Companionship In Familiarity
Food and water. Those were gonna be the two things desperately needed at some point. Food would be tricky, water even more so. The two had woken up and found a functioning drinking fountain and by functional Peter meant liquid came out. It was debatable if that liquid was really water based off the burning smell and discoloured movements. I mean water sometimes has chemicals but those are often to clean the water not contaminate it further. Peter was… optimistic but one whiff of it was enough to have Jayson grimacing and pulling Peter away. Apparently, Jayson was willing to risk a radioactive site but was evidently not risking ingesting some unknown chemicals. To be clear neither was Peter but he’d survived worse. Well, it seems any accessible water was gonna be the same and the two would just have to rely on bottled water, an expense they’d have to be alright with.
The two began walking in the streets of what they knew were Gothem streets, a mean and cruel noir vibe kinda place where the people seemed cold and the vigilantes even more so. The two began noting down their surroundings, making sure to look for areas of potential threat and areas they could slip away in. To an outsider's point of view the two were simply meandering around but to a trained eye it was obvious they were staking out viable areas to disappear from any wandering eyes. Boredom began to seep into Peters mind, they’d been walking for a while now, making note of every alley and building they walked past. So, to add some team bonding into the mix Peter began recalling his time at Stark Laboratory. He recounted all the tech and machine’s he’d help build, all the chemical compounds he worked with and even started on about quantum physics. Jayson remained quiet, content just to listen to Peters ramblings, though Peter caught on that Jayson had not a single clue what he was on about. Guess Peter and him should probably sit down at some point and discuss their strengths and weaknesses, not just to be able to make use and pick up the slack for the other but also because Peter just really wanted… no needed to talk to someone, distract himself even.
After staking out the area around them Peter decided that his stomach rivalled their current duties. The smell of burgers had set off a chain reaction in Peters brain and Jayson was just along for the ride. “Hey, I’m like really hungry. We could grab a bite and drink to eat so we don’t have to continue surveying on an empty stomach!” Peter buzzed out, bouncing a little in place at his inability to contain his excitement at the prospect of food. Jayson just looked at the boy before shrugging. Peter had come to notice the boy often preferred letting his actions speak for him rather than his words. At the confirmation, albeit the lacklustre attempt at one, Peter grabbed ahold of Jayson’s arm and yanked him towards the delicious wafting smell of burgers. Jayson seemed to pick up on the smell Peter was racing towards and simply rolled his eyes, an unamused expression seeming to be a permanent feature on the tall boys' face. Most would find the look disheartening, but Peter just saw it as an unbothered expression. Call him optimistic or naïve but he truly doubted that if the boy was truly displeased with Peters idea and actions, he’d have no problem stopping him. After a short walk, and pull, the two arrived at the epicentre of the smell, a small chain fast food restaurant by the name of ‘Batburger’. Huh, an interesting name to be sure but a place of food none the less. Entering the establishment Peter beelined for the counter already excited at the prospect of food. Jayson, however lingered for a while, making note of their surroundings. Peter began to order for himself and of course he’d order for Jayson too! “Hi there, could I get ummm four Batburgers, two large fries and two bottles of Cola?” Peter chimed out, his enthusiasm not quite reacher the fast-food worker. A small eye roll and scoff came from the worker. The worker glanced over Peter scoffing a little more.
“Don’t ya think that’s a lot, for someone like you?” The worker scoffed out clearly aiming to hurt with their words. Peter couldn’t tell if they were implying, he’s greedy or too poor but either way it left a sour taste in his mouth. He’s slight bouncing came to a pause, and he began fidgeting about. Someone took notice of this. “Listen, why don’t you just…” There was a pause and Peter glanced back at the worker tilting his head a little in confusion. The workers face paled, and they began to shake a little. “Fo… four Bat… Batburgers, two Cola’s and two l…l…large!” The worker began shaking more violently and Peter was honestly a little worried. “Large fries!” The worker shouted out scrambling to the back. Peter just stared on wide eyed and completely confused. What… what just happened? From the side of him he heard the faint spluttering, followed by ‘holy shit, he is fucking huge!’ At that Peter turned around only to find a looming and glaring Jayson staring intensely in the direction of the worker. Huh, maybe he was just as hungry as Peter, if his intense unwavering stare was anything to go by.
