Rivers and Roads
It feels like forever since Peter has slept so well. There were noises around him from neighbors, rodents hiding in the walls and floors, cars outside, and some distant shouting.
But it didn’t bother him for once.
He can tune it out, focusing on the calm in his mind that hadn’t felt this at peace since before the Blip. It is nice, he can’t believe this is how regular people feel every day.
There’s something that makes him feel slightly on edge but he ignores it in favor of savoring the warm mattress and the rare beam of sunlight glaring through the window. Unfortunately, he will have to go at some point and he doesn’t even know what the time is.
After relishing in warmth for a bit longer, he finally pushes himself up off the mattress and stands in the middle of his new home. It’s not bad, he has definitely lived worse. He’s lucky he was able to get a roof over his head so quickly, it’s uncommon to find people willing to help a random teen with no identity.
The room is a decent size, a bit on the small side but it looks bigger due to the sparse furniture. Now he has some life to him, he took it all in. The bed has a slightly rusty frame and a dipping mattress which he realizes he probably should have checked for bed bugs before he passed out on it. Oh well, it's too late now.
There’s a small bedside table with a lamp and an alarm clock which he tries to turn on but nothing happens. It’s an easy fix for later. The only other thing in the room is a chest of draws and the window with some sad-looking mesh curtains.
He checks out the attached bathroom (thank god. He would have managed with a shared bathroom but it would have cost him some of his dignity), and finds a shower that drips every ten or so seconds, something he will have to sort if he doesn’t want to go insane with the sound. Along with the surprisingly clean toilet, he has a small sink and a slightly greasy mirror.
Not bothering to wash up just yet, he makes his way to the window to see it leads out onto a flat roof. Not being able to resist the chance to sit up high, Peter pries open the window, putting his hoodie over the window seal just in case it decides to shut on him, he climbs out and makes his way to the edge. Sitting down he takes in the city. The sky is still murky with pollution, but there are small breaks in the clouds that let the light gleam down on the gothic architecture, pulling it out of the shadows.
He can see the beauty in this place. It may not be home, but he could find things about it that make him feel calm. It isn’t as bad in the morning, instead of people worrying about what’s in the dark, they seem to just be living their lives like any normal city.
Parents walking their children to school, people waiting for the bus, business owners just opening up for the day. People watching calms him, it makes him forget about his own problems and just appreciate the world around him.
Looking up at the sky, he can see that the sun isn’t that high up, it must be around seven or eight in the morning. He may not be perfect at telling the time using the sun, but he did learn basic things when hanging around the Avengers.
Work should be starting soon, he knows Barbara is lenient with when he turns up, as long as he does. But he still feels bad turning up what he would call late, so he tries his best to do his morning routine quickly.
Peter showers off with warm water and the soap he got from the shelter, brushes his hair and teeth, avoiding looking in the mirror because even though he is feeling a bit better than a few days ago he knows he still looks rough.
He would rather live in denial about his appearances, thank you very much.
It’s when he’s getting dressed that it occurs to him that he no longer has anywhere to wash the limited clothes he has, so a trip to a Laundromat is essential. As well as finding a thrift store so he isn’t wearing the same clothes over and over. He will have to look it up on the computers at work.
Leaving the building leaves him a bit on edge, the lock on his door isn’t bad, but he doesn’t trust his neighbors. He knows some of them could also just be people in a similar situation to him (practically homeless, not someone from another dimension), but he can’t let his guard down, just in case they are actually serial killers.
It’s moderately clean when he walks through the building, apart from the peeling paint and broken handrail it’s not a bad place to live. As he walks out the front door he looks around the street. There are some trash bags down the street and some that have been torn open, but overall it looks as good as he could get.
The walk to work isn’t far either, his place seems to be on the edge of what's known as the Diamond District, with his work being only fifteen minutes away in Old Gotham. His walk is uneventful, and by the time he gets to work, it’s almost eight thirty.
