kismet

After many conversations and even more tests, Peter was deemed safe enough to leave the cave and named an ally of the Bats after Bruce was satisfied with his interrogation.

He’d gotten a much needed laugh about the man’s reaction when he’d explained that his blood was radioactive. Hence the several tests and analysis afterwards.

He’d had to go into detail about his mutations and his training but he hadn’t minded. He’d trusted that they would keep it to themselves, he had leverage after all.

He’d also gone into painful amounts of detail about the Avengers and their skill set, how they were either broken up or dead in his time.

There had been newer heroes, a New Avengers team that had popped up in New York shortly after the spell. They were good kids but it hurt to get too close to them and their mentors. He had met up with them every once in a while, but only in mask and they hadn’t known any personal details about him. Not like Team Red, those two nutballs had probably known Peter better than anyone else.

Karen had helped during his explanations, supplying video and picture references as he spoke. She had also, rather generously, provided all of the records of every test Doctor Banner and Tony had done on him after one too many incidents where they didn’t know what something would do to his spider DNA. They’d also gotten access to the files on how to make medicine that works for Peter’s metabolism.

Bruce had been extremely grateful, though the man had obvious difficulty interacting with Karen, treating her as an object instead of a sentient being.

It irked Peter but the rest of the family had no such troubles with speaking to her like a person. They asked her questions about Peter and herself, seeming genuinely curious about her opinions and interests.

Karen had seemed equally curious, especially when speaking to Barbara. The hacking duo seemed to have bonded after Peter had gotten permission to install a server for Karen in the cave. It had taken some major convincing on Tim and Barbara’s part and Peter had promised not to invade their privacy via Karen and eventually the man had agreed, begrudgingly.

He hadn’t told the Bats everything about his old life, not even close. Not about Thanos and his first death or about Mysterio and Doctor Strange’s spell. But maybe he would eventually. He would definitely be telling Tim, but he didn’t have the courage for that particular trauma dump as of now.

Tim was being way too cool about the whole situation, seeming to find joy in asking Peter about the differences between universes and technology.

He listened avidly as Peter told him about Tony and his aunt, about Ned and MJ. Tales of Team Red and Spidey Junior were frequent too, making Peter feel like he was keeping them real through his stories. He spoke energetically about missions and training sessions with the Avengers and Lab Sessions with Tony, fighting tears through his words. He’d explained a bit about the Battle of Earth, how Peter had lost the man who was like a father to him. The man that had died to save the rest of the world, to bring Peter back to life.

In return, Tim told him about how he became Robin about his adventures with his ten, Young Justice. Most specifically, Bart, Cassie, and Kon. He told him about his missions to alien planets and the fights with the Rogues that infected Gotham. He whispered into the dark about his past with Jason, about Bruce going missing and Dick taking Robin away from him.

They spent whole days like that, curled together into bed while they whispered back and forth, slowly opening up more and more.

It was nice, being able to just talk without having to worry about censoring himself and he could tell Tim felt the same. The relieved smile on his face after one of their chats spoke volumes.

The rest of the Wayne family had warmed up to him as well, their distrust of him after their conversation mostly forgotten. Bruce still seemed wary but with Tim, Jason, Steph, and Cass on his side, he didn’t push it.

They’d entertained themselves with watching videos downloaded from Karen’s severs of his patrols, training sessions, and other random tidbits of his old life. He had shared all of the files they had wanted, if only to get Bruce off of his back.

Things were… good. Jason had been helping him with what he learned was called ‘Pit Rage’. It made him sigh in relief, learning that the Pit had side effects and it wasn’t just Peter’s bubbling rage overflowing.

Jason had also been vindictively about his murder of the Joker after Peter had left the warehouse with Tim. Speaking in length about how it was ‘about damn time I got to shoot that monster in the head’. Bruce was not very happy about that but he hadn’t really said anything to Jason or Peter about it.

Harley and Pam had both emphatically stated that they didn’t care about his past just like he didn’t care about theirs, but they would always be there for him if he needed to talk. They’d also made sure to mention that they were not surprised about anything he had said at all. Selina had just smirked, even when Bruce began pressing her for answers, only letting out a tinkling laugh in reply.

