D
This used to be Chapter Seven :3
“Babs, could you do me a favor?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Look up records of ‘Peter Parker’ now.”
“Why? There hasn’t been anything the past ten times I’ve done so.”
“I know, but do it.”
A beat. Tim counted down the seconds on his hand. 5, 4, 3, 2…
“WHAT? When did that get there? He has detailed accounts of his current emancipation, birth and death records of everyone and— when did this happen?!”
“I have no idea. I think they had to have been put there before he signed up at GA, but I don’t know. I just looked them up, and there they were!”
“Okay, so these have to be fake, right?”
“There’s no other explanation, as far as I can see. Ugh, what is it with me and cute non-existent boys?”
“Bernard was real, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah, thank god, but sometimes I wonder…”
“Tim, your paranoia is showing.”
“Shut up, Babs.”
“Have you told Bruce yet?”
“Not yet, but I’m getting to it. I’m gonna see if I can get Peter over to the mansion sometime for a Batman analysis.”
“Fine. How’s the case on The Iceberg going?”
“Well. Peter’s info is really helpful, and we think that Penguin is gearing up for something big. Not sure what, but something.”
“Got it. Spider-Man?”
“I haven’t been able to run into him yet, but something tells me I might see him tonight…”
Peter wishes he could be up here without his mask on. The feeling of the wind blowing through his hair from this high up was second to nothing. But! He still got to be up here, so he would take it. Peter was riding on a high at the moment— school was going great, he had two pseudo-moms, he had a relatively stable job, and he had been invited to hang out with Duke, Steph, and Tim after school tomorrow. Things were going pretty great. A little too great, if Peter was being honest. Sure, he was still dealing with the crippling grief of losing everyone he had ever known and loved, plus there was the whole increase in feeling spidery, but other than that, it was pretty good.
“Spider-Man!” a familiar voice called. Peter turned towards the noise and found Red Robin standing on a roof across from him, coming closer. Peter let him catch up, turning his head to one side curiously.
“What’s up?”
“I’ve been meaning to ask for a while.” Red Robin smelled… familiar… “What are you doing here?”
“Well that’s not very nice.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just… you’ve just kind of shown up out of nowhere, you mainly haunt Crime Alley, Hood’s territory, and you have to be aware of Batman’s no meta rule.”
“Signal is a meta, isn’t he?”
“How do you know that?!”
How could Peter explain that he smelled funny… “I just do.” There, smooth as butter.
“Right… Well, Signal is an exception. That’s why.”
“Guess I am too, then. Look, you guys are cool and all, but you’re so busy with the Rogues Gallery that you don’t look out for the little guy. That’s what Spider-Man does. I don’t blame you, the Rogues are big deals and can hurt a lot of people, but sometimes you need to foster goodwill, and that’s my M.O. That’s why I’m here.”
“Would you be willing to work with us?”
Peter did not trust that for one second. “So you can keep me under control? Make sure I don’t mess up and when you do, you know me well enough to be able to take me down?”
Silence. Peter nodded. “That’s what I thought. Look, man, I’ll work with you, use one of the comms to talk to that cool lady—”
“How do you know about O?”
“—and make sure I can help when you guys need it. Or want it, I’m not picky. But I’m not joining your team. I’ve had too many things go wrong on me too many times.” Quentin Beck ensured that he would never trust another super, not for a long, long time.
Red Robin was quiet. “Okay. I can respect that. Here.” He fished out a small commlink out of his utility belt and handed it to Peter. “If you ever want to be a part of the team, we’d love to have you.”
“Would you?” Peter asked, digging out the tracking device he was positive was there. Sure enough, Peter flicked the tiny beeping device away and put the tiny machine back together.
Red Robin flinched. “Sorry about that, it’s just—”
“No, no, I get it. You don’t get far by trusting. That’s how you end up dead, or with your whole world turning on you.”
‘Whole world?’ Red Robin mouthed. “Wait, one more thing! Do your webs… come out of you?”
Peter guffawed. “Wouldn’t you like to know, weather boy!” With that, he swung away. Peter was quite done for the night.
“Long night, kid?” Their meet-ups were almost daily now. Red Hood would always find Peter on the roof and would always bring some burgers that they would share. Peter appreciated it, god knew he needed all the food he could get.
“Something like that.”
“How’s school going?”
“I keep wondering why my friend wants to be my friend.”
“Do you wanna tell me his name?”
Peter hesitated, before disclosing, “Tim. Tim Drake.”
“Ah, the celebrity, right? Did it ever occur to you that maybe he just wants a friend?”
“It did, but that doesn’t add up!” Peter protested. “He keeps blushing around me and won’t look me in the eye! I get it, maybe he has a hard time with that, but there’s something he’s not telling me, I know it!”
Red Hood hummed and took off his helmet. Peter had gotten used to it (you can’t eat with a helmet on, after all), but it still surprised him every now and then, even if the guy was wearing a domino mask under it. “Have you looked up anything about Tim Drake since then?”
“Yeah.”
“Did it tell you that he might not be as straight as you think?”
“Yeah, where are you going with this?”
“Dude. Maybe he wants to be your friend, maybe he wants to be more.”
“More?”
Red Hood gave him the most ‘done’ expression second only to MJ (don’t think about them, don’t think about her).
“Oh,” Peter said. “Oh! Oh.”
“Yeah, ‘oh.’ Whaddya gonna do about it, kid?”
“I— I don’t know. What is there to do?”
