Half Return
When he was dusted before he didn’t feel much, one second he was gone, and the next he was conscious again. It’s not the same this time. There’s no pain, but it doesn’t feel good. It starts with some feeling coming back into his arms and legs, an awareness of his body. Bit by bit more of his senses start to reform, he can hear the patter of rain around him, the distant sound of sirens, and loud chatter. He can taste salty tears and the reminiscent metallic taste of his own blood on his teeth. Beneath his hands, he could feel the sharp stab of stones and the brush of wind across his face. Lastly, his sight comes in patchy and blurry. A dreary, smoke-filled sky forms above him as he starts to piece together his surroundings.
He must be lying on a roof somewhere. Pushing his arms under him he sits up shakily, still trying to get his bearings. The city around him doesn’t look familiar, at least not from the semi-high building he has ended up on top of. The weather in New York never looked like this, and the pollution was definitely not this severe with Mr Stark’s clean energy.
Looking down at himself he notices his hands have a slight tremor and his clothes are a bit damp and dirty, but other than that, he seems to be okay.
His first feeling is to simply give up. He has woken up in a universe he doesn’t know with no way of ever speaking to his loved ones again. Peter knew it needed to happen, he had to leave them, even if he wasn’t entirely sure he knew why. Just that without it, everyone would have died, and he would much rather it be him than them.
But crying and giving up will get him nowhere. The last thing his family would want him to do is stop trying, he is here for them and he will keep going for them.
So with a newfound determination, he stumbles to his feet, noticing the ache in his joints like he had gone a few rounds with a super soldier. It isn’t something to focus on right now though, if being around the Avengers taught him anything in his time as a Stark Industry intern and kind of friend of theirs, it was basic survival.
The memory of helping Mr. Stark while Natasha lectured him on things he needs to survive in case something bad happens. Food, water, and shelter she would tell him. Making him run through scenarios that he honestly thought were a bit much, but after The Battle of New York, he understood that anything could happen. And it did, so thank god for her.
He turns to find the ladder off the building and makes his way down into a trash-ridden alleyway. The ground is covered in soggy waste due to the rain, making him slip, just able to catch his balance on the wall.
Not wanting to stay there any longer he walks out the mouth of the alley and goes in any direction. He doesn’t want to make it clear he has no idea where he is. Glancing around, he notices he is on a road with 24-hour stores and take-out places. It is mostly sketchy-looking people milling around so the last thing he wants to do is ask one of them for help.
It must be the middle of the night right now, not a good time to start exploring the city he is in. As he walks past a corner store he looks at the newspapers held out front, the box is missing the glass and some of the ink has started to bleed from the rain. But he can still make out the name of the chain, ‘The Gotham Gazette’ written across the top with a blurred photo of someone called ‘Two-Face’ on the front. The rest of the words are now pretty much illegible.
Gotham must be the name of the city. However dark and miserable it seems, at least he ended up somewhere with actual people. Or at least he thinks they are normal people.
The further he walks the more the streets start to lose light, fewer stores are open now, and the people around him seem to be cautious of him. He sees a few people hanging around a fire under a bridge, tents pitched up in the area. Not knowing where else he could go, he starts to make his way over there, hoping he would be able to blend into the homeless and not be recognized as an outsider.
The plan doesn’t go as well as he hopes when most of the people around the fire give him dirty looks and move away, going towards their tents. One lady does stay there, warming her hands over the flames. She glances up at him, her eyes catching his as he gives what he thought was a friendly smile but the roll of her eyes says otherwise.
“What are you doing here kid? Shouldn’t you be in Red’s territory? Not many street kids your age end up around this area.” she says to him. There is no kindness in her voice but she doesn’t sound hostile either so he is counting it as a win. He has no idea what she means by Red but he is just going to ignore that part, maybe she could help him.
“Heh yeah, I didn’t mean to end up around here. I was wondering if someone could help me. I just need to find shelter for the night as I can’t get back to my usual place right now.” He replies, praying that she believes that he is a local and not some new clueless kid.
“God kid, nighttime is not the time to go for a walk in this city. Anything could happen to ya. You better not stay here, not many good people are as generous as me ‘round here. If you go straight down this road, left, and keep walking ‘til you get to 52nd then you will find a shelter.” She says quickly like she is annoyed at having to waste her energy on some stupid kid. At least she is helping him.
Thanking her, he follows her instructions while discreetly glancing around. He doesn’t feel the safest with her knowing where he will be but he has no choice right now. She was nice enough, and hopefully, he won’t have to stay there more than a night. In the morning he will find out more about the place that he guess is his new home.
After walking for almost fifteen minutes he sees the sign for a Gotham homeless shelter. The door has some signs stuck to the inside of the glass. ‘Run by the Wanye Foundation’ is one, and a handwritten sign saying ‘all welcome’ with a crudely drawn smiley face underneath. One of the bottom windows is covered with a wooden board, clearly having been broken recently judging by the crunch of glass under his shoes.