“Sorry Jay, can I call you Jay?” Peter chimed out looking up at his looming companion. Jayson simply nodding, eyes never leaving the counter. “Anyway, sorry Jay. I ordered you some food without checking what you wanted. You seemed distracted and I guess I was a little eager. Heh.” A slight tint blossomed on Peters cheek, guess he got overexcited at the idea and prospect of food. Jayson simply hummed, glancing down at Peter before ruffling his hair. Peter simply beamed up and smiled at the affectionate gesture. It’d been awhile since someone had pet his head and it felt a little bittersweet but still he was happy they seemed to have gotten closer. Their food was swiftly put on the counter, the cashier clearly shaking as they typed out the receipt. Peter pulled out some loose change from his pocket, their card should be made by tomorrow, all they’d have to do is find a bank to complete the set up. At that thought Peter paid for the food and picked it up, Jayson still glaring at the workers. Huh, maybe he just hadn’t noticed the food was already done? Regardless Peter began to drag Jayson towards a small empty booth by a window. He handed Jayson two burgers, a large fry and cola before digging into his. Whilst eating though Peter thought back to what the worker had said. I mean two burgers and a large fry was… a lot in a normal civilians' eyes he supposed but he would work through it fast with his metabolism. Still, he couldn’t help but subconsciously slow and glance down at his stomach. A creak of a booth chair could be heard but Peter was a little too lost in thought to notice.
A small push of something came towards Peter, two large fries, two more burgers and what seemed to be a crude attempt at pizza. Peter peered up to see Jayson simply looking away sipping at his cola while pushing another bag of fries towards Peter, this time his own fries. “Wanted to see what they did, don’t like fries so… you can have mine.” Despite Jayson’s voice giving nothing away, Peter had taken note that Jayson did indeed like fries, given the fact he had eaten some of the fries and seemed relatively pleased while eating them. A strange thing to lie about but Peter couldn’t help the small airy chuckle and meek words of thanks that left his now smiling face, his bounce returning once more in full force as he scarfed down his meal. A small smile crept on Jayson’s face, while a soft hmm left his mouth. The two were content and enjoyed their meal, unaware of just how big of an impact this would have.
After finishing their meals and Peter cleaning the table after, despite Jayson’s clear exasperation at the action, the two left making their way back to the abandoned building making sure to keep an eye out for anything useful. From a bit away, eyes followed the two, listening in on them both. “By the way, you think the building will hold out? I mean I don’t have any issues living in an abandoned building, but I’ve got a few bruises and cracked ribs from before I got here and I don’t particularly want to have to worry about being crushed in my sleep, you know?” Peter continued skipping along the streets. Jayson pondered for awhile before Peter continued. “By the way why do you stare out the window at night?” Jayson glanced at Peter, watching the boy carefully.
“Would often have to hide, plus good escape option. The building seems stable enough, better to stay high so if it comes down, we only have the roof to crush us I suppose. You?” Jayson continued to saunter alongside Peter as Peter looked up at the boy tilting his head in confusion. “You seemed pretty hyper aware of gunshots, instinctively covering your face. Any reason?” At that Peter gave a sad chuckle, looking up at the fog filled sky, all the while Jayson just watched and waited.
“Trusted someone, they were… I thought… I thought of them as family. You know? They got me hit by a train and tried to shoot me point blank.” Peter looked over to Jayson, a look of understanding etched on his face. “Guess we both have taken a beating, huh?” At that Jayson hummed in agreement, continuing to stride along the path whilst resting a hand on Peters back. Peter smiled at the affectionate and comforting gesture. A small gasp came from behind them and the two turned in unison, both scanning the crowd before deciding to pick up the pace and disappear into the alleyways. Reaching the building they checked for eyes, perhaps it was nothing, but it was still wise to check. Just to be sure.
