ultraviolet
bruce wayne 𝘹 fem!oc
© WANDARYEN ──── 2024

The first thing I heard was the pitter patter of the rain. Next was my breathing which was erratic.

I slowly raised myself off the flooring I was currently preoccupying with my body. I slowly raked my gaze along myself out of fear that I might be missing a few pieces considering how I left. I was still wearing my suit and my mask was ironically laying beside me on the ground.

I quickly curled my fingers around the white mask and held it close to my chest. I tried to use my basic senses to gather information about my current location.

I squinted my eyes hard enough to make out that I was currently in a building still under construction. There were no walls and plenty of tools left behind from workers in the day time. I could hear the wind from the rain hit against the plastic tarp that was draped over something off towards the corner of the empty room.

Although I was still wearing my suit, I knew that I was wet. My hair was sticking to my neck and the side of my cheek that I must've slept on.

The smell was —- particularly different. It smelt of gasoline, sewers, and money that wasn't owned by Tony Stark.

The area reminded me of New York.

I quickly twisted my neck to gaze out towards the opening and near the city. The tall buildings all lit up and a train shooting by on a high platform.

It felt darker than my home — a more sinister feeling settled in my gut.

How was I home but in a completely different space at the same time? Was this what the city comes to when forgetting about Peter Parker?

Even that seemed overly dramatic.

I slowly lifted myself off the ground and walked carefully towards the edge of the building. My eyes flickered across the scenery until I came across some kind of sigil floating in the sky. Reflecting off a light from a different building — it took shape of a bat.

"Who are you."

I spun around with a short gasp as a dark voice drove me towards the direction of the tarp in the corner. A large figure slowly appeared from behind the plastic but there still wasn't any light bright enough to see who it was.

I didn't bother to put my mask on and try to shield myself from the stranger. He already saw my face — no doubt the one to catch me while I was free falling through the sky.

"Where am I?" I challenged back, not taking my eyes off the stranger. "How did I get here?"

Silence.

I carefully tilted my head and narrowed my eyes at the shadowy figure. "You're not — anybody that I recognize. What's your name? Or what do you go by?"

More silence.

What a stubborn person — alien?

"My name is — uhm," I countered the thought carefully. How much information was I willing to give? They've already seen my face but does that mean they have to know my name? They're being secretive as well. "They call me ghost spider."

A heartbeat passed and I nearly forced myself to walk towards them as they remained stubbornly silent — but the figure graced itself finally towards the city light.

I cautiously followed their every step towards the edge of the building. It had to be a male — not that I enjoyed assuming, but they were particularly large. The suit was jet black, large steel boots, a cape whipping behind with the wind — and a mask covering everything but their mouth and eyes. Dark makeup covered the surrounding skin that poked out around the eyes.

I carefully took a step back, my foot kicking a large wrench towards the side and accidentally sending it over the edge.

I cursed under my breath and jumped to reach for it by sending out a web to catch it before it could injure anyone innocent.

When I yanked the web back, the wrench gracefully landed in the palm of my hand and my eyes flickered back towards the stranger. "Sorry," I anxiously said.

His lips parted with shock and his eyes narrowed at the object in my grasp. "How did you do that?"

"Are you going to tell me who you are?" I arched my eyebrow.

Pressing his lips together firmly, he jutted his chin up towards the sky where the sigil was on display. "They call me the bat — batman."

Batman?

Spiderman.

"What the hell," I muttered under my lips. "This can't be right..."

"What are you saying?"

I turned back to the stranger and nervously shook my head. I was far—far away from home. "I've been brought here by accident."

Silence fell upon us again and I took it as an opportunity to explain myself to the best of my knowledge.

Surely the magic spell Strange tried to create to fix the Multiverse — zapped me into a different universe. It couldn't have been intentional, not by the shock and pure fear etched across Strange's face when he saw my body disappearing.

I turned away from the figure and tightened my grip on the mask. I couldn't directly make sense of why this happened. My only assumption was maybe Strange's magic latched onto me and tried to get rid of me the way it needed to get rid of Peter.

