work on your costume”, Peter said, before he could think better about what to say, realizing that taunting a creepy-dangerous-looking-clown was probably not a good idea. At least in his civilian clothes, anyway.
The creepy man just let out an equally creepy and loud laugh, taking out a gun from his suit and pointing it right to Peter’s head.
Stupid creepy clowns, he had never liked them. Peter was so fucking done.
It was an unconscious act, really. Peter punched the guy in the face and kicked him in the groin (oopsie), sending the man flying against the wall. The sound of bones breaking could be heard.
The clown did not get up.
“Shit” Peter said. Was the guy dead? He was surely creepy, but Peter had no intention to kill him.
Panicking, Peter quickly climbed up the building on the left side of the alley and did his best to hide, sitting down with his back against the wall of the edge of the building.
In his panicked state, he didn’t notice the new presence that appeared next to him.
“Hey” a voice said. It sounded distorted, machine-like.
“HOLY SH-” Peter yelped, hitting his head against the wall in the process of trying to get up. When he looked up, there was a man wearing what he could only call a black super-suit with a red symbol on it he didn’t recognize and a red helmet.
“Sorry” apologised, though Peter could say he was not actually sorry.
“Wanna tell me what are you doing?” said the red-helmet-guy, with his arms crossed.
Getting up, ready for a fight, Peter couldn’t help looking at the spot where the body was supposed to be. Noticing it, the red-helmet-guy looked down at the alley where Peter had come from.
“What the fuck” he said, sounding shocked. “You had something to do with that?”, asked. Well, Peter did have the feeling he had a sort of guilty-looking face at the moment.
“Listen, that guy for sure was gonna kill me. I didn’t mean to punch him that hard, I swear” Peter quickly said.
“Holy shit” the guy still sounded shocked. Red-helmet-guy took off his helmet, showing a man wearing a domino mask (double mask, seriously?) and dark hair with a white streak in the front. Were his eyes shining green? Peter couldn't really tell from the distance.
“You… you just killed the Joker” said the man, looking intently at Peter, like he couldn’t believe his own words. His voice was low and deep (Peter kind of liked it).
“Joker… What kind of name is that? Also, I don’t know if he is actually dead,” Peter said, feeling uncomfortable. The guy - vigilante? hero? something else? Peter wasn’t sure - stared at him like he was crazy. He was a bit right, probably. Peter felt quite crazy right now.
“Are you hurt? What is your name, kid?”, the red-helmet-guy suddenly asked.
“Not a kid. And… my name is Peter Parker”, he honestly answered, having the feeling nothing good could come out of trying to lie to the guy.
“Okay, Peter” the man nodded, “Stay here” sternaly said, as he ran to what Peter supposed were the stairs on the side of the building (to check on the body, Peter guessed).
Yeah, sure. Listen to the strange clothed man you don’t know. He could be an organ trafficker for all Peter knew (which was not much at this moment). So he waited for the other man to leave, took a deep breath, and started to get the hell away from the place, taking the stairs at the opposite side of the alley.
Fumbling for his phone while he ran, Peter tried to check his location in the maps app, with no results. He had a feeling he should not be surprised when the no signal sign showed up.
Not knowing how long or even where he had been running, Peter took a turn to another alley to take a break and get a hold of his breathing, just to come face to face with the red-helmet-guy.
“You should really know better than try to run away from the Red Hood, ya’ know? Especially in Gotham” the guy said, deadpan.
“I have no clue what any of those words mean”, Peter said. He was gonna be sick.
The man (Red Hood?) arched an eyebrow. “You are not from here, are you?”, asked.
Peter shaked his head. What was the point in lying, anyway?
“Listen man”, Peter started, tired, “I have no clue where I am or how I ended up here, so if you are gonna try to kidnap me, call the cops or something, could you get on with it already? It’s been a long day”.
“I’m not going to kidnap you, kid” The man sounded like he thought Peter was an idiot.
“First of all, not a kid. Second, that’s exactly what a kidnapper would say, besides, you didn’t say no to the cops part” Peter retorted, raising an eyebrow.
Helmet-guy raised his hands in a placating manner. “Why on earth would I tell on you to those useless fuckers when all you did was a favor to everyone in this city”.
“A favor? I’m pretty sure I cracked that guy's skull, man” Peter spilled, obviously not having control of his own mouth.
“Even better, he will not get up anytime soon, if he is even alive”. Yeah, his eyes were definitely glowing green.
Suddenly, the guy stopped talking, listening to something. Peter could hear a buzzing sound. A communicator, perhaps?
“Was no one even gonna even tell me the fucking Joker escaped Arkham, again?” Red Hood seemed to answer.
“Yeah, no. Go to hell, I’m gonna do what I gotta do, so leave me the hell alone” the man growled. He turned to look at Peter again.
“Stay here. Seriously, stay here this time. I am going to check the situation and I’ll be back, so stay put”, Red Hood ordered, while walking away.
Peter was alone again.