As they made their way inside Peter decided that what was needed after a nice fulfilling meal was some good old friendly bonding, and so Peter ushered for Jayson to sit down opposite of him, a smile gracing Peters face in full force. “So, I thought we could… you know get to know each other a little. Since we kinda are in the same boat and all.” Peter said with a hint of embarrassment behind his words. Scratching at the back of his neck Peter glanced over to Jayson who simply tilted his head and hummed in response. “Right. Well, I’m Peter Parker, you can call me Peter, Pete whatever I don’t mind!” Jayson simply nodded as Peter enthusiastically continued on. “I love Pizza and science and quantum theory. Oh, and Star Wars!” At the mention of Star Wars, a faint pause in Peters enthusiasm caused a falter in his smile. Home.
“Jayson Johnson. Call me Jay or James. Like biology. Didn’t really watch all that much. I like spicy noodles and fries.” At that Peter chuckled and began smiling again. What happened to not liking fries? Jayson, seemingly reading Peters thoughts looked away pretending to be embarrassed at the ‘slip up’. Peter just laughed harder feeling a warmth ebb from within, Jayson simply glanced at Peter, a soft smile and features gracing his face for a second. “Got bit by a wolf spider at a science fair. Went home, got sick. Ended up with… abilities. Could climb up vertical walls, see things others couldn’t even notice, sense things before they happened. Could feel literal vibrations, had strength that was unnatural. Oh, and I can run almost 60 miles per hour.” Jayson continued shrugging as he listed his abilities. Peter simply paused.
“60 miles per hour?!” Jayson just nodded, clearly not picking up on the sheer speed he just admitted he could go. “Well damn, alright. So, I was bit by a radioactive spider, I think a black widow, on a field trip to a lab and ended up with powers. I can climb walls, have heightened senses, have a sort of Spidey sense like you and I used to use these web slingers that shot webbing.” At that Peter did his usual web slinging motion only something shot out that startled them both. At least Peter presumed it startled them both, Jayson just seemed to raise an eyebrow.
“I’m presuming that’s new?” Jayson drawled out, flicking at the thin webbing, a small meek nod came from Peter as his eyes remained wide. Holy moly, he had wrist webs! Like biological wrist webs! Not just some handmade ones! Peter was practically bouncing in excitement; he should probably question how this happened but come on he had wrist webs! “If I had to guess, our exposure to the radiation in this place may be mutating the spider gene in us, we should probably keep notes on any… changes.” At that Jayson just narrowed his eyes at the webbing, a small hmm leaving his tilting head. Jayson seemed to do that a lot when he was interested in something.
A thought came to Peter… a stupid one yes, but a thought non the less. “So… what about some vigilante shenanigans.” At that Jayson glared at Peter, a clear no etched on his face. Time to put on the Peter charm, he’d admit he’s pretty naïve but even he was aware that Jayson, wether he showed it or not had a soft spot for him. “Come on, for one wouldn’t it help us survey Gothem? And we could get a feel for the place while helping the people here!” Peter sang on and on, all the while Jayson remained firm in his no. Eventually Peter began to think maybe he wouldn’t get the green light. “Please, I just really…” Peter was considering giving up until he heard movement in Jayson’s direction, locking eyes with him Jayson reluctantly conceded, nodding as an exasperated sigh left his straining lips. “Yes! Thank you!” Peter bounded to Jayson, squeezing him in a tight hug. Jayson simply relented. A small tug pulling at his lips.