But that would still leave countless of questions.

Peter never wanted to disappear — he only asked that he could be forgotten. Does me taking his place now cause everyone back at home to forget about me?"

Was I trapped here?

My breathing subconsciously shifted and grew sporadic due to the anxiety building up in my lungs like sea water.

I clutched onto my chest with my free hand and tried to catch myself on a metal beam that held the next floor up. I was growing lightheaded and my knees grew wobbly as fear was beginning to overcome me.

"Hey."

I quickly looked over at the strange as he took a cautious step towards me.

"Stop talking in that voice!" I spluttered nervously. "Who the hell does that?" Quickly turning my gaze back on the busy streets — I tried to focus on the smell of the rain and the sound of traffic to distract my nerves.

His thick boots thudded with each step as he stalked towards me. "I don't have a lot of time. I need you to tell me where you're from and who exactly sent you."

I lifted my chin and met his strong gaze the moment we stood toe to toe now.

I was finally able to get a proper look at who I was speaking with and I immediately noticed the bat sigil etched across the chest of his suit. I gulped nervously and looked down at the mask still latched onto my firm grip.

"It was an accident," I whispered to him. "He didn't mean to send me here, I know it."

He exhaled heavily and turned away from me as quickly as he approached me.

I lifted my gaze and watched him stride towards the plastic tarp — which i'm assuming was going to be my exit. But I couldn't help but feel this overwhelming sensation that I needed to follow him.

Surely I couldn't stay here on my own, right?

Whether he was a hero or a villain, he might end up having the answers that I needed.

"Hey, wait a second! Where are you going?!" I spirited after him worriedly by running straight through the tarp. I smacked it away with my hands and quickly looked around for the strangers broad figure.

He was already at the other end of the open room. Christ he moved impeccably fast.

"Don't leave me here!" I called out to him while picking up my pace and charging myself directly into his back.

He sounded around and placed a firm hand on my shoulder to keep me from falling over. It was as if I ran straight towards a brick wall.

"You need to leave," he ordered sternly.

"I can't just leave." I hissed while shrugging off his hand. "I don't even know where I am!"

He turned around and continued walking. "Gotham city."

I narrowed my eyes at his unsettling figure but followed after him down a flight of stairs. "And where is Gotham City? What country are we in?"

I watched as he visibly paused like I had said something dumb but continued moving. "America."

Well, that was at least something to work with. Although I wasn't familiar with what a Gotham City was — I could work with the fact I was still technically home. Maybe there was a way of getting back.

"Look, I need you to give me some straight answers here. Your two-syllable words are getting confusing and I still don't understand what — " My rambling was cut short when his large body swiftly spun around and I nearly fell backwards on the stairs while trying to put distance between us both.

His eyes narrowed darkly at me again and I shrunk under his gaze. I felt like I was a science experiment being judged under a microscope.

I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off again when he turned back around and continued to descend the stairs. "I'll take you somewhere safe but first I must doing something."

We exited the building at the back and he immediately took a sharp left turn to follow a path through unkept land. Clearly the area was under development and wasn't tended to for months — no doubt another skyscraper being added to the mix by the looks of it.

"Where are we going?" I slipped my mask over my head swiftly after tucking my hair back.

The stranger glanced at me silently, watching me fix my suit before speaking. "What are you supposed to be?"

"Why do you keep ignoring my questions by responding with your own?" I answered frustratedly.

"You haven't really answered any of mine." We took another turn and ended up in an alleyway. Which was much darker compared to the rest of the city — if it were possible.

"What do you mean by what am I supposed to be? I already told you what I go by."

He stopped abruptly yet again but faced the direction of the open street ahead of us. I took the opportunity to shift in front of his figure and place my hands on my hips. "Are you asking if I'm one of the good guys or the bad guys?"

"Figuratively."

I slowly lifted my chin and narrowed my eyes at him from under my mask. "Well, I've never killed anybody if that's what you're asking." My eyes flickered towards the brick wall. "There was one moment where I thought I had to — nevermind."