Barbara doesn’t seem to mind and gives him the job of labeling the new books that arrived this morning. As he’s labeling the books upstairs, he spots Tim once again at the computers. He’s already surrounded by paper, books, three soda cans, and what smells like mint tea. The smell is so strong it makes Peter’s nose itch and his head hurt. It must been some fancy brand to have that much flavor.
Peter doesn’t want to bother him but Tim looks up and waves Peter over. He puts down the book he was wrapping a plastic cover on and walks over, taking a seat opposite him.
“Hey Pete, how you doing? How’s the job going?” He asks friendly. He only glances up for a second then continues typing away with one hand and writing with the other.
“Uh yeah, it’s going well. At least I think it is. Miss Barbara hasn’t fired me yet.” Peter replies while he glances down at what Tim is working on.
“You don’t have to be so formal,” Tim laughs, “But yeah I’m sure it’s going well. I haven’t heard any complaints yet.”
“It’s impolite for me to just call her by her name. My aunt would not approve. Even just calling Miss Barbara ‘her’ feels wrong, I can hear Aunt May saying ‘Who’s she? The cat’s mother?’.” He said, mimicking his aunt’s voice. It feels weird for him to mention something about his aunt so easily, but for some reason, Tim is just an easy person to talk to.
“I have never heard that saying in my life,” Tim says with a confused look.
“Yeah, her mom was Irish, I think it’s just some British rebuke towards children. She would say it to me every time I called a woman ‘her’. It used to bug me because I just wanted to talk without having to slow down and think about what was coming out of my mouth. Now I think about it, I don’t think it really worked considering how much I am talking now. So sorry about that.” Peter finishes shyly.
He finds it annoying when he talks a lot, he can’t imagine what others might think. Well, he can considering half the time they told him.
“It’s fine honestly, you can talk about anything, I don’t mind. It’s nice having someone to talk to here.” Tim tells him with a small smile.
It wasn’t often that someone said that and meant it, most of the time it was just them being polite. But Tim seems to genuinely mean it. It’s nice.
Not knowing what else to say, Peter asks Tim what he’s working on. He did already know some considering he took a peak at the paper on the desk.
“Ah, just some essay for school on radiation. I wanted to look at radiation and biological matter,” He finishes, giving Peter a weird look like he expects Peter to know what he is talking about.
He did in fact know a decent about, specifically about gamma radiation considering he has read all of Doctor Banner’s papers on the subject. But it doesn’t seem to be the kind of radiation Tim was looking into.
Before Peter could reply by offering to help, a steaming pot of chicken noodles was dumped down on the table in front of him. Looking up, he sees Jason standing there stuffing his face with his own noodles.
“Here, you haven’t eaten since you came in and it’s already three in the afternoon.”
Peter looks down at the noodles again, not knowing what to say but there’s a warm feeling in his chest. How could people who are almost complete strangers be so kind to him?
“Thank you, Mister Jason, you didn’t have to.”
“It’s okay kid, honestly.” He smiles at Peter.
“Hey, how come Peter gets noodles and I don’t?” Tim asks with humor tinged with slight annoyance.
“Because. Go get your own man, you’ve been sitting in that same place for hours. You need the excise.”
Tim stands up with clicking joints which does not sound comfortable even if he doesn’t show any pain. Instead, he gives Jason a small glare and stalks off grumbling under his breath.
Jason sits down at the table just across from theirs and rests his legs on the table. Peter notices that even though he doesn’t have the best manners, he still makes sure his shoes don’t touch the furniture.
Not enjoying the silence (and the occasional noodle slurp), Peter decides to start the conversation for once. “So, is the rest of your family as… eccentric as you and your brothers?”
That wasn’t meant to come out that way.
Jason accidentally inhales in surprise and a noodle shoots down his throat causing him to go into a coughing fit. He starts laughing after but Peter is already beet red in embarrassment at both asking the question and causing a disturbance in a library.
