Spider in Gotham - Chapter 14

Peter felt himself relaxing around Steph and Cass. He didn't plan on it, but it happened, nonetheless. Steph was a ball of hyper energy while Cass had a surprising sense of humor. People gave her a wide berth. If they knew ASL they would have seen how sarcastic she truly was. The two bounced off of each other in a natural flow.

He didn't miss the small touches between them either. It went beyond friendly. Steph gave Cass long hugs. When they came to a stop, she had her arm around her waist. At times her hands would cup the silent girls' ass for a quick grope. Cass would click her tongue at the blonde, or glare without any real fire behind it. Her rebukes never went beyond that. The blonde occasionally sent a playful look his way as well.

Peter was pretty sure the two were dating. He wasn't completely blind when it came to relationships. In other people at least. He wasn't exactly clueless when it came to his own love life. His track record just was not the best. Come to think of it, MJ was the only real girlfriend he had had. The relationship with Liz never got beyond a single date. She moved after her dad was arrested. They had lost touch after that. Her online presence slowed down dramatically. He had searched for information on people he knew once he came back from the snap. From what he could tell, she hadn't been dusted. Records from those five years were muddled at best.

"Come back to us, Pete." Stephanie bumped his shoulder with her own.

His spider-sense didn't flare up at all. He had relaxed around them even on a subconscious level.

"Sorry." Peter gave her a small smile. "Are you two a thing?"

"A thing?" Steph teased.

<<Yes.>> Cass replied quickly. <<She is my girlfriend.>>

"I thought so." Peter smiled. "You two are cute together."

"Aw, thank you." Steph kissed him on the cheek. "It's still kind of new. I didn't realize I liked girls too until, like, a month ago."

<<Three months. One week. Four days.>> Cass supplied.

Peter laughed.

"What about you, Peter?" Steph bumped him again. "Any special ladies, or fellas?"

"No." Peter shook his head. He tried to keep a smile on his face.

"Two more meals." Steph said.

"Right." His smile shifted to something a bit truer.

"And look at that!" Steph spoke in a very fake surprise. "We just happen to be in the Student Union. This is the best place on Campus. Well, for food at least." The cheer in her voice dropped. She turned to address him seriously. "Don't eat anything that doesn't come from an established vendor. That goes for drinks, promotional items, and photographs as well. Those are the most common methods of delivery for contamination."

<<Do you have a gas mask?>> Cass asked.

"No." Peter shook his head.

"You need to get one fast." Steph sighed. "Wayne Enterprises has some high-quality ones that are cheap. It's best to go with a full-face version too. People forget to protect their eyes. Luthor Tech tried to push in the market with some rebreather masks that only covered the nose and mouth. It didn't work out well."

"Luthor Tech?" Peter furrowed his brow.

"They are another branch of LexCorp." Stephanie spoke slowly. "The company has been trying to expand into Gotham for a while."

"I've seen the signs around." Peter nodded. "They have some construction projects."

Cass rolled her eyes.

<<Luthor bribed a lot of people to get those contracts. Then he tried to strongarm the local mafia.>> She gave a single, silent laugh. <<He wasn't prepared.>>

"Is the mafia that big of a problem?" Pete asked.

"They never go away." Steph sighed. "A new organization pops up every time one of them gets too weak. It gets really bad when there's infighting. Then they split into factions and people can get hurt. They aren't like the costumed villains. No big plans, or clever traps. They work in bullets and explosives. Sometimes, they'll get desperate and reach out to one of the bigger names. Well, they used too. It only took a couple of times for them to realize the costumes only made it worse."

"What about the bats?" Pete dropped his voice low.

<<Like she said.>> Cass frowned. <<The other families smell blood and takeover. It's a constant cycle. The best the bat can do is keep the lesser evils at bay. The mafia runs deep in Gotham.>>

"Power vacuum." Peter shook his head.

The two girls didn't look happy with the answer. He couldn't blame them.

"Enough of that." Steph swapped back to her cheery self. "The Sweet and Sour Pork is amazing."

"We just ate." Peter said with a laugh.

"Two meals." Steph called over her shoulder.

Peter didn't mind. His metabolism burned through calories like crazy. Usually, this meant he snacked throughout the day, but a couple of extra meals would work too. Steph bounded into the building. It was a on the later side of a normal lunch time so there was a decent number of people around.

He could see both girls scan the area for danger. It was subtle, but he knew the signs. The skill was one he was still developing. Usually his spider-sense let him know when danger was approaching. Selina had taught him how to scope the room for a different reason.

His quick look around the room confirmed her previous assessment. There was a distinct lack of items worth stealing. Any and all art was clearly forgery or recreated as wall murals. The few sculptures around the area were plaster copies. Whoever set this up knew what they were doing. It did make him wonder how many times it took for them to learn the lesson though.

Peter joined Cass and Steph in the line for food. The room was arranged as a row of different booths. Each served a different cuisine. There were a couple of common commercial options as well. He saw Big Belly Burger and Taco Hut. The lines for those were significantly shorter.

<<They don't accept meal plan cards.>> Cass answered before he could ask. <<No cash either. Just credit or debit.>>

"Yeah." Steph rolled her eyes. "They don't even have a full menu. It's better to go down a few blocks to one of the real places."

The blonde hopped a bit in place to see over the crowd.

"Aw, man." She pouted.

"What's up?" Peter asked.

"The Culinary Booth isn't open." Steph grumbled.

Peter arced an eyebrow at Cass.

<<Students in the Culinary Program have their own station.>> Cass explained. She huffed as she turned to Steph. <<They don't open until the last semester. You know that.>>

"They have special events." Steph muttered.

