kismet

It took a total of four hours before they caught wind of anything relating to the Joker. In that time, Peter had been brought down to the Batcave, though he didn’t have the bandwidth to appreciate it. Barbara who turned out to be freaking Oracle was coordinating with Karen trying to pin down Tim’s location.

They had found out that alongside Joker, Riddler had also escaped. Dick, Cass, and Steph had gone to handle to patrol the streets for any sign of anything but they’d returned pretty downtrodden a few minutes ago.

He’d put on his suit as soon as they got to the cave and had stayed hidden behind his mask while they waited. Pacing back and forth across the length of the cave, his lenses red. The rest of the group watched him worriedly while Jason stood near him like a guard.

The crime lord had offered to spar with him to release some of his energy but Peter had refused, a little worried he would accidentally kill the man because of how keyed up he felt.

Peter had just begun to lose hope when Barbara spoke up, her voice sharp and professional. “Joker goons making moves over by the docks.” She reported, a snarl twisting her face.

He had learned over the last few hours that Barbara had been Batgirl before The Joker paralyzed her and forced her into a wheelchair. Peter had ached in sympathy for the strong woman but he’d been too focused on the situation to express that.

Peter jerked to a stop from where he’d been pacing and turned his head towards the rest of the Bats, chirping inquisitively. He had regressed to his baser spider instincts a while ago.

“Let’s go.” Batman growled, power walking over to the Batmobile.

Peter looked around wildly as everyone began walking to various cars and motorbikes. Before he could fall into a panic, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He twisted sharply, a snarl on his lips before he saw that it was Jason, watching him with a very sad look on his face..

“It’s alright, kid. You’re with me.” He said, jerking his head towards a red motorcycle. “Come on.”

Peter nodded once and followed after the man, climbing onto the back of the bike and sticking his ass to the machine.

“You need to hold on.” Jason said, twisting around to look at Peter.

Peter scrunched his nose, shaking his head.

“Kid-“

“I’m sticky.” Peter croaked, looking pointedly down at his hands as he stuck his hand to Jason’s shit and pulled it away without unsticking.

“Huh.” Jason said, tilting his head. “Okay, sticky. That’s- okay.”

Peter watched with muted amusement as Jason spun around in an attempt to hide a grimace. He jumped slightly as the sound of engines starting rumbled through the entire cave. At the same time, Jason kicked up the stand and started his own bike.

It felt like hours before they’d finally pulled to a stop, a few blocks away from the docks. Peter practically leaped off the bike, ready to swing towards the docks without a second thought. He was stopped by Red Hood putting his hand around Peter’s arm.

“Let go of me.” Peter hissed, yes, actually hissed.

“Pe- Spider-Man we need a plan.” Hood said, gesturing to the rest of the Bats who were watching the scene worriedly.

“I have a plan. Kill fucking everyone until I get Red Robin back.” Peter spat, ripping his hand from Hood’s hold. Batman and the rest of the Bats stiffened but Red Hood stayed relaxed, keeping his eyes on Peter.

“Spider-Man.” Hood said, holding up his hands and making a futile attempt to block Peter’s exit. Peter tilted his head. What did he have to say now? “You don’t kill.”

Peter scoffed. They didn’t know him. They didn’t know what he could do.

“Peter.” Hood whispered urgently. “We can get him back without killing anyone.”

“Tt.” Robin clicked his tongue, looking unimpressed and surprised in equal measure.

“The Joker needs to die.” Peter growled. “I’ve seen what he does to this city. What he did to Oracle.” Then, he decided to take a leap. “What he did to you. He’ll just escape again, and hurt someone else.”

Hood stiffened, seeming completely shocked still.

He had seen the articles about Robin II’s death. Killed by Joker. And Jason Todd-Wayne’s assumed death which turned out to be trafficking. He wasn’t so sure. That hair and those eyes. The green pit of liquid he’d woken up in. Something about it had allowed him to come back to life and he was betting it was the same for Jason.

Peter stared sharply, holding Hood’s gaze through his mask. Keeping his body language open, he let Hood read everything.

After a moment, Red Hood nodded. “The Joker needs to die.” He agreed. A promise.

“Hood.” Batman growled, stepping forward.

“What, old man? Sorry can’t hear you. We’ve got a little birdy to rescue.” Hood grumbled, turning to Nightwing. “How are we playing this?”

