Worlds Away

Peter resisted the urge to clear his throat nervously as several big members of the JL stared at him curiously. Superman raised an eyebrow, looking at Batman. “I thought you said this was important?”

“It is. Go on, Spider-Man,” Bruce urged. 

So Peter did. He explained the Wayne gala and the point of it, and how each year the children made ornaments. He explained how the previous night, Peter had gone to each of the orphanages around Gotham and asked the kids who their favorite hero was, and that today before the gala, the plan was to bring the kids on a field trip where they would get to meet their favorite hero. Peter pulled out the list and handed it to Superman, who passed it around to the other League members. The list made its way back to Peter, who folded it and tucked it into his utility belt. 

“So?” Peter asked. “What do you think?”

“It is a wonderful idea, young one,” Wonder Woman praised.

“Of course we’ll do it!” Flash exclaimed. “Dude, this is one of the best parts of this job, are you kidding me?!”

“If anyone says they don’t want to, they will change their mind quickly,” Hawkgirl said, gripping the handle of the mace at her side meaningfully. 

Peter chose to ignore the violent meaning behind that and beamed. “Sweet! I’ll run around the Watchtower and see if I can find everyone.”

Batman shook his head. “There’s two names on that list that you need to contact specifically, and they’re not going to be on the Watchtower. You need to go back to Gotham and talk to them. Superman and I (and whoever else wants to help) will track the rest of the names on your list down.” 

He offered Peter a rare Bat Smile. “This is a good idea, Spider-Man.”

“Thanks, B.”

Batman nodded and headed off into the Watchtower with a stream of heroes following behind him, splitting off their separate ways in search of the names on Peter’s list. Peter watched them for a moment before heading towards the teleporter, giving J’onn a thumbs up. J’onn smiled at him warmly and waved, pressing the button. 

Peter inhaled sharply, shaking off the weird pins and needles that came with traveling via zeta tube, and beamed at Red Robin, who was already holding the passenger door of Redbird open for him. “Where we headed, Spidey?”

“Robinson Park!”

“You got it.”

The car pulled out of the Batcave, reappearing in an obscure alley and pulling into the crowded streets of Gotham. Peter and Tim chatted idly, an unspoken agreement between them to not discuss any of the current stressors in their lives. They were at Robinson Park before long, and Peter was practically running towards his favorite greenhouse, tugging a laughing Tim behind him. 

The plants opened easily, letting the spider and the bird inside. Peter now was sprinting, and he burst into the main living room with a gusto he hadn’t had in a while. Harley laughed, greeting him with a hug. “What’s up, kiddo? You don’t normally visit us in spandex, what’s going on?”

Peter pulled off his mask, grinning wildly. “I have a favor to ask of you and Aunt Pam.”

“She’s gardening over this way, kiddo.”

Harley led them to Ivy’s garden, where the anti-hero was working in the ground, transplanting some zucchini plants by the look of them. She stood up and brushed some spare dirt off her Caraharts, giving Peter a tired smile. “Hello, my little jumping spider. What’s gotten into you?”

“So you know the Wayne’s annual Christmas gala, right?”

Ivy nodded.

“Well, every year the orphans make ornaments, and this year, I wondered if the kids might like to meet some of their favorite heroes. So I swung around the city, asking every kid at each of the orphanages around Gotham who their favorite hero was. And one kid, an aspiring environmentalist named Madilyn, said that her favorite hero was Poison Ivy. Another kid, Halie, her favorite hero is Harley Quinn.” Peter sobered a bit, looking down. “She’s an abuse survivor too. So, I’m here to ask if these girls can meet their favorite heroes.”

Ivy’s mouth had fallen open, and she blinked at Peter a couple of times. “I— I’m her favorite hero?”

Peter nodded, beaming and turning to Harley, who had a similar expression. Ivy laughed in disbelief, shaking her head. “You hear that, Harley? We’re heroes, someone’s favorite heroes!”

Harley picked Ivy up by the waist and spun her around, laughing. “Oh, Petey-pie, of course! I’m always down to meet a fan!” 

The two women pulled Peter into a hug, which he gladly accepted. Peter might not be as touch-starved anymore, but just cause you’re not dehydrated doesn’t mean you stop needing water. “Okay! We’re meeting at Wayne Manor at 3 today, does that sound good to you guys?”

