Chapter Text
Peter doesn't know what happened. He remembers saying goodbye to Ned and MJ, a promise (which honestly was a certain lie, after all, Peter only caused misfortune to those who knew him) to find and make them remember. Then, the spell was casted.
Everyone had forgotten who Peter Parker was and the identity of Spiderman was unknown. All records were erased as Spiderman.
It was supposed to be easy, simple.
However, it wasn't as simple as he thought it was. After the spell was casted, it felt like he was being ripped apart. It was slow as his healing factor was trying to keep him together. It was as if he was being dusted again. He couldn't even get out a scream before everything went black. His heart that he constantly hears fell silent.
Everything fell silent. Pain stopping.
He wasn't sure how long he floated within that silence before he opened his eyes with a start. His heart beating frantically in his chest. He tried to inhale, breathe in air that wasn't there. Something was all around him. He was in darkness, drowning in something he wasn't sure of.
His Spidey sense was blaring in his head. Horrible, loud, headache inducing… he needed out. Danger surrounded him.
Peter needed to get out of here.
He tried to swim, swim to the surface but whatever he was in was thick, hard to move in. He couldn't stop the substance from getting into his body, drowning him.
He died not even making it a foot from where he had woken up.
Darkness, unlike last time, didn't last long.
He woke up with a start after what felt like a few seconds of darkness.
He immediately tried to swim out again. Swim upward in what seemed to be a never ending darkness.
Was this his afterlife? To suffer in a never ending cycle? What had he done to deserve this? He never killed anyone. He was good. A hero. He felt the tears come out of his eyes but get stuck inside of whatever liquid he was in. It wasn't water. It was thick, unforgiving.
He died again after two minutes this time, his lungs burning after only making it a few feet.
Time after time, he died, he knew he did. He could hear his heart each and every time, he also heard when it gave out. Stopping beating for a few seconds to a few minutes before beating again as if he was constantly dying and reviving.
Slowly, he started to get angry.
It started small. The anger crept in and stayed, growing. Soon that anger passed the anger he felt when Aunt May was killed. The anger seemed to help him, getting him farther and farther through the liquid as it grew. Soon, light broke through the liquid. He could see the colour. A sickenly green liquid that didn't look like anything he had seen before.
It wasn't long after seeing the colour of the liquid (was it liquid?) he was in, he broke through the surface.
He gasped for air as he finally broke through.
He took a moment to just breathe before taking a look around. His senses were still screaming at him, only this time it was a bit quieter. Which meant still danger but not dying slowly and painfully again and again level.
He was in the middle of a large green pool, was this radioactive? Not like he wasn't already exposed to radioactive material before. He was bitten by a radioactive spider for heaven's sake.
Looking a bit closer, he noticed he was in a cave, the pool seemed to be at the end of said cave as three sides of him were covered in jagged rocks while one side was completely open. Yet, it didn't seem like an abandoned cave, there were lights everywhere. Placed lights and somethings set up near the pool as well as a fence surrounding most of the pool besides a small gap.
Despite how weak Peter actually feels, he forces his body to keep moving. Anger mostly guides him as he swims through the thick green to the opening.
He pulls himself out of the liquid. Spider sense quieter now.
He suddenly realizes that his Spider sense was only going off around that liquid. Whatever it was.
He stood up on shaky legs as he got out.
Using the metal fence a bit as support, he waits a few minutes to get used to standing again before letting it go and stumbling over to a desk. There were a few desks scattered around. Computers on most while others had papers and books. Files were basically on every desk.
He went to the first desk closest to the pool of green.
This desk had a computer on his but also a file neatly organized right besides the keyboard.
Peter sat on the chair at the desk. He closed his eyes, listening. No heartbeats, no breathing. He was alone.
His Spider sense was quiet.
So, with no trouble nearby, he reaches forward to grab the file only to pause.
Was his hand… smaller?
He didn't notice at first but now that he thinks about it, he was small too, wasn't he? He felt the little anger that stayed behind fade away as confusion takes its place. He was small. His hand was smaller than it should be. He was eighteen and he had the hand of a child. Looking in the reflection of the monitor, he noticed how young he looked. How different.
He shoved that thought away.
First he needs to find out where he was too. What was happening took priority. Him looking different wasn't a concern right now.
He reached forward and grabbed the file.
Opening it, he read.
He just stared.
Why were the words all jumbled?
He couldn't read this. Shit… was this another language? It didn't look like any language he's seen before. It was possible it was an alien language but to have this length of technology on Earth for aliens… wait, was he on earth?