“I already sent Black Bat forward to scout-“ Batman started before the woman herself melted out of the shadows.

‘He is there. They are both there. Thirty guards. Red Robin passed out. Hurt.’ She signed, reporting what she’d seen with a worried frown.

Peter leaned back, cracking his knuckles. “Easy enough.”

“Now hold on.” Spoiler spoke up now, obviously unconvinced.

“No you listen. Now, I have trained with some of the best assassins in the world, two world war two veteran, magic users, a literal god, and the smartest fucking man on earth. I have been through more than you could ever fucking imagine. I have fought in an intergalactic war. I have died twice. Do not fucking underestimate me. Now tell me what to do and I’ll do it but we are getting Tim right fucking now.” Peter ranted, waving his hands angrily and shocking his audience silent.

“Okay. Okay. Spider-Man you have to calm down.” Nightwing said calmly.

Peter’s chest rumbled and his teeth were bared under his mask. “I am calm.” He spat, decidedly not calm. “We’re wasting time.”

“Spider-Man, Red Hood, Spoiler, Signal, and Robin will take care of the goons. Black Bat, Nightwing, and I will go for the Joker and Tim.” Batman reported, earning another growl from Peter which the older man ignored.

“Fine.” He bit out. “Let’s go.”

The approached the warehouse slowly and silently, not alerting any of the guards until they were already attacking. Peter flew through the attackers like a tornado, flipping and dancing across the space, kicking them out in single punches. He was, perhaps, not watching his strength as closely as he should have. But he took Hood’s words to heart, they didn’t have to die.

It was a little harder than it should have been, not killing them, but he managed it.

“Catch!” Spoiler called out, kicking a goon towards Peter. His face was met with Peter’s fist the second he was in range and then he was out cold.

He could hear murmuring and the sounds of fighting on the upper level but focused on the few goons left standing.

He ran upstairs without a backwards glance when the rest of them were knocked out, not listening to the calls of his name from the team.

When he got upstairs, Batman and Joker were fighting while Nightwing and Black Cat took care of a few more guards. Joker was laughing this horrible cackle as Batman punched him in the jaw and it made Peter want to strangle the monster.

His eyes darted across the room, searching. He ran forward when he caught sight of who he was looking for, his breath feeling punched out of him.

Tim was unconscious, beaten and bloody from where he was restrained against a chair.

“Tim?” Peter called out worriedly, putting his hands gently on Tim’s shoulders. He didn’t move. Cursing, he quickly checked for a pulse, sighing in relief when he heard the faint sound. “He’s breathing!” He called out. “His pulse is really slow though.”

He fought not to execute the clown when he noticed the bloody crowbar discarded a few feet away.

Jason had joined in the fight against the Joker but Spoiler had jumped towards Peter and Tim. “Come on, we have to get him back to the Cave.” She said, quickly undoing the chains holding Tim.

“But-“ Peter protested, eyes darting towards the fight happening in the background.

“We have to get him back to the Cave.” She repeated more urgently and Peter sighed, scooping Tim up gently and letting Spoiler and Signal lead him out of the warehouse.

Alfred had just announced that Tim would be okay when the rest of the Bats returned to the cave. A rush of footsteps approached the med bay where Peter was sitting at Tim’s side, delicately holding his hands and counting his breaths.

Steph and Duke were sitting guard by the door, watching Tim closely with matching worried frowns. Selina had retreated to the rest of the Cave to wait for the others.

There was a clatter at the door and suddenly five faces watched worriedly from the doorway.

“Alfred said he was okay?” Dick asked, slowly approaching the bed.

“Three broken ribs, a concussion, and a broken arm but yeah, he’s okay.” Steph answered idly.

They crowded around the bed, waiting together until Tim finally woke.

“Urghhh.” Tim groaned.

Peter shot forward squeezing Tim’s hand gently. “Tim?” He whispered, desperately.

“Mmh.” Tim hummed. “P-Peter?” He said, groggily blinking his eyes open and wincing in pain at the light.

“I’m here.” Peter promised. “I’m here Tim.”

“Where am I?” Tim asked, closing his eyes against the harsh lighting.

“You’re in the medbay in the Cave.” Jason answered, watching Tim closely.

“Mmh.” Tim hummed before his eyes shot open and he tried to sit up, blinking rapidly. “Wait, Cave? Peter? Cave?”

“It’s alright, Tim. Calm down.” Peter rushed out, pressing Tim back into the bed. “I know. It’s okay, I’ll explain everything later. I promise.”

