A Spider in Gotham - Chapter 11

The last week had been rather busy. Selina would take him around the city during the day to point out important places. At night, she would have him lead her back there via the rooftops. They also spent a lot of time meeting people. Selina introduced him to her network of street-level contacts. These were the people who worked at events as servers, cooks, and valets. There were also working girls, a few security guards, and a homeless shelter. Selina had spent a lot of time cultivating relationships with people and had even created something of a 'safe zone' for those who slipped by the system. It wasn't perfect, but the homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and clinics in the area were well-stocked.

"It's time for you to take a run on your own." Selina said from her spot at the kitchen table.

She had one ordered and delivered the day after he had arrived. They had breakfast and dinner each night. During the meals they would discuss the things they had learned the previous night. She would ask about the people they had met, security on important locations, points of entry, and possible complications.

Selina slid a manila folder across the table to him. He flipped it open to see a private collection of Norse artifacts. It tugged at his heart a little. He pushed the feeling down as he studied the items. The artifacts were focused on Freya. Two golden cat statues were circled.

"Myths say Freya had a carriage pulled by cats." Selina explained. "It would be an insult to her name if I didn't own them."

Peter smiled and shook his head. He flipped through the pictures. It was one of the buildings they had scoped out recently. While it was an office building, the top two floors were a mixture of a penthouse apartment and lounge. It was recently refurbished and only had ten levels. The area was in the process of being gentrified. In Gotham, he had learned that meant the criminals saw promise in the place. The other buildings around it ranged between ten to twelve levels with the highest being fifteen.

"Increased power draw means they at least have tripwires." Peter flipped through the documents. "There's a roof garden, possible point of entry, but it's obvious. Who has a roof garden in Gotham? I'd wager motion sensors, cameras, and at least one guard on watch."

He flipped over one of the pages to see a floorplan of the top two levels. There was a guard station, as well as an armory, on each with three guards listed per. The display was set in the center of the ninth floor.

"No skylights." Peter commented. "At least they thought that far ahead."

The tenth floor ended in a balcony that looked out over the display.

"Pressure and heat sensors on the windows." He smiled as he looked up at Selina. "Almost missed that."

Selina gave him a small nod.

"Going in from the roof or the windows is out." Peter muttered. "He knows you're coming and has tried to prepare for you."

He flipped through the documents some more until he came to a floor-by-floor blueprint. The vents had been replaced to a size that no normal human could move through. There was a freight elevator that looked interesting.

"Here." Peter tapped the elevator.

"You missed the motion sensors." Selina clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"No." Peter smiled. "They only track movement outside of the elevator. I can just take a ride."

"Stroll through the front door and use the elevator?" Selina chuckled. "Bold. I like it."

"Not exactly." Peter gave her a sly smile. "Deliver the statues to the second floor of the safe house?"

"If you think you can." Selina gave a smile of her own. "If not, I can grab them tomorrow."

In a very mature fashion, Peter stuck his tongue out at her. He closed the folder and slid it back to her. After that, he took his dish over to the sink and washed it. There was a top-of-the-line dishwasher a couple of feet to his left, but he preferred to do them by hand. The task helped him think.

Working with Selina was a lot more enjoyable than he had expected. They had spent most of their time around the neighborhood. Their excursions into the bigger part of the city were for the random gala, of which the city had on a regular basis, or to case a possible target. From what he could see, every potential job hit the corrupt side of things. They made sure the workers and little people weren't hurt. In fact, she had shown him multiple times that it paid to cultivate a positive relationship with them.

A sly smile crossed his face as he put the dish in the drying rack. He turned back to face her. Selina smiled brightly at him.

"Don't wait up." Peter teased as he hurried to his room.

He quickly got on his suit; thankful it had been made with the ability to rapidly change in mind. Peter hooked his mask on his belt before he headed to the closet. A panel along the side slid back to reveal a row of uniforms from various companies. He covered his suit with a set of gray overalls. It was loose on him to hide the gear underneath and looked just worn enough to pass for someone who hadn't been on the job for long. He clipped a toolbelt on to finish the disguise. His mask was now carefully wrapped in a protective cover tucked among some random tools.

Peter snatched a set of keys as he headed out of the apartment.

"Make sure you fill it up." Selina called after him.