Pushing the door open, it squeaks on its hinges, alerting the lady at the front to his entrance. It seems to be a simple place, with a small desk off to the left, and a small hall with tables laid out in rows. A few people are sitting about, talking quietly while they eat. The lady at the desk stands up and greets him with a surprising amount of energy at like 3 am.
“Hi there! I’m Julia, and I’m one of the people in charge here at the shelter. We understand that it can be difficult to come into a place like this, but just know that it is one of the safest shelters around. We don’t allow any weapons and ask that you respect us and the other people who come in. All anyone is doing is looking for a safe place.” Julia says to him. It’s a bit overwhelming and takes his mind a second to catch up. He doesn’t really know what to say and can only muster a small smile before Julia continues talking.
“Now, I hope you don’t mind me asking your name, we don’t keep any information you give us, but we must know how many people come in and who has been given what. I also have to ask that if you have any weapons on you please hand them to me to keep people safe, you can get them back after but we do not allow them in the shared areas. After I can give you a care bag and get you settled.” She says while picking up a clipboard off the desk. The fact she is willing to give any weapons back makes him question what kind of city he has ended up in. Maybe he should find something he could protect himself with.
Not much comes to mind other than that he probably shouldn’t give them his real name. However much she reassures him, he can’t risk anything being tracked back to him. Currently, he doesn’t legally exist anywhere, something he has no idea how to figure out. So he says the first name that comes to mind.
“Uh hi, I’m Ned.” He responds. Hopefully, it’s believable as he has been told before he wasn’t that good at lying. Hanging around Tony definitely helped him there.
“I don’t have any weapons or anything. I am kinda new in town.” Peter adds. She smiles at him, accepting his answer. Afterward, she turns to the blue storage box behind her, lifting out a lumpy drawstring bag. She hands it to him with a small smile, explaining that each person is given a basic care bag, fully stocked with everything he needs, courtesy of the Wayne Foundation.
Slipping the strings over his shoulder, he follows her to the back of the room where food is still being served. People watch as he trails past them but none of their gazes linger for long. He is handed a bowl of vegetable stew, a roll, and a water bottle.
“Sorry if it isn’t the best, dinner is usually served earlier than this. But if you have any questions come ask us and we will be happy to answer. Beds are through the door on the right, and there is a communal shower room. Breakfast is served at seven-thirty. I hope you get some rest, Ned.” she finishes with a smile.
After thanking her, he takes a seat at the table away from the clusters of people. He doesn’t even register eating beyond the warmth moving down his throat. Eager to finish and get some sleep, he downs the bottle of water and places his bowl on the side. As he makes his way into the room he notices a few beds open near the window at the back. Thinking it would be the best place to sleep, with an escape route through the window and a view of the whole room, he makes his way over and takes a seat on the bottom bunk.
Deciding to look through his care bag before he sleeps, he pours out the contents on the bed and starts making a list of the things in his head. Soap, a toothbrush, and flavorless toothpaste, a comb, a first aid kit, a foil blanket, socks, cereal bars, two water bottles, a list of emergency contacts, a map, as well as a small amount of cash. It shocks him how much they can just give out to people. How can they even afford it?
Packing the things back into the bag, he slides it under the bed and lays down staring up at the crisscross pattern of the mattress above him. Putting his hands in his pockets he feels things in them. Pulling the objects out he holds the things above him, the first, half a packet of mint gum. He puts it back as he looks at the rest, his breath rushing out as he looks at the EDITH glasses Mr Stark left him. The tech probably won’t even work in this universe, but he will keep them, it’s the last thing he has left of him.
The final thing he finds in his pocket is his house keys. He forgot them a lot and had to use the spare the majority of the time, but he remembered this time. Looking at the key rings he feels himself start to tear up, a Lego Stormtrooper figurine Ned gave him for his birthday. As well as a photo keyring of him and Aunt May. They took the photo on the first day of his internship, she was so proud of him, always telling all her patients that her nephew works with the Tony Stark.
Not being able to think about home any longer, he stuffs the last remaining things he has from his universe back in his hoodie pocket and turns on his side inhaling shakily. He will be okay he repeats to himself. He has to be. For them.
With that thought, he drifts into unsettled sleep.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
However much Tim loved computers, he hated being benched. It wasn’t his fault some thug decided to just off a roof and he just happened to follow and sprained his ankle. Definitely not his fault. So here he was, only allowed to be the guy in the chair until Alfred and Bruce decide he is well enough to be active again, or until he ‘learns his lesson’ as Bruce put it.
It has been a quiet night so far, so Tim was spinning on his chair in boredom when the Batcomputer chimed. As he looked over he saw the alert for some strange energy signatures coming from the Diamond District. Before he could mention it to Barb the whole system shut down. Only for a few seconds, then it was back like nothing had happened.
Then came the reports of a strange power outage that lasted a few minutes also in the Diamond District, the two were clearly connected.
So now he is trying to pinpoint the exact location the energy came from with Barb and with no luck.