And he would. In the hours that they waited for Tim to wake, all of the looks he was receiving. He owed it to Tim to tell him the truth and if he was telling Tim then he was telling all of them. He owed it to him and he wanted to tell him. Wanted to tell all of them, to get it off his chest.

It took a while for Tim to calm back down again but eventually he stilled, falling back to sleep with a cute little snore.

“You’re Spider-Man?!” Tim yelled, eyes wide as saucers.

Peter nodded.

“I knew it!” Tim laughed, shaking his head.

Peter’s own eyes widened and his mouth fell open. “You did?”

“Well… I suspected.”

It wasn’t until a few days later that Peter finally found himself in the Cave again, ready to tell them his story. Tim was sitting directly next to Peter, holding his hand. The rest of the Bats were spread across the cave lazily. He had requested that Harley and Pam be invited too so the couple was curled together in a lone armchair, watching him with concern.

“Okay.” Peter breathed out, laughing nervously. “So by now you all know I’m Spider-Man.”

Nods all around.

“Well, first I’d like to apologize for the way I acted when Tim was- when Tim was kidnapped.” Peter said, fighting the urge to fidget. “I-“

“It’s okay, kid. It was the Lazarus Pits.” Jason cut him off, waving a hand. “Happens to the best of us.” He said, gesturing lazily to himself with a smirk.

“T-the Lazarus Pits?” Peter echoed, feeling a shiver of wrong go down his spine.

“Green bubbling pit from hell?” Jason threw out casually.

“O-oh yeah. I’m familiar.” Peter mumbled, running his free hand through his hair. “Anyway so I am Spider-Man and I figured out your identities when I first arrived to Gotham but that’s not really what I wanted to tell you guys about.” He said.

“What is it?” Tim asked in concern, biting his lip.

“I’m- I’m from another universe.” Peter blurted, eyes wide.

“Wait what?!” Steph shouted, shooting up from her chair.

“Yeah.” Peter said, avoiding Tim’s eyes when his hand slackened in Peter’s. He cleared his throat, pulling his hands into his lap. “I’m from another universe.” He repeated more surely.

“But- but your- you exist in this universe! I checked all your records!” Tim blurted, twisting to look at Peter.

“You did?” Peter raised his brows. He supposed he probably should have guessed that. “Well yeah, those are fake.”

“No they’re not!” Tim said, eyes wide.

“Uh?” Peter snorted. “Yes they are? I hacked into the government database and put myself into their systems.”

“Oh my God.” Someone breathed out.

“Why did you come to this universe?” Bruce asked the big question, face set in stone.

“Um okay, let me start from the beginning.” Peter said, waving a hand. “My name is Peter Parker and on my earth when I was fourteen I was bitten by a genetically modified spider and one day I woke up with superpowers.”

“Okay, origin story.” Steph mumbled.

“After my uncle died I decided to become the vigilante Spider-Man. Eventually I was recruited by the Avengers, that’s my world version of the Justice League by the way. I never officially joined them, more of a street level kinda guy, but they did train me.”

“Are those the people you said you were trained by the other day?” Dick questioned curiously.

“Yes.” Peter nodded. “Karen, pull up a picture of the Avengers.” Everyone jumped when a light projected itself from his glasses, displaying a picture of the Avengers like he’d requested.

“These… are your earths heroes?” Bruce asked, sounding unimpressed. Peter looked up in confusion only to burst into teary laughter when he caught sight of the picture Karen had chosen.

It was from the last christmas they’d celebrated as a team before the Blip. They were all, Peter included, dressed in matching holiday PJ’s with Santa’s hats on their heads. Peter was in the middle, squished between Tony and Nat with huge grin on his face. They stood posed in front of a comically large Christmas Tree, arms around eachother. It was all of them; Tony, Nat, Bucky, Steve, Bruce, Thor, Vision, Rhodey, Wanda, Clint, Sam, and Peter all together. Happy. His chest ached.