Life had gotten back to a new normal. Wake up next to Tim, college classes, to work, go out as Spider-Man, spend more time with Tim and his family.

Things were good.

It was only a few weeks after Peter had told the Bats the truth and he had just gotten home from patrol and he was surprised to find Tim sitting on the couch in his apartment with his laptop open on his lap. He looked entirely invested in what he was watching and Peter couldn’t help finding it adorable.

As he made his way into the apartment through the window though, Tim slammed the laptop shut, staring at Peter sheepishly.

“…Hey Red.” Peter said slowly. “Whatcha watching?”

Tim’s face dropped. “I’m sorry!” He blurted out. “I know you only gave us the files so Bruce could look through them but-“

Peter’s face softened and he moved to grab Tim’s hand. “I don’t mind if you watch them, babe.” He said kindly, watching with a bit of amusement as Tim deflated in relief. “Which one are you watching?”

“One of your training sessions with the Avengers.” Tim answered shyly, flipping the computer back open.

“Ah.” Peter hummed, leaning forward in interest and nostalgia. “Let’s see it then.”

Tim moved slowly, watching Peter carefully as he pressed play. Peter’s face softened as he began watching the scene play out in front of them.

“Come on, мама паук! I almost had him! You saw, right?!” A much younger version of Peter squeaked, in the first Spider-Man suit Tony ever gave him, sans mask.

“Вы не сделали!” Bucky shouted, shuffling from his spot on the mat.

Natasha smirked slyly, patting Peter on the cheek consolingly. “Almost, детеныш паука. Ты получишь это в следующий раз.”

“Нет, он не будет!” Bucky shouted again, though he was smiling.

“Hey!” Tony cut in, looking up from his Stark Pad. “No creepy Russian around people who can’t understand it.”

Peter laughed, sticking out his tongue. “Forse dovresti impararlo allora, vecchio mio!” He said in Italian this time.

Tony looked offended and brought a hand to his chest before pointing sternly at Peter. “Don’t sass me, Underoos!”

“Wait.” Tim laughed, pausing the video. “Underoos?”

“Ugh.” Peter groaned, covering his blush with his hands. “And I thought I was done with that stupid nickname.”

“Why does he call you Underoos?” Tim asked, still snickering. Peter shot his boyfriend an unimpressed glare.

“No.”

“Karen-“ Tim called out, eyes bright.

“My first suit.” Peter answered immediately, cutting Tim off before Karen could try to come up with something to embarrass him. “It was a sweatsuit that I modified to fit the spider theme. Tony was appalled, practically threw the suit he made for me at me.He called them my original suit my underoos and it just stuck, I guess.”

“That’s hilarious.” Tim said, unpausing the video.

Peter stuck out his tongue again, yelping when Natasha reached forward and pinched his tongue between her fingers. “Ow! Auntie Nat!” Peter whined.

“You deserved that.” Tony called out, smirking.

“Hey! What the hell, Dad! You’re supposed to be on my side!” Peter yelled, looking offended.

“Less talking. More fighting.” Tony said instead of responding to that statement, quickly returning his attention to the tablet in his hand.

Peter grinned, bouncing on his feet as Nat pulled him into the ring. They both tilted their heads eerily in sync watching as they waited for the other to make a move.

“Creepy spiders.” Bucky muttered, running his metal hand through his hair.

At that, both Peter and Nat launched at each other, suddenly they were fighting, dancing really, a haze of twirling limbs and flying fists.

After five minutes, Nat had seemingly pinned Peter to the mat until he suddenly flipped forward twisting their positions until the assassin yielded.

“Good job, маленький паук.” Natasha grinned, slapping him on the back after he’d helped her up.

Peter blushed bright red, scuffing his foot against the mat. “Thanks, мама паук.”

“So you guys were really close, huh?” Tim mumbled as the video ended

“Yeah.” Peter breathed, blinking the tears out of his eyes. “Yeah.” He repeated. “We were.”

“I’m sorry.” Tim whispered.

Peter gave him a weak smile. “It’s alright. They were lost to me long before I ended up in this universe.” He said sadly. He’d grateful when Tim doesn’t ask why. He’s not sure he’ll ever be ready to tell that story.

“I’m still sorry.” Tim huffed, pressing his face into Peter’s collar. 

“Thanks.” Peter said after a pause, pulling Tim closer.