Peter shoved the file away from himself and focused on the computer. He went to turn it on only to find it required a password. He was about to try hacking into the computer but froze.
He was right to continue to listen to everything around him. While his Spidey sense wasn't going off, he heard a heartbeat. Sudden and slow.
Peter growled quietly, he paused, he had never growled before. It had just been instinct. He shook his head, he stood, quickly hiding behind the desk as the heartbeat grew closer.
He crouched behind the desk and waited.
He heard as the person walked into this part of the cave.
Peter slowly peaked out from behind the desk as he heard papers being picked up and scanned through. Alien or human?
It was a tall man, maybe six foot if Peter had to guess. He wore a red mask, clearly a mask and not his face. So human, or at least he looks human enough.
The man sighed, “of course it's coded.”
Coded…? Was that a code and not actual language?
“Fuck it, the replacement can decide this.” The man threw the papers back on the desk, Peter ducked back behind the desk as soon as his head turned slightly.
The man walked around for a bit, slow and cautious. He didn't seem to stop at any other desk, the only other place he stopped at was the very desk Peter was behind. The one he had turned on. He made a big mistake turning it on, didn't he? The man was bound to know someone was here.
He hummed, leaving the computer after a few minutes of shuffling the contents on the desk around. He then walked around the desk, towards the green liquid.
The moment he turns around, he'd see Peter. Trying not to make a noise, he tried to walk around the desk out of sight. While his senses say he wasn't in direct danger, they were still going off.
Not to mention, he was naked. He had other worries than waking up naked at that moment. Now that he realizes it, he should've been more concerned about that fact.
Instead of hiding seamlessly, he fell backwards, knocking into the desk and shifting it slightly making the man spin around and whip out his gun from where its holster was on his thigh.
Peter felt tears in his eyes.
He shouldn't be this upset but seeing a gun being pointed at him, he couldn't stop the fear. His tears fell down his face before he could even think about stopping them.
“Shit.” The man muttered, quickly holstering his gun and crouching down, holding his hands up, “it's okay kid, ‘m not gonna hurt you.”
Peter shook his head, standing up fully with the help of the desk but he still felt weak. Were his legs always this weak or was it the adrenaline that made them seem less weak? He didn't stay standing long, he dropped and cried out when his knees scraped against the stone.
“Fuck.” The man stood up and rushed over, Peter flinched back when the man crouched down suddenly in front of him. “I'm sorry kid,” Peter watched as the man took off his jacket and offered it out. “Can I help you put it on?”
Kindness…? Peter didn't stop himself from slowly nodding. He was cold. Any more coldness and he'd be sent into hibernation. If he gets sent into hibernation, who knows what will happen to him.
“Arms?”
Peter slowly raised his arms and the man put it on him, wrapping the jacket that was really oversized for his small body before zipping it up and moving Peter so he's sitting on the end of the jacket instead of being on the rocky ground.
“I need to know something kid, did you come out of that?” The man asked, gesturing behind him with his thumb towards the liquid.
Peter glanced at it. He tensed slightly, he closed his eyes quickly as soon as the feeling of drowning again and again surfaced. “Y-yes…”
“Oh kid…” the man sighed, he was quiet for a minute before he shuffled. Peter opened his eyes only to see the man without the red mask. He had black hair with a white patch on the front of his hair. Vibrant green eyes were toxic, almost like the same green as liquid. “The names Jason,” he introduced.
“P-Peter…” he manages, he hates how young his voice sounds. He sounds like he's five.
“Have a last name Peter?”
Peter didn't deserve the last name Parker. He didn't deserve to call himself a parker after everyone died. Two of his family's deaths were his fault.
He shook his head.
Jason was silent for a moment before asking another question, “any family, then?”
“D-dead…”
Jason sighed, “I can't believe I'm doing this.” He mumbled under his breath, “how do you feel about coming home with me? You'll be safe. I promise.”
Safe.
No matter how much Peter wanted to scream he wasn't ever safe after getting bitten by a radioactive spider, he felt himself relax slightly. A promise of being safe…? Peter knows how hopeless that promise is but he was here. He was in a child's body with no idea where he was. He'd figure it out.
Peter nods.
Jason seemed nice. Something about him also seemed familiar.
Jason smiled slightly, “I'm going to put back on my mask, while it's on, call me Hood, okay?”
“Why?”