“Babs, the closest I can get is a one-mile radius.” He says over the comm. Her reply comes through the speakers around his set-up.
“There’s not much else I can do Tim, I can’t get any closer than you. We should send someone to check it anyway.” Babs replies, he can hear her tapping away on her computer at lightning speed.
Turning on the microphone for the other comms, he decides to send Batman and Robin to investigate. None of the others are available to check it out and with something this big they would feel more comfortable having The Bat there.
“Red Robin, is there no way to make the location smaller, we don’t have time to search the whole area.” B replies as he already starts making his way to Diamond District. Before he could reply, the demon child decides to talk.
“Surely it is just beyond his skill set. He is adequate at best at his job.” Robin says with bitterness in his voice. Tim doubts they will ever get along, but he has learned to accept that and decides to ignore him as he refuses to argue with a child.
“There is not much else we can do B, the computer can’t figure out what the energy signal was or the exact location. There might be something around that could have caused the disruption.” Tim answers while typing away to gain access to any cameras in the area. Most of them still seem to be down and the ones that are working keep glitching.
As Bruce gets closer to the area not much stands out on the ground so they decide to head to the roofs, with much complaining from Robin saying that Tim has made a mistake. Honestly, that child drives him insane. How people can put up with him he doesn’t know.
Bruce alerts him to a strange thing on top of one of the buildings, in the center of the roof is a large area of scorch marks. As well as this, there are ashes spread across the area. Thats it. They don’t see anything around that indicates what caused it, and nothing that could have caused a power outage.
He asks if Bruce can get a sample of the ashes to test, other than that, they have no idea what could have caused this to happen. But he is determined to find out.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Peter didn’t have much peace in his sleep, dreams riddled with strange people and nightmares of different memories. But he got some decent sleep, mainly because of how exhausted he was his brain couldn’t keep him awake.
He is suddenly woken by a weird rush of anxiety, shooting up he looks around, some subconscious part of him scanning for the danger that caused him to wake up. There, a few beds away from him, are two men arguing. They must have been at it for a while, shouting in each other’s faces while some of the workers tried to de-escalate the situation. He had slept through a lot of it so why he woke now he doesn’t know.
Before he could get up, the man on the left threw a quick right hook to the other man’s jaw, knocking him to the floor. Peter jumps up meaning to intervene when he realizes he needs to stay out of trouble and not willingly walk into it.
Luckily, some other people step in pulling the men apart. He watches as they are both escorted outside the shelter. One of the workers turns and apologizes to everyone about the disturbance and says that breakfast will be served in twenty minutes.
That gives him time to shower quickly and get cleaned up. While in the shower room, he notices a few boxes of clothes, with labels saying free to take. He doesn’t want to take what others may need but another part of him says he is one of those people that need it. So he fishes through and finds a t-shirt with a lightning bolt on the front, as well as some jeans and a baggy hoodie.
After a quick shower, he gets dressed and brushes his teeth. Packing the rest of his things into the drawstring bag, he makes his way to the food area. A man behind the counter hands him a bowl of oatmeal, an orange, and a bottle of water. He is grateful that they can give them two meals because he wouldn’t have anything else he could do for food.
Peter still decides to stay away from the other people, despite knowing it could be useful to talk with some of the locals. Instead, he takes out the map he was given the night before and starts planning what he should do today.
It would be useful to actually learn about the universe he has ended up in, and most libraries he has been to before have had public computers. So he plans his first stop of the day to be Gotham Public Library, situated in a part called ‘Old Gotham’. It doesn’t seem to be that far away, so he hopes it gives him enough time to explore the area some more and figure out what he is going to do for food, shelter, and money. He can’t stay here forever.
Once he has memorized a rough route to the library, he gets up, puts his bowl on the side, and walks to the front doors. It’s a different lady there today, Julia must have gone home. She asks him for his name to sign him out and tells him that he is welcome to come back at any time. After thanking her, he leaves the shelter and makes his way back into the unfamiliar streets of Gotham.
It shouldn’t take him long to get to the library, he tries to walk like he isn’t some lost teen in a new city, luckily his memory is good and he remembers the general way.
As he walks he feels the half packet of gum in his pocket, deciding to chew some as a thing to ground him. The first chew is fine, but as soon as the minty taste hits his throat he starts violently coughing. His mouth and throat burning and itching like someone has poured acid into it. He quickly spits the gum into a bin and takes one of the water bottles from his bag, downing half trying to wash away the feeling.
No one was around to see his coughing fit, thank god, but his throat and mouth still itch uncomfortably. He doesn’t have a clue why he had that kind of reaction, the gum was fine when he had it a few days ago. Maybe it’s some weird multidimensional thing that changes gum, whatever it is, he doesn’t want to experience it again and bins the rest of the packet.
Not wanting to waste more time, he continues down the road while discreetly rubbing his throat, aiming to ease the weird itch. After five more minutes, he finally reaches his destination. Looking up at the sign reading Public Library, he heaves a breath.
Hopefully, this place will give him some answers.