The two women and Peter beamed. “Thank you! They’re going to be ecstatic!”

Peter got into Redbird with Tim, and the two pulled out of the cave, leaving one of the secret entrances into Gotham before heading back towards Wayne Manor, this time without the secret entrances and tunnels to the Batcave. Peter took the Santa hat off the dashboard, using the mirror in the sunshade to adjust it just so. He turned to Tim, smiling. “How do I look?”

“Like Spider-Man with a Santa hat, Pete.”

Peter gave him an unimpressed stare, and Tim laughed, shaking his head. “I don’t know what to tell you, man. You look fine, and this is going to go just fine. It’s okay to not worry, you know.”

“Coming from you of all people, I’m not sure I believe that,” Peter retorted.

“Okay, I deserve that. Peter, it’s going to be fine, okay?”

Peter sighed, slumping his shoulders. “Okay.”

“Okay.” 

The city fell away into rich neighborhoods, with the houses getting bigger and farther apart until they were finally at Wayne Manor once again. Peter and Tim got out of the car, accepting handshakes from Alfred, who winked at them with a small smile when no one was looking. He led them towards the ballroom, which looked amazing. Long tables were set up with over a hundred little clay ornaments. Big bottles of craft paint were set up next to stacks of little sauce cups. Tim nudged Peter, pointing at the entrance to the ballroom, where the JL members had started to file in. Peter scanned his costume (he’d changed back into his red and blue, wanting to feel a bit brighter today), looking for any stains or debris he might have missed. Luckily, it was just as clean as it was when he had put it on this morning; Peter was just anxious. Peter waved them over, leading them to the back of the room. 

Superman smiled at him and clapped him heartily on the shoulder. “You did good, Peter,” he said quietly. 

“Thanks, Mr. Kent,” Peter murmured. 

The heroes began to make their way in, chatting idly while snacking on the cookies Alfred had set up on each of the tables. Wonder Woman and Batman joined Peter and Clark at the back, greeting each other warmly. 

“Are you going to be alright, Mr. Dark and Broody?” Wonder Woman teased. 

You couldn’t see it, but Peter was willing to bet that the Dark Knight was rolling his eyes. “Very funny.”

“I thought it was,” Clark added, giving Bruce a shit-eating grin as he fist-bumped Wonder Woman. 

Soon, the ballroom was lined with colorful heroes dressed in their spandex (and kevlar) best, talking amongst each other while waiting, some even swaying slightly in time to the soft Christmas music that filtered through the area. Peter scanned the room, searching. There! The last two to walk in, his aunts were looking a little nervous, but were dressed in festive ugly sweaters that Harley had no doubt bought years prior. Peter jogged over, weaving in-between people to get to them. They immediately relaxed upon seeing him, and Peter hugged the two of them close. “Glad you could make it! Traffic wasn’t too bad, right?”

They shook their heads. “It was just fine, Spidey!” Harley said. “It’s good to see you again, kid.”

“The plan is to stick by you guys until Halie and Madilyn arrive,” Peter explained, leading them to a more isolated portion of the room. “That way if anyone decides to give you any crap, you won’t be alone to face it. Of course, the heroes have been briefed that you’re going to be here, but just in case I’m keeping an ear out and will be making rounds to check on everyone.”

“Thank you,” Ivy said. “It’s a little nerve-wracking, I’m not going to lie.”

Peter nodded. “I can imagine. I’m here though, and the kids are going to be arriving—”

“Now!” Harley interrupted, pointing at the entrance, where the children were filing in. 

One of them pointed and gasped, “Spider-Man!”

Peter laughed and crouched down, accepting the hug from the sprinting child with an oof. “Hey, Dillon! How’s it going?” 

The four year-old let go and gazed at Spider-Man with awe. “You remember me!”

Peter laughed. “Of course I do, I met you the other day.”

“I know that. I just…”

Peter ruffled the kid’s hair affectionately. “Come on, Dillon. Let’s go say hi to the other heroes, yeah?”

Max nodded and ran to Red Robin, high-fiving him. One of the case-workers, Sarah, if Peter remembered correctly, made her way over to Peter with two tween girls following closely behind. Peter smiled, greeting them. “Hey, Madilyn, hey Halie.”