“Tell me about them.” Tim whispered.

Peter sighed, thinking about what he could say.

“Tell me about who they were to you.” Tim said, pressing his lips to Peter’s collar bone.

“Okay.” Peter breathed.

And he did.

He told him about Tony’s coffee addiction and his brilliant mind. About how he had taken Peter under his wing and treated him as a son.

About Bucky and his brainwashing, the way he baked to cope with what he had done. About Steve and his ridiculous humor, his love for drawing. Their love for each other that spanned decades.

About Nat and her prickly personality but went into even more detail about the softness underneath.

About how Bruce turned into a ‘Giant Green Rage Monster’ but was the most gentle and kind person Peter had ever met, he spoke of his intelligence and modesty.

About Thor and his obsession with Poptarts and his confusing relationship with his brother.

About Wanda and Vision and their complicated lives and personalities, about their love for each other against all odds.

About Clint and his habits of hiding in vents and his freaky ability to beat anyone at Mario Cart. About the man’s love for his civilian family.

About Sam and their frenemy relationship, the way the man spoke to his surveillance drone like it was a person.

He spoke of prank wars, and hair clubs, and movie nights. He could’ve spoken all night about his family, and he probably did given the sun looked like it was coming up.

Tim had listened avidly, having follow up questions for every tidbit, letting Peter get it all off of his chest. The memories. And Tim listened. God, he loved him.

“Petey!” A chorus of shouts from the regulars hit his ears as he walked through the door.

Peter smiled as he made his way into Harley’s, spotting Tim and Steph seated at the bar, looking around idly.

He waved as they caught sight of him, smiling brightly as he was pulled into a hug and kiss by Tim.

“What are you guys doing here?” He asked, pulling away from the kiss and giving Steph a hug.

“Just wanted to see your sexy ass.” Steph answered brightly, smirking when Peter blushed. He turned to Tim, raising a brow. Tim only shrugged, also smirking when Peter flushed further.

“Tim.” He hissed, blushing furiously.

Tim shrugged again, a sensual smirk playing on his lips. “What? It’s true. I’m with her on this.”

“Tim!” Peter whispered, eyes wide. He shook his head, planting one more kiss on Tim’s lips before rushing off to the back to change.

“Spider-Man.” Batman said in a gravelly voice, melting out of the shadows and approaching Peter from where he was perched on the roof.

“Yes, Batsy?” Peter hummed, biting into his burrito with gusto. He really missed Wade right about now.

“I have a question for you.” He said, still standing behind Peter.

Peter twisted around to look at him, lenses of his mask narrowing. “What’s up?”

Batman did something distinctly un-Batman like that made Peter’s senses go haywire. He… hesitated.

“What is it?” Peter asked again, feeling distinctly worried.

After pausing for a moment longer, Batman finally spoke “What happened that the Avengers weren’t there to help you?”

Peter’s head snapped up, a frown immediately twisting his mouth. “What?” He bit out, narrowing his eyes even further.

“When you- “ He sighed, cutting himself off for a moment before continuing. “I can’t find any record of you interacting with any of your team past 2024.” Batman stated, clearly fishing.

Peter sighed heavily, he’d been hoping to avoid ever having this conversation. Not like it even mattered anymore. “This is a conversation for the Cave. Not a rooftop.” He said, pulling the rest of his mask down over his mouth. It had been two months since Tim had been kidnapped by the Joker and he’d thought the questioning was over. Guess not.

Batman nodded sharply, firing his grappling hook in the direction of the Batmobile. Peter followed at a more sedate pace, his thoughts racing. This was the one thing. The one thing he hadn’t told Tim, the one thing he hadn’t ever told anyone.

The ride to the Cave was silent save for Peter muttering to Karen under his breath. She had quickly alerted everyone to meet at the cave.

Once they arrived, Peter got out of the car slowly, wincing as he caught sight of everyone. Okay, so he was really doing this.

“Okay.” Peter said heavily, once he’d removed his mask. “Bruce was asking why there are no records of me interacting with any Avengers after 2024. I- I’m going to tell you but I thought you all should be here so I don’t have to tell this story more than once.”

Tim looked worried and he shot up from the couch, pulling Peter into his side and dragging him back towards the couch. Once Peter was safely deposited in his lap, he asked “Are you sure?”