A couple of minutes later found him behind the wheel of an unmarked work truck. He stopped to get a cup of gas station coffee on the way. Peter braced himself and dripped some on his chest to complete the look. There was just something about gas station coffee that made it feel hotter than he ever expected.

The streets were almost empty after sundown. Rough neighborhoods became dangerous once it got dark and even the high-class parts of the city took on an imposing air. No one paid much attention to a beaten-up work truck that made its way toward one of the 'new old' sections of the city.

Peter pulled the truck into a spot in front of the building. He grabbed a ladder and a toolbox from the back before he made his way to the door. Three visibly armed security guards watched him approach. Anyone who lived in Gotham with a sliver of self-preservation would not step out of the building.

He made a show of shifting the ladder and the toolbox around as he pushed open the door. Two of the guards flanked him on either side while the other sat behind an imposing desk. Peter grunted as he moved deeper into the building.

"What are you doing here?" The guard at the desk asked.

"What do you mean, what am I doing here?" Peter scoffed. "The office up on the fourth floor has been bitching about a leak for the last three days. Do they send the guy who knows the building? Of course not, they sent me. Let the new guy do the night shift. That fancy Metropolis degree will keep him safe."

He paused to take a deep breath. The guard in front of him gave a single snort of laughter.

"Maintenance is supposed to check in around the back." The guard crossed his arms.

"The back of the building." Peter deadpanned. "In the alley, with the broken lights, and only one way out. I'm not going to do that when the sun is up, sure as hell not now."

The guard looked at the other two and had a silent conversation. Peter knew he was short, and looked like he was barely old enough to drive. That combined with the ill-fitting uniform did wonders to put them at ease. The trio of armed guards obviously thought they could take him if things went south.

"Put the toolbox down." The guard at the desk ordered. "Take off the belt and step away."

Peter grumbled as he followed the instructions. One guard stepped up to inspect the tools while the other two watched him intently. He put on an annoyed expression as they guy looked at each piece. All the real equipment was stored on his belt under the overalls. His mask was the only thing that could cause any sort of question.

"Looks clear." The guard stepped away. He didn't bother to put things back in order.

"Take the freight elevator." The on behind the desk ordered. "We'll be up to check on you."

Peter didn't say anything as he gathered up the tools. He lugged the ladder over his shoulder and made his way down the hall to the elevator. That was a subtle test as well to see if he knew where the freight elevator was.

One of the guards followed at a distance all the way to the elevator. Peter half expected the guy to get in with him. It would be inconvenient, but the plan had room for improvisation.

Peter dropped the ladder and toolbox once the doors closed. The motion sensors would turn off as the elevator began to move. Unlike the main ones, there wasn't a camera in the freight elevator. Peter popped his mask out from the case and slid it into place. He unzipped the overalls. They pooled on the floor as he leapt onto the ceiling. The hatch was locked, but an application of spider-strength took care of that issue.

He was out and on top of the elevator as it started to move. There wasn't a moment to lose. He climbed quickly up the cables until he reached the tenth floor. Peter had the doors open before the elevator made it to the second level.

Peter stood at the back of a balcony that looked out onto the display. He tapped the side of his mask to shift through the modes. The color of the room faded as a network of lasers popped into view. They covered the entire display but were especially thick around the two feline statues.

He sighed. The statues were bigger than they looked in the picture. Each one stood at least two feet tall. There was no way they would fit in the bag he had brought. He should have expected something like this. Selina wasn't going to take it easy on him.

Peter studied the network of lasers as he worked out an idea on how to transport the statues. His train of thought was interrupted as a bright flash of light washed over the room. The windows shattered less than a second later. His spider-sense hadn't gone off, but he knew an explosion from experience. He rushed over to the window. A building a couple of blocks over had a chunk missing.

The explosion had knocked the power out. He could easily snatch the two statues and run. The sound of a pained scream stomped out that idea. Peter grabbed the grapple from his belt and jumped out the window.

He adjusted his aim as he came to the peak of the swing. The grapple wasn't the same as web-slinging. It had a shorter reach and he only had one. For the most part, it was supposed to be for quick movement across gaps in the buildings which Gotham had in abundance. The rooftop highway was rather intricate across the various islands that made up the city.

