Spider in Gotham - Chapter 13

Stephanie led him through the Engineering Department. She came to a stop beside a set of doors that led to a workspace. There was a window to see in, but the door was currently locked, and the lights were off. Peter looked across numerous workstations that had scattered tools and what looked to be half-constructed prototypes.

"This is the engineering department." Stephanie said. "As you can see, this is where they use the thingamajigs to make whatchamacallits."

"I see you're up to date on all of the technical terminology." Peter smiled at her.

Stephanie shot him a smile. She shrugged.

"I may have not known this place existed until today." She admitted.

"Have you settled on a major?" Peter asked.

Stephanie shared a quick look with Cassandra who stood beside him at a slight angle. A thought struck him. Did they even attend classes here? It was possible they had been sent to keep track of him. They looked like a couple of college students, but that didn't mean much. He had no idea how people treated education here.

"History of Gotham." Stephanie answered after a moment. "You have no idea how many times some random fact in a history book has helped our night job."

"Really?" Peter asked.

"Forgotten subway lines, Old Gotham, and so, so much corruption." She sighed. "I swear, there are like two entire cities under this one."

"Under?" Peter scrunched his eyebrows.

"Yep." She nodded. "There was the first subway system for Old Gotham that disappeared when the water level rose. The earthquake a while ago split the city into three islands and they had a lot to rebuild. It was easier to just bulldoze the stuff still standing and build on top of it, but they didn't bother with the basements or stuff below street level."

"There was an earthquake that split the city into three islands?" Peter's voice raised as he spoke.

"I don't remember much." Stephanie shrugged. "I was like three when it happened, and my dad got us out before things got too bad. It's the reason why Gotham is an independent city-state."

Peter blinked a few times. "What?"

"Yeah." Stephanie didn't seem phased by the question. "Why do you think there are so many weird things here? We've got an entirely different set of laws from the continental US. When the earthquake hit, the city asked for aide and the US responded by declaring Gotham a No Mans Land, basically disowning it. Once the city was back on its feet, it officially split from the US. Corporations by the dozens flocked to Gotham to take advantage of the relaxed regulations on scientific and intellectual properties."

Cassandra flicked the shorter blonde on the nose. Stephanie flinched.

"Sorry." She rubbed her nose. "I get a little carried away."

<<She agreed to the reset option.>> Cassandra added quickly.

"Yeah." Stephanie giggled. "I'll just keep going if someone doesn't interrupt my lecture. Cass calls it a 'reset option'. She has one for all of us."

"All of you?" Peter asked.

"The family." Stephanie replied.

Cass flicked her on the nose again.

"Hey." Stephanie pouted. "I wasn't going to say any more."

Cass gave her a flat stare. The blonde crossed her arms and stared right back.

"What about you, Cassandra?" Peter asked.

<<I'm studying art.>> Cassandra replied without taking her eyes off of Stephanie. <<With a focus on sculpting.>>

"That's awesome." Peter smiled at her. "I draw, but it's mainly for technical designs. May said I should take classes."

A lump formed in his throat. He closed his eyes. That had snuck up on him. Peter found the two girls looking at him when he opened his eyes.

"Sorry." He gave them a weak smile.

"Do you need to talk about it?" Stephanie asked. Her voice was soft and full of real concern.

<<She is a goof, but a good listener.>> Cassandra added.

Peter laughed.

"Thanks for the offer." He shook his head. "It's not something I want to talk about. I just met you."

"Two meals." Stephanie stated with a firm nod.

"What?" Peter didn't understand the sudden shift in conversation.

"We'll have two meals together, then we can talk." Stephanie said. "Let's go get lunch."

Stephanie turned back the way they had come and started to walk with purpose.

<<Come on.>> Cassandra sighed. <<It's pointless to argue when she gets an idea in her head.>>

"I heard that!" Stephanie called over her shoulder.

"Huh?" Peter arced an eyebrow.

<<Now she's just being a brat.>> Cassandra rolled her eyes.

[ - - ]

"Big Belly Burger?" Peter asked as they stood before a fast-food place.

The building looked like a Burger King but had the colors of a Wendy's. Its sign was kind of like McDonalds, but with three B's instead of the Golden Arches.

"You've never had Big Belly Burger?" Stephanie gawked at him. "I thought they had them in Metropolis too. They're everywhere."

Peter shrugged.

"We could go to Taco Hut or Bell Pizza if you'd like." She offered.

"No. It's fine. Just didn't expect one to be so close to campus." Peter shook his head.

It was a weak lie. He knew that. They knew that. He knew that they knew. Especially with the look that the two girls shared.

"Ok." Stephanie broke the silence. "Let's get some food. Cass's treat."

The other girl glared but didn't argue. They ordered. Thankfully, the menu wasn't anything too strange. He got a burger, fries, and a drink. If he had been more active, he would have been able to each enough food for all three of them. Selina had him go back to research mode after the failed heist. He had burned his maintenance disguise and needed a new approach. So far, being a cat burglar wasn't nearly as energy intensive as fighting crime.

A cat burglar called Black Cat. Peter chuckled to himself. The name was a bit on the nose, but then he didn't have much room to talk. It wasn't like the Avengers had incredibly original names.

Another lump started to form in his throat. He tried to play it off like he had taken too big of a drink. They didn't buy it. He switched tactics and focused on eating.

"Ok, Pete." Stephanie said. "What's going on?"

"I'm fine, Ned." Peter replied on instinct.

He froze. Slowly, he looked up at the two girls at the table with him. They had spent maybe an hour together and it already felt familiar.

"Sorry." He whispered.

Peter focused on his food. He tried to avoid looking at them.

"Is it ok to call you Pete?" Stephanie asked softly. "You can call me Steph." She paused. "And Cass doesn't mind if you call her Cass. Just don't call her Cassie. We have a friend named Cassie and it gets confusing."

"It's fine." Peter shook his head.

"There's something going on deeper here." Steph said after a moment. "Listen, I know we just met, but people like us kind of bond fast. Shared stress with our night job. You just get a feeling about people. Like how you and Cass worked so well together."

Peter nodded. He could see the shadow of Cass's hands moving but didn't catch the details. Steph placed a gentle hand on his. Peter felt the familiar pattern of tough patches on her skin. It was something that developed in their lifestyle.

"Cass says she got a good feeling about you." Steph said. "What's going on?"

He hadn't told Selina about his real life yet. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he ever would. There wasn't much she could do to help. If he even wanted it. Strange sent him here for a reason. Peter was worried that going back to his home dimension might open the tears again. There was more to it than that. He didn't think he was strong enough to see Ned and MJ look at him like a stranger.

"Two meals." He offered her a weak smile.

Steph stared at him in shock. Cass let out a silent laugh. A scar across her throat was revealed as she leaned her head back. It was thin, surgical, not one that came from a fight. He looked away before she could catch him.

"Challenge accepted." Steph wiggled her eyebrows at him.

She started to eat with gusto. Cass looked at her friend and rolled her eyes.

<<We can trade stories about our scars.>> Cass said now that he wasn't turned away.

<<Sorry.>> Peter replied.

<<It's fine.>> Cass shrugged. <<You aren't the first.>>

Peter sighed.

<<Two meals.>> Cass said with a hint of a smile.

Peter nodded.