“Hell if I know. Look, change of subject. I know where you’re staying, and I don’t like it. That place is fucking dangerous, what if—” he sighed and peeled off his domino. Peter gawked at some of the greenest eyes he’d ever seen. “What if you came and stayed with me for a bit? It’s going to get cold pretty soon here.”
“What’s your name?”
“Jason. Jason Todd.”
“You’d let me stay with you? Just like that?”
“Just like that. This city is dangerous and you’re living in a radioactive building. Plus, winter is coming, and that shit could kill you. Just like the fucking radiation poisoning you’re going to get the longer you stay in that building.”
“Winter… that’s a good point, spiders can’t thermoregulate,” Peter mumbled, taking a bite of his burger.
“Spiders?”
Shit. Shit fuck goddammit. “Uh, I mean…”
“You’re Spider-Man, aren’t you?”
Peter sighed. “Yeah, yeah I am. You’re not going to tell the rest of the bats, right?”
“Yeah, your secret’s safe with me, kid. They’re going to figure it out sooner or later though, especially with the company that you’re keeping. When they find out, because they will find out, make sure you’ve got something on them too, alright? I’m not going to tell you myself, ‘cause as much as I don’t really like them, I’m not going to out their secret identities like that, but! Spiders can smell things pretty well, right? And hear things pretty well?”
“Yeah?”
“Use your senses. The best way to get the Bats’ respect is by becoming a detective as good as them. What time is your shift tomorrow?”
“6 pm.”
“Good, we can use the rest of the day to move your stuff to my apartment.”
“You’re not worried about radiation?”
“I am, but not for me. I can handle it.”
“So can I!”
“Then you can put my mind at ease by getting out of there, alright?”
“Fine.”
With that, Red Hood —Jason— was gone. Damn. Peter has a home now. Wild.
Okay, so that was what Chapter Seven was going to be before I decided to re-write the story up to then so I could put more scenes with Jason in there. This next one is the Young Justice scene I never got to put in because I came to the same conclusion that DC did where I realized it was just easier to combine YJ with the Teen Titans altogether.
“Recognized, Red Robin, B-20, Spider-Man, A-68.” Red Robin and Spider-Man walked into the cavernous area, with Peter gawking behind him.
“Welcome,” Tim swept his arms outward, “to Mount Justice! Aka The Cave, aka Young Justice home base. So, whaddya think, Spidey?”
“Not as cool as the Batcave, but pretty damn cool.”
Tim smirked. “The objectively correct answer.”
“You would say that,” Conner teased, flying in to land beside them. “This Spider-Man?”
“Sure is,” Peter held out his hand and almost squeaked at the grip Kon-El was squeezing his hand with. Peter adjusted, attempting to apply equal force, even if he knew he could never really do that thanks to Conner’s alien biology. (Was it alien if he’d still been made on Earth? Peter was unsure.)
Leaning forward, Conner whispered, “You break my best friend’s heart and I’ll throw you into the fucking sun.”
Peter laughed at that, which apparently surprised the super. “Dude, if I ever do anything like that, I’ll fucking help you.”
With that, Conner smirked. “Alright, Red. This one’s pretty cool.”
A flash of red, and the infamous Impulse was at Peter’s side, shaking Peter’s hand rapidly. “Hi! I’m Bart! Nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet you too, I’m—”
“Spider-Man! Yeah, I know! You’re really cool but kinda freaky. Where do those webs come from? Do you also shoot webs out your butt? That would be freaking wild if you did. Do you cu—”
Tim cut Bart off with a loud cough and a bright red face. “Okay, that’s enough questions for right now. We’re going to see the rest of the team, okay?”
Tim led Peter to one of the paths that led deeper into the mountain. Secret was hanging out in the kitchen with Wonder Girl, deep in conversation. They paused upon noticing Tim and Peter, both waving cheerily. “I’m Spider-Man,” Peter introduced, holding a hand out.
Wonder Girl took it, shaking it firmly. “Nice to meet you, Spidey. I’m Cassie, and this is Secret.”
Secret shook Peter’s hand as best she could. She smiled warmly, opening her mouth to say something before closing it again and furrowing her brow. She stared into Peter’s eyes, and Peter had the unnerving feeling that she was looking directly into his soul. “Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to take you back. They fought hard to get you and everyone back. It can wait until you’re ready.”
Secret blinked, pulling back. “I um. Sorry about that. That kind of thing happens sometimes.”
Peter mulled over her words, clearing his throat. “It’s okay. I’m just surprised you let me off like that, that’s all. Most people believe death should be permanent.”
“Not through his means. Death comes for all eventually; there is no need to rush anything.”
Peter beamed at Tim and Cassie, who had matching ‘wtf’ faces. “I like her, she’s cool.”
Secret giggled. “Come on, let’s go find Red Tornado. I think he’s really going to like you!”
Peter followed as Secret led them to another room, where a red robot with a cape was sitting at a table going over some documents. He looked up and stood to greet Peter. “Spider-Man, yes? Red Robin has told us a lot about you.”
Peter smirks at a blushing Tim in the background. “I bet he has. All good things?”
“For the most part, yes,” Red Tornado monotoned.
“Hell yeah. Well it’s great to finally meet everyone. What do we do now?”
“Now? We go out on the town for food,” Super declared, turning to Tim as if to dare him to challenge him.
Tim shrugged. “Sure.”
Okay, there you go! It was at that point in writing where I just couldn't keep writing this scene and decided to retcon my story instead :)