After gathering himself, Jason finally addresses Peters’s question, putting him out of his misery. “Well we all have our quirks , and it can cause some problems. Especially in such a large family.”
It’s at this time that Tim returns with his own beefy noodles, chips, and surprisingly a bottle of water.
“I obviously met your brother Damian, I don’t think he liked me very much.”
Tim covers his mouth as he starts talking with noodles still in his mouth, “Don’t take it to heart, he is just very closed off and finds it hard to trust people. He might warm up to you, don’t take my word for it though, he doesn’t like me much. Damian can care when he wants to.”
“Yeah, I get that. He did look at me like he was looking at an ant under a microscope. Hopefully, I can get on his good side. I seem to be meeting a lot of your family so being on bad terms with one of you isn’t exactly ideal.” Peter replied with a nervous chuckle.
He’s always tried his hardest for people to like him.
Always saying what he thinks they want to hear, listening to them, being aware of them. So being disliked straight away does kind of hurt, even if it is a stranger. All he does is work for people’s approval.
“Nah, you’ve only met three so far. And Babs, who is an honorary member. You still have like five more to meet and I’m sure most of them will like you. Most of us are adopted so it’s not easy to warm up to people, especially when you are forced together at first. I wasn’t adopted until after my parents… y’know. But they became part of my family eventually. “ Tim finished.
“Wait, so you’re all adopted?” Peter asks in surprise, looking between them both. It’s not common for someone to adopt so many children.
“Well, Steph isn’t adopted, but she’s ‘round the Manor often enough that she might as well be. And then Damian is Bruce’s biological child, which in Dami’s mind makes him kinda superior. He’s not like that much anymore, but he loves to mention it in an argument, always saying ‘Well, you’re adopted’.” Tim finishes.
“Damn. How can anyone even afford so many kids man?”. Peter realizes after he said it that it may not have been the best question to ask. Asking about people’s financial status isn't something you should do, he never liked it. Yet Tim doesn't seem to mind.
“Well, considering it's Bruce Wayne he could probably afford to adopt a lot more. But I don't think Alfie would appreciate even more kids to pick up after. Still, even if it's a lucky environment it’s not really easy. The money may be good but constantly being in the public eye has its downsides. Like Christ, I couldn't even come out on my own terms after someone posted about me and a guy online.”
This might be the first time today that Jason actually looks at Tim nicely, his face holding some sadness for his younger brother but also for something else.
Peter is going to address what Tim said before his mind backfires.
Wait a minute. Did he just say Bruce Wayne?
“Wait. Like Bruce Wayne , Bruce Wayne? The billionaire? You are all his kids?” he asks in complete shock.
Damian’s behavior makes more sense now.
Well, that's not a fair way for him to think, but it's hard for him to put aside his prejudices for rich people. Yeah, Tony Stark was a good person and kind. But let’s be honest, he was kinda a nepo baby. He did work for what he had, but Peter judged him hardcore before he got to know him.
When you grow up poor and you’re friends with Michelle Jones, the term ‘eat the rich’ is hard to ignore. Tony definitely was a playboy like the media showed, just a nice one. Maybe their dad isn’t like Tony and his playboy ways, but his behavior in public seems to say otherwise.
“So like, I read this article. And I have to ask. Is your dad sleeping with Batman?”
Instant regret.
Tim and Jason let out laughs so loud that Peter swears it shook the floor. His face goes bright red and he just wishes the Earth would open beneath him so he could escape this moment.
“Oh God no, like he does act like a himbo in public. But he's a good person, and definitely isn't sleeping with The Dark Knight, I don't even know how that would work. It's just his public persona, everyone has different parts of them they show to different people.” Tim replies, wiping tears from the corner of his eyes as his chest still shakes with slight chuckles.
Peter sees that. Bruce probably is a nice person who just wants to keep an upbeat social image so nothing negative comes back on his family. He must be a decent person if he would go and open his home to so many kids. Yeah, a rumor starting that you are dating the city's vigilante isn't the best thing, but it could be worse. Tony definitely had to deal with some heavy backlash for some things. The Batman thing is just funny.