The two waited patiently for nightfall… okay Peter was a squirming fidgeting mess and Jayson could care less. Regardless nightfall came and both got ready to wear their costumes. They slipped out of their civilian clothing, adorning their costumes in full view of the moon. Peters costume was a bright vibrant red, it contrasted with the bleak atmosphere of Gothem. His blue accents complimented the bright red, black intricate webbing bloomed out from the spider emblem on his chest, his large white eyes peering out the window. Peter twitched his fingers in excitement and anticipation. A small sigh came from his right, there stood Jayson, his ash grey suit blended in with the solemn colours of Gothem. The dark webbing much like Peters own bloomed from an emblem on his chest. The dark emblem was that of a wolf with a spider crawling on it, a fitting emblem for his namesake. The boy's mask was much like Peters own except for the two soft pointed peaks that rested on his head. A belt, seemingly attached by thin dark webs, lay flowing behind like a tail, attached to the belt was a whip like weapon. Peter continued to stare at his counterpart, so many similarities, so many differences. Jayson coughed drawing Peters attention back to Jayson’s eyes. “Remember, this place has a ‘no meta’ rule so we should avoid other vigilantes' attention. The villains and criminals are a question mark and the civilians here are… closed off, so to speak. Try not to stand out.” At that Jayson glanced at Peters costume, behind the mask Peter could tell the boys face was scrunching with concern and regret. “Anymore, that is.” Peter gave a wide smile under his mask hoping Jayson could tell and by the slight head shake and soft sigh Peter knew the boy could tell.
The two leaned out the window and began their descent into Gothem. Hours went by and the two had stopped a small mugging, caught a purse thief, cleaned up litter and returned a couple of lost kids. Nothing too grand but still impactful none the less. As they continued their exploration, stopping petty crimes on the way, the two came across what looked to be an abandoned warehouse converted into some drug den of sorts. Whatever it was, it was shady and clearly illegal if the darting eyes of the guards were anything to go by. Peter swung down crouching on the edge of a nearby roof, Jayson leaping over beside him, crouching down and surveying the area. Jayson glanced in Peters direction only to immediately face palm at the sheer excitement emanating from the boy. Welp any hope of convincing Peter to head back was out the door. Peter looked over at Jayson, thoughts practically screaming. Jayson took a deep breath and then gestured for Peter to take the roof. Smiling. Peter was smiling, practically beaming. Being Spider-Man meant everything to him, it was his last connection to home and so he’d take any opportunity to be it. Peter swung over to the roof, resting gently on the crumbled bricks, looking over to where he had been. He took notice that Jayson was gone. Man, he wasn’t kidding when he said he was fast. Peter began to make his way inside, crawling along the brick wall watching the guards cautiously, their faces were painted with some sort of carnival paint. Weird. But who was Peter to judge he was quite literally a kid in a spider costume.
As he crawled further down the brick wall, he found what he was looking for, an opening of sorts. A little small but Peter had a feeling he could squeeze in, and squeeze in he did. Crawling through the crack he made his way onto the beam, sensing a familiar buzz nearby he locked eyes with Jayson who was wedged between a beam and a wall, staring at Peter with a tilted head. Guess they both managed to get in undetected. The two observed as the men brought out what looked to be a gas canister of sorts, whatever it was couldn’t be good. Peter made eye contact with Jayson one more time, a smile hidden behind his mask. Despite the mask covering Peters expression he knew Jayson had caught on, seeing as he stared Peter down slowly shaking his head no. Peter shook yes. With that Peter leapt down crouching in front of the startled guards, Jayson reluctantly running behind the men so they couldn’t escape. The men looked between themselves clearly confused. “And who the fuck are ya meant to be, bug?!” One of the men roared out swinging in Peters direction, an angry huff coming from Jayson.
“I’m just your neighbourhood friendly, Spider-Man! That’s WolfSpider your… ummm less friendly neighbourhood spider guy.” Jayson let out an exasperated sigh, massaging his temple under his mask as a slight smile etched on his face. Though Peter couldn’t see Jayson’s expression he had a feeling he wasn’t as exasperated by Peters actions as he let on. One of the men clearly done with Peters graceful entrance reached for his gun, Peter whipped his hand causing a thin, sleek web to shoot out, sticking the man's hand to his holster. Jayson, from behind, had taken out two men that had attempted to sneak up on them and began to turn towards the two in front of Peter. A slew of ewws and ecks filled the room. “Well, that’s just rude, and here I thought you’d want to stick around.” A bright smile crept on Peters face and his chest puffed with pride. Silence. Dead ass silence filled the room. Everyone looked at peter with a dead eyed stare, even his partner in vigilante shenanigans was dead eyed staring at him. “What?” Peter responded not completely put off by the stares. No one ever gets his jokes. One of the men shook himself from his haze and dashed towards Peter. Peter dodged and Jayson pinned, they worked surprisingly well together, even if Jayson couldn’t truly appreciate his great sense of humour. As the two continued their back and forth with the men a sudden hiss came from just beside one of the webbed men Peter had tied up. Turns out his webs are just as strong if not stronger than his chemically engineered ones. A low hiss came from what could only be described, at least by the smell alone, as a broken sleeping gas and nerve agent.