The two girls waved shyly, then they both gasped and held each other’s hands, jumping up and down as they ran to Harley and Ivy. “You really did it, Spider-Man!” Halie exclaimed. 

“I’m going to be honest with you, I thought you were pulling our leg, Spider-Man,” Madilyn said matter-of-factly. “But you actually did it.”

Peter nodded. “I told you they were friends of mine. Girls, this is Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, but you already knew that.”

The two 14 year-olds stood in awe, looking at the two women who weren’t quite sure what to do. After a beat, Halie cleared her throat, looking up at Harley cautiously. “May I— May I give you a hug?”

Harley’s grin could rival the sun in brightness. “Of course, sugar. Come here.”

The two embraced and Madilyn looked between them and Ivy. Ivy laughed self-deprecatingly, looking down at the ground. “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

Madilyn blinked. “No, I want to. I just want to make sure you’re comfortable with it.”

“Of course I am.” 

Without any more hesitation, Madilyn hugged Ivy, sighing happily. “I’m a huge fan of your work,” she explained. “The way you took out the Ace chemical plant two years ago was particularly inspiring! I can’t believe you were able to neutralize the chemicals so efficiently, rendering them completely ineffective and no longer harmful! You’re so cool!”

Ivy was blushing, and she let out an honest to god giggle. “It took me months to perfect that formula,” she admitted. “I’d love to share it with you, if you don’t mind.”

Madilyn’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head and she nodded, setting her bag down on a nearby chair and pulling out a pencil and notebook. She flipped to a certain page and let Ivy scribble it down. The two discussed it animatedly, and Peter turned his attention to Harley and Halie. “How did you do it?” Halie asked her quietly. 

“How’d I do what, kiddo?”

“How’d you get away?”

“He went too far, and I realized that he never loved me,” Harley admitted. “It wasn’t easy, kid, but I was able to ask for help. And I got it.”

“Do you still feel… unsafe?” 

“Sometimes, kiddo. There are times where I have bad nights and have to wake up. That’s why I have Ivy, though. She loves me so much, and she holds me through the nightmares and the flashbacks. You gotta have people you trust.”

“I have those, now.”

“Good.” 

Peter didn’t even notice Tim sneaking up behind him, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit he jumped a little when he noticed Tim’s hand on his shoulder. “Geez, you scared me. What’s up?”

“Just wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Me? Or them?”

“Okay, I wanted to see this,” Tim admitted.

Peter nodded. “That’s what I thought. It’s really cool, isn’t it?” 

“It is. I’m so proud of them.”

“Me too.” 

Sarah stood back with Peter and Tim, watching with a fond smile. “Thank you, Spider-Man. I’ve only seen these two this happy once or twice. You truly made their Christmas.”

If Peter was a little choked up, well, it was no one’s business but his own. “You okay watching for a bit, Sarah? Make sure no heroes try to give Harley and Ivy any crap, okay?”

“You got it. Go have fun.” She waved him off, and Peter caught Harley and Ivy’s eye. They nodded, and off Peter went, with Tim close behind. 

Superman was helping four year-old Corey paint a snowman using red and blue paint (“I want it to look like you!”). Hawkgirl was letting ten year-old Tejara examine her mace, while Flash was working with the five year-olds Chloey, Zoey, and Joey on crafting a wreath out of some pipe cleaners. Batman had the most attention on him, though. About seven kids were crowded around him, ‘helping’ him to paint a clay ornament. Peter turned to see Raven (“My daddy was a demon, too,” she had said) helping Daisy paint a little clay snowflake.

A hand tapped Peter on the shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. Peter turned to see Rebecca, one of the employees from the Wayne orphanages, holding the hand of Cori. “Spider-Man!” the little girl gasped. 

Peter beamed, crouching down to the six year-old’s height. “Hey, Cori! You ready to make some ornaments?”

She nodded and hugged Peter tight, before dragging him over to an unoccupied spot with surprising strength.

Tim watched his boyfriend help the little girl paint with a stupid smile on his face. 

“Are you enjoying yourself?” Dick asked, decked out in his Nightwing garb.

“Yeah, I am.”

“This was a really good idea.”

“Yeah, it was.”