Peter gave a shaky smile. “Yeah.” He breathed. “Okay, just please let me finish before you ask any questions.” Once he received nods, he began. “So Tony Stark was one of the most famous people on the entire planet and eventually in the whole universe. He was a superhero, genius, billionaire, philanthropist, literal savior of the universe, and my mentor and father figure. So after he d-died, he left me access to an AI in a pair of glasses, one of the last he’d ever made. And no, not Karen, she’s my AI. No, her name was EDITH, stands for Even Dead I’m The Hero.”

“Arrogant.” Damian scoffed, earning scolding looks but Peter only smiled.

“He was extremely arrogant.” Peter nodded in good humor. “But he’d earned it, if I’m honest. Anyway, he left EDITH for me and she had access to everything Stark Industries related; tech, weapons, satellites, you name it. She also had access to these drones fitted with BARF technology.” At the looks, he clarified. “Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing. Tony really liked acronyms. One of his ex employees, Quinten Beck was pissed at Tony for something to do with BARF and he tricked me into giving him EDITH.” He hung his head in shame for a moment. “I fought him and got her back but in the process he revealed my identity to the entire world. I was only seventeen.”

“Shit.” Jason hissed through his teeth.

Tim had a death grip around his waist, and his hands were shaking slightly.

“He also framed me for his murder and I was arrested. I got acquitted but the public was still very against me. They thought Quinten Beck or Mysterio as he called himself was a hero. Things were slowly getting better but then me and my two best friends got rejected from every college we applied to. I- I had this stupid idea.” He admitted, wishing the floor would swallow him whole. “I went to a sorcerer named Doctor Strange and we came up with a spell to make everyone forget that Spider-Man was Peter Parker. It would be like it never happened but I didn’t realize the spell would mean my friends, my family until halfway through.” He sighed. “I interrupted the spell and it malfunctioned.”

“Oh my god.” Tim breathed and Peter curled into himself.

“It kind of broke the multiverse?” Before they could start questioning him he soldiered on. “It started bringing villains from other universes who knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man into my universe. We caught most of them and had a way to send them back but then I- I had another stupid idea. We realized that they had all been pulled from right before their deaths and I decided that I would find a way to save them and send them back. Most of them were actually just really sick, so it worked. I cured them, with the help of my friends and two other Peter Parker’s. One of the villains killed my aunt, my last living relative, before we were able to cure him but we saved him anyways. I- I almost killed him but my alternate selves stopped me.” He sighed again, taking a few deep breaths before continuing. “But the multiverse was still breaking apart and the only way to stop it was to make sure everyone forgot Peter Parker. Period. Everyone forgot I ever existed, that they ever even knew me. So- so I stopped existing. I-I mean like digitally and on paper.” He stuttered, feeling the burn of several stares.

“Oh my god, Peter.” Tim breathed. He sounded horrified. “I’m so sorry.”

“Wait what?” Peter’s head whipped to the side, staring at Tim with wide teary eyes. “Why are you sorry?”

“Because you had to go through all of that, Peter.” Tim explained gently, tucking Peter’s hair behind his ear. “I’m sorry you went through that, Peter.”

“I am sorry as well, Peter.” Bruce spoke up gruffly.

Peter slumped forward, pressing his forehead to Tim’s. “Thank you. Both of you.” He whispered softly.

“You weren’t all alone, were you?” Jason asked worriedly.

Peter couldn’t help the small twitch of his lips as he looked up. “I was for a little while.” He admitted. “But some really interesting people found me.”

Tim perked up. “Is it the famed Team Red?”

Peter smiled. “Yes.”

“Team Red?” Jason asked curiously.

“Yeah, me, Daredevil, and Deadpool. We all wore red suits so Pool decided we had to be called Team Red. It stuck, I guess. Deadpool is an ex merc, current self proclaimed antihero and Daredevil is a blind lawyer with super senses.” Peter answered, smiling at the thought of those two. “They saved me, even if they’ll never know it.”

“Can we see them? Like one of the videos?” Duke asked curiously, obviously trying to distract Peter away from the previous conversation.

Peter’s brows shot up, his face paling slightly. “I don’t know if-“

“Oh come on!” Steph yelled, waving her hands.