Where it came from? Who knows. Where Peter and Jayson were going? Away that’s for sure. Jayson grabbed hold of Peter and began sprinting out the warehouse, a symphony of ‘oh no’ and ‘damn it’ fading away in the background. Peter still being carried by Jayson, grabbed hold of the boy and whipped his hand shooting a web to a nearby building. Jayson’s speed, plus the velocity of the web caused the two to soar in the air and attach themselves to the building near the warehouse now filling with gas. Jayson glared up at Peter and Peter could almost feel the scowl carving its way onto Jayson’s features. “Hehe… sorry.” Peter shrugged; a blush hidden under the mask. He kinda forgot about the concept of velocity. Whoops. Regardless Jayson let out a small sigh, carrying Peter to the buildings roof before placing him down. Soft, gentle hands roamed Peters body, checking for injuries before another sigh fell from Jayson’s mouth, this time it was soft and had a hint of relief. “Aww you do care~.” Peter squeaked out, rushing towards Jayson to hug him. Jayson simply pushed out his arm and kept Peter at bay, simply shaking his head at Peters grabby hands and begging eyes. A sigh and then he conceded, allowing the hyper boy to practically attach himself, wrapping his arms and legs around Jayson, Peter softly smiling and chuckling to himself, nuzzled into Jayson’s chest. Jayson hesitantly ruffled Peters masked head, resting his chin on top.
“Glad you’re… okay.” Jayson whispered out. A gasp falling from Peters lips but before he could say what he wanted Jayson quickly pressed his finger to Peters lips. “No.” A loud laugh fell from Peters lips. Seems that was all he was going to get from his sarcastic and ball of grump of a friend. Peter detached himself from Jayson, in return Jayson ruffled the top of his mask once more. Peter pushed up into the hand, enjoying the close human contact he’d craved ever since… regardless he enjoyed it. Plus, it was fun seeing Jayson switch between sarcastic stoic and clumsy affectionate. Peter turned to face the sky, tonight had been a successful, albeit strange night but regardless it was exactly what he needed. Peter positioned his wrist towards a nearby building and flicked a web out, attaching himself to the sturdy wall. Looking over at Jayson he gestured for him to follow. Jayson nodded preparing to follow Peters lead.
Jayson felt a shiver run up his spine, spinning around to look at something. “Come on, Wolf let’s go!” Peter chuckled out swinging low amongst the twisting alleyways. Jayson lingered for a second longer, sharp eyes searching the darkness, a low growl rumbling from his throat before turning around and sprinting after Peter leaping from roof to roof. All the while making sure he was between Peter and whatever had caused that unpleasant feeling. Eyes watched them go. Eyes watched them too.
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“B, I have some info you might want to hear.” The soft and quiet voice spoke out. There was a strain to their voice. It seemed to rasp out like it was untrained, unused.
“I also have some info you might want, on the two boys before.” A slightly deep yet high pitched voiced spoke out. A figure on the coms fidgeted around, seeming a little nervous.
“The boys first then we move onto your concerns.” The deep voice boomed out from the coms, still as intimidating as before. The second voice coughed, fidgeting a little as they swayed from side to side. The looming figure simply waited for their report.