It’s then that Peter realizes that Bruce didn't just adopt some kids, he literally helps people all over the city. He supplies the things for the library, hell he runs the shelter Peter has been staying at. God, his new friend’s (?) Dad has been basically giving him a roof and food since he got to Gotham.
It is strange though. Peter started at some random shelter, met new people, and got a job at the library, just for it all to connect back to Bruce Wayne. He had met Tim, Jason, and Damian separately, and yet they all turned out to be brothers. The world is filled with strange coincidences.
From there the conversation drifts to a few different things, Peter asking what it’s like living with a billionaire, having their own butler which is insane. But Tim and Jason say he is more like a grandfather.
Not long after, Peter had to go and finish labeling books downstairs, so he said goodbye to them and continued helping Barbara. Some part of his mind was still mulling over the strange so-called coincidence which was the Wayne family.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Alfred wasn’t happy to find out that Damian had decided to leave school early. Damian could have hidden that he was home, but he needed to access the Cave and he didn’t care to turn off the alerts that Bruce and Alfred receive when someone enters it.
So here he is, trying to figure out what it was he found the night before while Alfred places down a sandwich for lunch.
“Thank you, Pennyworth. I will be sure to eat once I have confirmed what this substance is.” Damian replies distractedly.
“Hm, be sure you do, Master Damian,” Alfred says to him while he collects leftover cups and begins his way back up to the manor.
He had been testing the liquid he found the night prior for a few hours now. He may be good at identifying drugs and poisons, but using the technology to break down the chemical compound isn’t his strong suit.
So far it seems to be some kind of highly potent mix. With a chemical asphyxiant, an alkaloid, and a hallucinogenic. It takes him a while longer to break it down using Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometry, but he finally figures out the exact things used in the liquid, and it is not looking good.
The first part is bad enough, Cyanogen chloride according to the computer. He starts reading the files they have on this specific chemical.
Cyanogen chloride (CK) is a toxic chemical asphyxiant and is highly volatile. It interferes with the body’s ability to oxygen, which can cause it to be rapidly fatal if exposed. It has systematic effects, mainly on the central nervous system, cardiovascular system, and pulmonary system.
The first symptoms of poisoning include lightheadedness, giddiness, rapid breathing, nausea and/or vomiting, feeling of suffocation, confusion, restlessness, and anxiety. It may also cause fluid in the lungs.
These symptoms are then followed by respiratory depression. If cyanide poisoning is severe, it may progress into stupor, coma, muscle spasms, convulsions, and death.
Well.
That is definitely not what Damian was hoping to hear. Cyanogen chloride is only the first of three. Damian knew it was going to get worse but he had to keep reading on. Someone decided to make this abomination of a chemical, and if something like this is able to be found on the street, it is imperative that they find out who it is before something bad happens.
The second thing he’s found in the compound is something called Strychnine.
Strychnine is a strong poison that can cause extremely serious health effects, including death.
It interferes with the operation of the chemical that controls nerve signals to the muscles. Low to moderate exposure can cause a range of symptoms, including agitation, fear, ability to be easily startled, restlessness, painful muscle spasms, arching of the neck and back, rigid arms and legs, law tightness, muscle pain, and difficulty breathing.
High exposure to strychnine may cause respiratory failure, leading to death, and brain death.
Damian is starting to think that this may be one of the worst poisons he’s seen. On top of that, the third and final chemical is linked to the second.
LSD.
Lysergic acid diethylamide, also known as LSD, is a psychedelic drug. Low doses can cause mild changes in perception, mood, and thought.
A moderate or high dose of LSD may cause feelings of euphoria, dilation of pupils, visual and auditory hallucinations, confusion, headaches, nausea, fast heartbeats, fast breathing, vomiting, sweats and chills, intensified thoughts and emotions, and increased body temperature. In some cases, it may also cause flashbacks.