“Fine.” Peter gave up, throwing up his hands. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Karen, pull up a clip of DD and Pool.” He said, pulling off the glasses and tilting them towards the projector screen.

“Give me my chimichangas, you blind cretin!” Deadpool bellowed, pulling a pair of katanas out of thin air.

“Come get em, asswipe!” Daredevil taunted, turning and twisting to avoid the swipes of Pool’s weapons.

“DD, if you drop our food I’m going to throw you off of the roof.” Spider-Man deadpanned from where he was lying on the roof watching them.

“Baby Boy! You do love me!” Deadpool said with a coo, making kissy faces through his mask.

Matt, taking advantage of Wade’s distraction, swiped the mercenary’s feet out from under him with a cackle.

Daredevil strutted towards Peter with a satisfied look on his face. He wasn’t paying enough attention obviously because he didn’t notice Deadpool launching himself onto his back and trying to strangle the life out of him.

Peter let out a loud sigh, shooting a web and catching the food as it flew from Matt’s hands.

“You’re both children.” Peter said dryly, digging into the bag and pulling out a taco.

“I’m gonna fucking kill you!” Daredevil growled, shaking his body back and forth in an attempt to get Wade off of his back.

“Wade! Stop trying to strangle Matt or I’ll help him bury your body.” Peter spoke, voice blank and mouth full of food.

“Spidey-poo! You would bury me?” Deadpool pouted. “That’s so messed up. I don’t want to wake up choking on dirt. Didya think about that?”

“Maybe Spider-Man doesn’t want you to wake up.” Daredevil deadpanned, moving to sit beside Peter.

Wade gasped dramatically, falling to the ground. “DD, don’t be cruel. My Baby Boy would never want that.” He jerked his head to Peter, lenses of his mask wide. “Right, Spidey?”

“Huh?” Peter said, mouth still full. “Yeah, sure, right.”

“See!” Deadpool screeched triumphantly.

“Wade, shut up or I’m going to shove a burrito down your throat.” Matt hissed, biting into his burrito.

“Oh Daddy Devil, don’t threaten me with a good time.” Wade purred back.

“Ew, Pool. What the fuck?” Peter groaned in dismay.

“Okay! Karen that’s quite enough!” Peter shouted, waving his hands in an ‘abort!’ motion. He could feel his face heating up as everyone stayed completely silent, staring at him.

“That’s Team Red?” Jason asked, tone unreadable.

“Yes?” Peter winced, scratching the back of his neck and shuffling farther back in Tim’s lap.

“What the actual fuck, kid?” Jason sighed, sounding so, so tired.

’They are very strange. But love each other.’ Cass signed, nodding at where the screen had been displaying the clip.

Peter couldn’t contain the laughter that burst out of him and he couldn’t stop when the tears began. God, he missed those two crazy motherfuckers.

Peter had been living in Gotham for a full year and life was good. Better than good. He had just moved in with Tim at his apartment in a much nicer area of Gotham. Not that Peter had anything against Crime Alley, no the place had been his home but he appreciated living in a nice neighborhood once more.

His job was just as interesting as ever and he’d gotten a major raise after working there for nine months. He was just about to start his final year of college, having worked through his classes on an accelerated schedule.

His plans for the future were bright and plentiful. He had a loving boyfriend and a new family that cared to the best of their ability. He had Spider-Man and an actual team as Spider-Man.

He had just finished sketching out the outline for his company and he had several projects that would be launched the second he was able. After a bit of thought and a look at Peter’s plans, Bruce had agreed to give him a loan and Tim had been enthusiastically involved in the planning sessions.

As soon as he was done with school, he would begin working with Bruce and Tim to bring his company to life. It was a little surreal that who would probably become his biggest competitor were helping him so happily.

He had bonded closely with each and every one of the Wayne family, finally feeling a sense of belonging that had been missing for so long.

Maybe it was Fate that he was brought to this world. He’d been struggling for so long to move on from his past with ghosts haunting his every move but with this new fresh start, he’d been able to make a life of it.

“Peter!” Tim whined from the other room. “Come to bed.”

“I’m coming! I’m coming!” Peter laughed, rushing towards the bedroom and kicking his shoes off along the way.

Gotham was good.