"Hey guys!" A beautiful redhead with thick-rimmed glasses called out to them.

"Babs!" Steph bounced and waved.

Cass gave a short wave. She signed something, but he couldn't get a good view of what she said. The new girl, Babs, nodded in understanding. To call her a girl wasn't right. She was a woman. He guessed she was at least twenty-five. She wore a tasteful black skirt and a grey blouse, but she moved with the grace of a dancer. Her outfit was styled to underplay her figure. It was something Peter knew about. He had to work to hide his body for the last two years of high school. Though, for a woman it might just be to avoid getting leered at.

"What are you doing here?" Steph pulled the woman into a hug.

"It's my first day as an Assistant Librarian." Babs smiled.

"I thought you loved the Gotham Library." Steph gasped.

"I did." Babs shrugged. "The offer was just too good to pass." She paused. "And it will finally get my dad to stop worrying so much. I swear, one hostage situation and suddenly my job isn't safe anymore."

Peter blanched at her words. Gotham was a strange place.

"Who's this?" Babs asked.

"Peter Parker." Steph stepped out of the way to provide introduction. "Meet Barbara Gordon. Barbara, this is Peter."

"Nice to meet you." The redhead flashed him a genuine smile. "Are you a student here?"

"They're giving me a tour." Peter replied.

"I'm sure they are." Barbara chuckled. "It was nice to meet you, Peter."

"It was nice to meet you too." Peter flashed her a polite smile.

"You aren't going to join us?" Steph cut in.

"My lunch is over." Barbara shook her head. "You know where to find me."

Cass signed something to the redhead. Barbara replied in sign. Peter subtly averted his gaze to respect their privacy.

"This is my treat." Steph said as the lined moved forward. "My meal plan can cover it."

"Thanks." Peter flashed her a smile. "I'll pay for the next one."

"Now, come on." Steph grabbed him. Her hand slid easily into his. "You have to try the Sweet and Sour Pork. It is soooo good."

He looked down at their hands, then over at Cass. The silent girl didn't seem bothered.

[ - - ]

She was right. The Sweet and Sour Pork was really good. Peter wasn't sure how a school cafeteria could manage such quality. It was a major point in their favor to attend.

That was a lie.

He had already decided to go here. The short time with Steph and Cass had sealed the choice. He hadn't realized exactly how much he missed having friends. Selina was great, but she was more of a mentor than a friend. Not exactly on the same level as Tony. He was pretty sure the two would have gotten along though. She would have driven Pepper crazy and probably would have stolen quite a few things. Tony, of course, would take that as a challenge to come up with better security.

Peter smiled at the thought. He fought against the sorrow that tried to encroach.

Steph squeezed his hand. He smiled at her. The flush of warmth helped. She had taken his hand once they had finished the food. Cass was closer to him on his other side. She didn't touch him, but he could feel her warmth.

"How do you know Barbara?" Peter asked.

"She worked at the Gotham Public Library." Steph replied with an almost dreamy smile. "She's awesome."

<<She does a lot of work to help people.>> Cass added. Her hands moved much faster than usual. <<She was one of the first people I met when I first arrived in Gotham.>>

Peter smiled.

"Her dad is pretty cool too." Steph added. "He was the police commissioner for a long time. Retired last. Wasn't it?"

Cass gave a firm nod.

"Yeah, last year." Steph repeated. "Guy was a legend. His mustache was too."

Cass rolled her eyes. Peter cocked an eyebrow at her.

"We're talking Magnum Jones level." Steph continued. "It's still impressive. Now that he's clean shaven it has lost a bit of impact. The stubble just made it."

Peter shared an amused look with Cass. The silent girl pressed the back of her hand against her forehead and fluttered her eyelashes.

"Stop it." Steph whined.

<<Your fan girl was showing.>> Cass sighed.

"Who is Magnum Jones?" Peter asked.

"Magnum Jones." Steph repeated. "It's an old show from the 80s. The guy was a private investigator and treasure hunter. He had an epic mustache and this cool fedora." She paused; her voice took a on a lower tone with a slight gravel to it. "Spiders, why does it have to be spiders."

Peter shrugged.

"Before your time." Steph waved it off.

"How old are you?" Peter countered.

"You're not supposed to ask a lady that." Steph squeezed his hand.

<<19.>> Cass added helpfully.

"Hey!" Steph groaned. "Not cool."

"I'm 18." Peter said. "How is it before my time, but not yours?"

"I used to watch the show with my dad." Steph replied. Her had lost its usual cheer. "He loved those old adventure shows. I can't tell you how many times I had him make these little traps through the apartment. I'd have to figure out how to disable pressure plates, made with real paper plates. My favorite was the pitfall. He used couch cushions and blankets. It was the most obvious, but I always made sure to trigger it."

She turned away to wipe the tears that had formed in her eyes. Peter carefully squeezed her hand in support. She leaned against him in thanks. At some point Cass had moved from beside him to be closer to Steph. They both held her hands now.

Peter wasn't sure what exactly was going on. It almost felt like a date now.

"Ok." Steph pushed the cheer back into her voice. "Now, the final stop in the tour."

Peter had let her lead him around. He didn't pay much attention to the city around them. His spider-sense would kick in if there was any danger. He looked at where they had stopped. Before them stood a convince store that didn't have gas pumps.

"Quick-E-Stop?" Peter furrowed his brow. "Why are we here?"

"The best burritos in the neighborhood." Steph proudly proclaimed. "And would you look at that, it is also the location of our third meal together. How fortuitous."

Peter laughed at her. She was good.