Peter landed on the street in front of the ruined building. He spider-sense told was a low hum, which he took to mean that there weren't any immediate explosions. A quick tap on the side of his mask shifted his vision to filter out a good portion of the smoke. The thermal readout had practically blinded him.

He bounded up from floor to floor, the exposed interior helped him move fast. The first person he found was a cleaning lady, she was unconscious, but breathing. He carefully lifted her up into a bridal carry and got her out of the building.

She roused as he set her on the sidewalk. Her eyes tried to focus on him, but she was still dazed.

"How many people are in there?" He made sure to keep his voice calm and even.

"Five." The cleaning lady replied. "My crew."

"Was it an attack?" He asked.

She shook her head. The motion made her eyes flutter. He settled her back onto the ground. A large shadow flashed by the edge of his vision. It didn't set off his spider-sense, so he focused on finding the people inside.

The EMTs had arrived and there were two more of the cleaning outside when he came back. One of the medics caught sight of him. They froze. Peter motioned to the two cleaners. He raised his hands to his head to mime bat-ears. The medic nodded.

"Three more cleaners." Peter called over to the EMTs.

"Any others?" One of them asked.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Be right back."

He bounded back into the building. The dark shape flashed by as he went in. Peter found one of the cleaning crew stuck under a collapsed desk and the other trapped in a maintenance closet. Both were easily rescue with a small application of his enhanced strength.

Another ambulance and some police had arrived when he got back outside. The cops stared at him for a moment. His spider-sense flared as they raised their weapons. Peter hopped back into the smoke. It hid his movements well enough for him to get to the roof. Even after the explosion the building felt sound. There was more to this place than a simple office. He didn't have the time to take a look now.

He sprinted over the rooftops. Vigilantes were on rough terms with Gotham PD. Selina had told him that they weren't nearly as corrupt as they used to be, but they certainly were clean yet. Either they drew their weapons because he wasn't a bat, or they didn't like people in masks. That was an issue for another day.

Peter jolted to a stop as a dark figure dropped in front of him. He wasn't sure where they had come from, most of the buildings were the same height.

Before him stood a girl in a black bat-suit with a yellow emblem. The lower half of her mask was sewn shut. His spider-sense tingled when he looked at her. The message was clear, she was dangerous.

He didn't speak. Neither did she. Selina had mentioned there was more than one Batgirl. The only thing she had mentioned about this one was that she didn't talk much.

"Hi." He gave a small wave. "Thanks for the assist."

She nodded.

"Any idea what caused the explosion?" He asked.

Batgirl didn't answer. He got the feeling that she couldn't answer him rather not choosing to.

<<Do you know ASL?>> Peter signed.

<<Yes.>> Batgirl replied. <<Who are you?>>

<<Black Cat.>> He replied. <<You are Batgirl, right?>>

<<Black Bat.>> She corrected him.

<<Black Bat and Black Cat.>> Peter chuckled. <<That sounds like a bad Doctor Suess book.>>

<<Who?>> Black Bat cocked her head to the side.

<<Nevermind.>> Peter sighed. Did this dimension not have Dr. Suess? <<Do we have to fight now?>>

Black Bat cocked her head to the other side.

<<Do you want to?>> Her posture told him she was amused.

<<No.>> Peter smiled at her. <<It was nice to meet you.>>

<<You as well.>> She signed. <<See you around?>>

<<I would like that.>> Peter inclined his head in a small bow.

He stepped turned back the way he came and hopped off the rooftop. The grapple snapped tight on the edge of the building across the street. He took a circular route back to the target. A couple of squads in unmarked tactical gear swarmed the building floor by floor. He wasn't going to get the statues tonight.

Peter slipped into the building and then to the freight elevator. He changed back into his disguise just in time for a squad to bust the door open. A cluster of impressive firepower were trained on him at once. He held up his hands to show they were empty.

The squad laughed at the scared kid in the elevator. They laughed as he struggled to get the ladder and his toolbox down the stairs. Even the guards at the front door laughed at him. None of them even thought to question how he had still been in the elevator when it was on the third floor on its return to the lobby rather than on the fourth floor where he was supposed to be.

Not even Gotham could see through the disguise of a pair of overalls and a ladder.

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AN
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Was the <<Sign Language>> understandable? Peter meets the first Batgirl. We'll see where this leads.