Jason grabbed his helmet and put it on as he answered, “I'm a vigilante.”
Peter had a feeling it was something like that. Peter knew most vigilantes, at least by name, around the world. A vigilante named Hood wasn't a name he knew.
“I'm gonna pick you up, okay?” Jason informed him, only moving to pick him up once Peter nodded. One arm went under his knees while the other wrapped around his back.
Jason carried Peter out of the big cave area into smaller tunnels. He noticed plenty of connecting tunnels but Jason seemed to be retracing his steps as he suddenly went down random tunnels. Peter kept looking around, eyes scanning everything in these tunnels. In one of the tunnels, Peter couldn't stop himself before turning his head into Jason's chest, hiding his face.
Jason stopped. “What's wrong, kiddo?”
Peter didn't respond. Only feeling as tears ran down his face again.
Jason must've looked around and saw what Peter had seen. A body laid in a pool of dried blood at the entrance of one of the tunnels. “oh, sorry kid, forgot about that. Keep your eyes closed, we'll be outside soon.”
Peter did.
He felt embarrassed. Why can't he control his emotions? Usually he has better control than this. Usually seeing a dead body is upsetting but he's able to stop himself from crying unless it's someone connected to him. That man wasn't connected to him at all. Why was he crying? Why was he so goddamn upset?
“You can look now,” Jason said just as wind hit him, “we're outside.”
Peter did, slowly looking around at the forest around them. There was no path, no buildings, just a motorcycle by a tree.
“We're pretty far away from Gotham but it shouldn't take longer than eight hours to get home. I know some shortcuts.”
Peter looked up at Jason as he started to head towards the bike. “Gotham…?”
Gotham didn't sound familiar.
“Huh? Where are you from, kid?”
“New Y’rk.”
“I guess New York is closeish to Gotham.” Jason said as he placed Peter on the bike. “Give me a sec, kid, I need to contact someone.”
Peter nodded as Jason stepped away, far enough away where any normal person wouldn't be able to hear clearly, yet Peter was anything but normal.
Jason took off his mask and pulled out his phone, he tapped on it a few times before calling someone and putting the phone to his ear.
“Jay?” The voice on the other end was masculine.
“Hey, I need a favour.”
“What happened? I thought you were checking out that base?” The man on the line asked, “don't tell me you-”
“Listen, I might not do anything the bat asks of me but A asked me so I kinda had to. I did it and the replacement needs to come down and decipher all the files. no danger but I have something I need to do.”
“Something to do…? What did you find Jaybird?”
“A kid came out of the Lazarus Pit. About five or so.”
Five? Peter didn't think he was that small. He thought he was at least nine or ten. Not five. Was Jason bad at telling ages or was he right…? Did he really look five years old? He was meant to be eighteen! This was way too weird.
“Shit, what are you planning?”
“Im taking him home, to my apartment, not the manor. Bruce doesn't get to see the goddamn kid. He's already had to go through the Lazarus Pit, who knows what happened to him.” Jayson glanced at Peter who pretended to be interested in the bike. “Listen, I just need you to drop off some things at my apartment. You still have my spare card B insisted I have?”
“‘course I do. Whatcha need me to get?”
“Clothes that fit a five year old. Shirts, pants, underwear, shoes, shit like that. Also toothbrush and toothpaste for a kid his age. Only essentials for now, leave the rest for later.”
“Can I buy him some toys and stuff on my own card?” Why would this man want to do that?
Jason sighed, “like I can stop you, Dick. Just don't go overboard. The kid just survived hell. If you buy anything for him, get him a stuffed animal or something. Also, get Tim here as soon as possible. I want to know what those fuckers were doing with that pit.”
“I will, Jay.” Dick’s (bad name, who the hell names their kid that?) voice softened. “get back safely. I wanna meet the kid.”
“Maybe once he's settled.” Jason looked at him again, this time Peter looked back and tilted his head. “Tell B he's not to interfere with him. I'm taking care of him and if he thinks he can step in tell him-”
“-to go fuck himself?” Dick finished, “don't worry, I will.”
Jason hung up. He sighed, walking back to the bike and sitting behind Peter, putting back on his helmet. “Feel free to sleep. It'll take a while to get to Gotham.” He said as his arms surrounded Peter and held the handle bars. It wasn't long after he started up the bike that they took off.
Peter couldn't stop the exhaustion he had been fighting off to consume him. He fell into darkness once more, only this time his heart still beat. His lungs weren't drowning in green liquid he couldn't escape from in time.