"We're going to find out."

He pulled out a strange contraption that shot a wire up towards the roof of the building between us. It must've latched onto something above when he gave it a firm tug to make sure it wasn't coming down.

I didn't have a chance to ask him what he was doing when he latched an arm around my waist and we were suddenly elevated up at fast speed.

We reached the top of the building and he swiftly removed the gadget before attaching it back to his suit. He didn't say another word while stalking towards another roof top.

"Does our conversation end here?" I call out to him through the heavy rain.

"For now."

He easily disappears through the night and smoke that surrounded the roof top. I carefully looked around and tightened my fists. "He left me!?"

I began to pace around and continuously peek over the edge of the building but all I could see was fast moving cards. Smaller figures that carried umbrellas or newspaper to block their chances of getting drenched by rain.

A group of people suddenly went running in the direction the stranger had originally left me. I decided to follow them by crossing towards the opposite end of the roof top —- but my chances of catching where they've run off to are blocked by another tall building.

I flicked my wrist and out came a web that hauled me up into the air. I leaped across the streets and caught myself with another web attached to a different building.

I swung left to right to right to left as I carefully followed the group of people running down the street. It looked as if they were chasing someone — a man in a tan suit with a briefcase latched to his right hand.

I landed on an empty roof top and slowly crouched down as I watched the scene slowly unravel in front of me.

The group of people continued to beat up on the poor soul that struggled to defend himself. He swung his suitcase at them before one snatched it from his grasp and threw it somewhere off to the side.

There must've been at least ten of them. All surrounding this one victim to cause harm and no weapons were involved — only their fists to make the moment last longer. Each of their faces covered with white and black paint to hide their identity.

The batman appeared within the dark and caused the violence to stop momentarily. One of the men in the group laughed at something that was said before growing silent quickly after.

A large fist was thrown by the stranger and I flinched when the attacker immediately fell to the ground from the force.

One by one they began to attack him. Fists were thrown, random objects like pipes and wooden boards were used as weapons, and yet he didn't pull out any inner power to defend himself. Let alone a gun.

One of the attackers got behind him with a thick wire and threw it around the strangers neck, forcing him down on his knees.

The continuous feeling that I needed him strangely tugged at my chest and I was beginning to worry that if he were to die — I would be trapped here forever. I needed more answers. I couldn't lose the source I've already began to gather.

As the group continued to assault my only asset to this Gotham City, I jumped down to their level and promptly began to shoot out my webs. One caught the ankle of the aggressor that had him on his knees — yanking him backwards until he lost his footing and his face hit the ground with a sharp cry.

I was charged at with a wooden plank by a second man. I crouched down swiftly and spun myself around to where I ended up behind him, raising my foot and kicking him in the ass so he fell forward.

The batman was back on his feet and continued his own assault to defend the innocent man that had already darted off to make an escape. Surely I couldn't blame him — that's what they all normally do.

Everyone began dropping like flies and before I knew it — it was just the stranger and I standing amongst them.

A gun shot rang between my ears and I spun around to face to find the victim that was brutally killed. Anxiety made its way into my system again when I noticed the stranger had positioned himself in front of me and the one holding the gun.

A shot gasp escaped my lips when he forced the man against a metal beam and pressed something against his neck to release an electric shock.

His body violently shook and the gun dropped from his grasp until he potentially went numb.

The batman allowed the criminals body to slump against the beam before falling to the ground with a thud. The gun was kicked off towards the side — far away from the groups reach.

We both turned to face the rest of the men sitting tiredly on the floor.

They shared similar glances before getting up and running away with panicked breaths and cries. There was no way I was that terrifying. Nobody ever gave up without putting up a good fight.

I slowly turned to look at the batman but he was already holding a steady gaze in my direction.

My eyes faltered towards the ground. The fear in my head was overwhelming but I had an unpredictable feeling of serene in my chest when he looked at me.

I wasn't exactly sure what my next move was going to be but I had a feeling I was going to follow him to wherever he decided to take me.