“Right so… I was at Batburgers.” A slight grating sigh echoed from the coms, a soft chuckle from the strained voice gently filling the background. “Hehehe, umm anyways! I was at… yeah well anyway while I was there, um surveying! Definitely surveying!” A slight twitch under the mans cowl indicated he did not believe those words but chose to go along with it, for now. “Right, anyways, the two boys Oracle mentioned. Well, they were there and let me just say, holy damn! Oracle wasn’t joking that Jayson guy is fucking massive! Like he’s so damn tall, kinda lanky but like you can tell he’s muscular.” A soft chuckle came from the other voice, their soft chuckle causing the other to blush in embarrassment at their ramblings. “Anyway, I followed them and picked up on two… three? Things? I guess.” The man nodded for the boy to continue. “Right number one, despite our first thoughts that the two didn’t know each other or it was some sort of kidnapping situation, I honestly don’t think that’s the case.” A soft ‘oh’ fell from the other voices lips as the looming man simply ushered for the boy to explain further. “Right so you know how we thought this Peter kid was being kidnapped by this Jayson guy cause of how nervous he was and how ummm intimidating Jayson was?” The two nodded waiting for the boy to continue. “Right well, while they were at Batburger one of the workers fat shamed or poor shamed Peter, I couldn’t tell but they definitely intended harm.” At that the two other voices began mumbling, clearly enraged at the idea that someone would have to go through that.
“Well after that happened, Jayson appeared and stared and I mean stared down at the worker, full on glaring. Peter didn’t seem to pick up on it but my gosh was it terrifying, like seriously holy…” a cough came from the tall looming figure attempting to get the boy back on track. “Right well afterwards, Peter seemed a little down so then Jayson went and bought more food for Peter and gave him some of his. After which they left.” The boy took a deep breath realising he kinda forgot to breathe during his ramblings. He was still new-ish after all. “Well while they were walking, I figured out three things, I think. One they are 100 percent homeless; they were talking about a crumbling building they were staying in. Two they totally picked up on me staring at them and pinpointed my gasp on a dime, it was kinda creepy.” At those words the man and the other voice looked at each other intensely. No words were exchanged but a conversation took place. A nervous laugh came from the boy reporting. “Ahem. Anyway umm. Three I think they may of ran away or escaped some sort of abusive situation, Jayson mentioned hiding behind windows to be able to escape and Peter mentioned someone he saw as family shooting him amongst other… things.” This caught the attention of the dark, looming man. A knowing grin etching on the softer voices face.
“Hmm. Continue observing and tracking. What was your report?” The man continued, a clear underlining tone of concern and something else behind his words. The softer voice pulled up a video sending it on a group chat for presumably the others not present to see. A look entered the man's eyes as he watched the video play out. With a low growl, the man was gone.
{The Group-chat}
~Mini Shadow~ ‘Hmm, I will investigate.’
~Chandelier Swinger~ ‘I’m not too sure about that baby bat.’
~Mini Shadow~ ‘Nonsense. I shall handle this.’
~Replacement~ ‘One they look like metas, they are an unknown, best to let B handle this. And two… who the FUCK CHANGED MY NAME TO THIS!’
~Dead Girl Walking~ ‘What’s wrong it’s suits you… replacement.’
~Replacement~ ‘I knew it!’
~Shine Your Light~ ‘I saw the two boys; Barbara wasn’t kidding the kids huge!’
~Replacement~ ‘What about the other one?’
~Chandelier Swinger~ ‘Oooh is my little baby bird feeling something?’
~Replacement~ ‘No and if I did, blame the coffee.’
~Shine Your Light~ ‘Yeah no. You should probably quit the caffeine.’
~Replacement~ ‘No.’
~Shine Your Light~ ‘Well, fuck me.’
~Replacement~ ‘Yes, fuck you… coffee stealer.’
~Shine Your Light~ ‘IT WAS ONE TIME!’
~Sound Of Silence~ ‘B glanced at his files.’
~Chandelier Swinger~ ‘…’
~Dead Girl Walking~ ‘…’
~Replacement~ ‘…’
~Shine Your Light~ ‘…’
~Mini Shadow~ ‘No.’