Wanda was being dipped in Vision’s arms, a laugh frozen on her face while Vision grinned that cheeky smile he so rarely displayed. Sam, Bucky, and Steve all had their arms thrown over each others shoulders, smiling and laughing while Sam gave Bucky bunny ears behind him. Tony and Nat had their arms around Peter in a tight hug, grins splitting their faces and twinkles in their eye. They used to call it a Spider Sandwich. Fuck, he missed them. Thor had pulled Bruce into a heated kiss, a smile still visible on his face while the scientist flushed to the tips of his ears. Clint was all but hanging off of Natasha, making a silly face at the camera, while Rhodey did the same on Tony’s side. He remembered the way Pepper had giggled with May as the took the picture. The way Tony had yelled that they weren’t ready. The way they had all been sent into a fit of laughter when they saw the photo.

“Not that one, Karen! Jeez!” Peter said, flushing as everyone let out laughs.

‘You seem very close.’ Cass signed, watching him closely, something like sympathy on her face. 

“Yeah.” Peter huffed a laugh. “They are- were my family.” He shook his head, gesturing to the new picture. “Anyway.” 

Another picture displayed, this one more what he had been requesting. Iron Man stood front and center with Spider-Man perched on his shoulder. White Wolf, Black Widow, and The Hulk stood menacingly on Tony’s left while Hawkeye, Thor, Falcon, and Captain America stood to the right with silly grins on their faces. Vision and Wanda were floating together off to the side, small twin smiles on their faces. War Machine was there too, off to the side with his arms crossed.

“Woah.”

“That’s Hulk, White Wolf, Black Widow, me and Iron Man, Captain America, Falcon, Hawkeye, Thor, The Scarlet Witch, Vision, and War Machine.” Peter said, gesturing to each hero respectively. He watched wistfully as the picture dissolved into thin air.

“Are they going to be coming for you?” Tim asked with an air of vulnerability.

“No.” Peter gave a sad smile, shaking his head. “No I’m here for good. They all think I’m dead, probably.”

“Which begs the question: how did you get here?” Bruce asked, watching him closely.

“I died, okay?” Peter snapped before taking a deep breath to calm himself. “I died and when I was dying I somehow called out to some entity who decided to keep me alive and bring me here.”

“What does this entity want with this universe?” Bruce asked sharply.

“Nothing?” Peter hummed, tilting his head. “I mean I didn’t exactly ask but when she said she was Fate I decided it wasn’t smart to question that.”

“Wait Fate?” Tim asked incredulously. “Like with a capital F?”

“Yes, Fate.” Peter said, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, then I woke up in that- what did you call it? Lazarus Pit.”

“And?” Jason trailed off.

“And then I tried my best to survive? I got lucky, Aunt Harley offering me that job. I wasn’t even going to be Spider-Man until Jason convinced me.”

“What?!” Jason squawked, looking entirely bewildered.

“It’s okay to be scared but don’t let fear stop you from doing what you believe in.” Karen played aloud as if on cue, Jason’s modulated voice ringing through the cave.

Bruce turned a sharp look towards his son but Jason was already protesting. “I thought you were talking about volunteering at homeless shelters! Not being a superhero!”

“Eh.” Peter shrugged, softening when Tim burst into laughter.

“I knew something was weird about you but I thought it was just because you’re a meta, not from a whole other dimension!” Tim giggled.

“You’re not mad?” Peter asked shyly, vulnerable.

“Mad that you didn’t tell me your biggest secret after dating for two months? No love, I’m not mad.”

Peter deflated instantly, falling into Tim’s chest with a sigh of relief.

“I’m mad.” Jason spoke up teasingly. “You knew who I was the whole time and you were just fucking with me.”

Peter burst into giggles. “You just make it so easyyy.” He teased back.

“Doesn’t he?” Tim added with a grin.

“Brat.” Jason grumbled affectionately, reaching over to ruffle both Peter and Tim’s hair.

“When exactly did you decide to stalk Tim?” Steph spoke up after a moment.

“Uh, excuse me? Tim was actually stalking me, thank you very much. I figured out your identities twenty minutes after I’d arrived in this universe after doing a bit of research on the library computer. I mean, come on guys, you are not subtle. I was actually making a concentrated effort to avoid you guys.” Peter rambled, earning offended looks all around.

“The kids right Batsy.” Harley agreed firmly. “You really aren’t.”

“See!” Peter yelped, pointing towards his aunt with emphasis.

“I wasn’t stalking you!” Tim protested futilely.

“Babe. I have a sixth sense that alerts me when anyone is watching me a little too closely. I knew the whole time. And it’s not like you were the only one.” Peter deadpanned, earning sheepish looks from all of the Bats and Birds.

“Sorry.” Came a chorus of voices. Peter couldn’t help but laugh.