LSD may not seem like the worst thing to find, but combined with the two other poisons is one of the most extreme compounds Damian ever come across. Just the creation of it is cruel and inhumane.
Anyone who is hit with this will experience things worse than what the Joker’s Venom causes.
It looks like it could be injected, but it is unlike people in Gotham to make such an extreme drug just to use on one person. This could just be a sample, and if so, how much more is out there?
Damian continues to look further into the compound of the new drug, it seems that it could not be a gas like the Venom. LSD is too fragile of a compound to be in gas form. But it could be an aerosol. If it is, just this small vial could cover at least five people. Whoever made it probably would have made a lot more.
Desperate to find some sort of lead, Damian delves even further into the structure of each drug. It is long going, that is until he notices something.
The natural source of strychnine is a plant called Strychnos nux-vomica, commonly found in southern Asia. The Nux-vomica tree contains two toxic chemicals, brucine, and strychnine. These derive from the seeds inside the tree’s fruit.
The plant cannot be grown in the United States, and it would be close to impossible to transport here. There’s only one person he can think of who would be able to get ahold of it.
Ivy.
It is unlikely she would be her who made the drug, it is unlike her to be this evil with a drug. That combined with the fact he found it on some goon on the street makes him think she has grown the plant for someone else to use.
Damian cannot confirm his suspicions without meeting with her himself, which is a difficult feat considering he, himself does not have many criminal contacts outside his mother and the league.
Unfortunately for Damian, his adopted older brother is a criminal. One with connections to people such as Cat Woman, who definitely could help him find Ivy.
It seems he is going to have to be the bigger person and admit he needs Jason’s assistance.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Peter has around thirty minutes left until the end of his shift. It’s lucky that Barbara said he could leave at three every other day. He knows she is being too lenient, and he kind of feels like he is being overpaid, but he is grateful for it.
He currently has nothing else to do, so he finally takes the time to sit and look up the closest Laundromat near his new place. Luckily there is one only about a ten-minute walk from his building, so he has time to go there after work.
With that done, he decides to look up the Wayne family. He couldn’t believe he had met three of them and didn’t know who they were. Just the name ‘Wayne’ came up with thousands of results, new articles, tweets, everything.
Damn, they are really famous and now I look stupid, he thought to himself.
He starts reading through some of the articles, some dating back years, saying how Mr Wayne has adopted a new child. A lot of them were praising him, but there were still a decent few who were calling his kids charity cases.
He was mid-reading an article about the most recent Wayne Gala when he came across a family photo taken there. Underneath were all their names from left to right. Timothy, Cassandra, Duke, Bruce, Damian, and Richard.
As he looks closer at the photo, he suddenly sits back in shock. Richard, Dick, Tim’s brother.
It’s the same man he met at the shelter. Detective Dick Grayson is Bruce Wayne’s son.
He feels stupid for not making a connection before, even if it wasn’t really obvious. But the guy literally told him his name, if he just sat down sooner and looked up more he would have known.
This also means that Detective Grayson is Barbara’s ex-boyfriend.
Anxiety rushes through him as reality sets in. Everyone is connected. The library, the shelter, and everyone he has met. Hell, Dick even gave him the address of where he lives. There’s something nagging in the back of his mind putting him on edge. Yeah, he could just be paranoid, but something feels off about the whole situation.
Considering he has already met three of the siblings in the library, it seems likely he might meet some of the other Wayne family members there as well. Dick seems to be one of them considering Tim said he and Barbara still have a good relationship despite breaking up.
If he does happen to come in, and he sees Peter, will be even worse. He knows he is homeless and is barely getting by. On top of that, he lied about his name at the shelter, he didn’t think he would be indirectly lying to a detective as well. It would definitely cause problems if he came in here and called him Ned, and he would have to tell his new friends and boss that he’s actually a semi-homeless teenager who lied about his identity.
Well, shit.