batfam x fantastic four x ultimate spider-man x spider-girl reader
word count . 1.5k
a/n โ lowkey lost my first draft of this so i had to rewriteโฆ
> i. house full of strangers <
(name) stirred, rubbing her sleepy eyes before rolling onto her side, for a fleeting moment she smiled. her mind still scattered on what to think.
for a split second they thought they were smelling mamaโs strawberry pancakes โ (name)โs favourite. her knees still curled up from her resting position.
her hair frizzy for moving around on the pillow immoderately throughout the night. it was tangled to the gnarliest extent from the side vision.
she sat up quick. the room wasnโt theirs. they remembered.
the walls were too tall. the windows too wide. the ceiling stretched higher than any they'd ever recalled.
afterwards their eyes landed on the cuddly lion toy thrown onto the floor from their rough sleeping.
gotham.
consequently, they were in gotham.
her parents weren't coming back.
(name) didnโt even know if the police were ever gonna find their bodies and send them off properly.
that thought settled over them like a heavy blanket.
their small hands gripped the edge of the duvet as tears gathered in their eyes. they tried to swallow the lump in their throat the way their mother always told them to when they felt like crying.
it didn't work.
a quiet sob escaped instead.
they buried their face in the pillow, muffling the sound as tears soaked into the cotton. the room stayed silent, offering no comforting footsteps, no familiar voice calling them downstairs, no gentle knock from their mother asking if they'd slept well.
only silence.
after a long while, they sniffled and wiped their cheeks with the sleeves of their pyjamas.
"mama..." they whispered.
nothing answered.
(name) climbed out of bed, their feet meeting the cold wooden floor. they carefully straightened the duvet the way they'd watched their mother do every morning, then opened the wardrobe alfred had prepared for them and picked out a clean set of clothes.
before leaving, they looked back at the little delftware windmill on the windowsill.
it was small. it wasn't home.
but it was enough to remind them that somewhere across the sea, there had once been a place where everything had made sense.
they quietly opened the bedroom door and stepped into the unfamiliar halls of wayne manor.
"ms parker! breakfast is ready!"
(name) could hear the grey-haired butler call from somewhere deep within the manor.
all they had to do was find the room he was calling from.
easier said than done.
their thoughts were jumbled as they wandered through the endless hallways, every corridor looking exactly the same as the last.
"bark! bark!"
(name) froze.
slowly, they turned around.
a german shepherd stood only a few feet away, ears perked, tail wagging excitedly.
their heart stopped.
"ahhhh!"
they stumbled backwards until their back hit the wall, tears instantly filling their eyes.
"nee! nee! ga weg!"
the dog tilted his head instead of leaving, he took another step forward.
(name) screamed louder, sliding down the wall and covering their face with trembling hands.
heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway. "ace!"
the dog immediately stopped.
"sit."
ace obeyed.
(name) slowly peeked through their fingers. a boy around fourteen jogged over, slightly out of breath. it was jason.
he looked between the terrified six-year-old and the perfectly behaved dog before letting out a sigh.
"...seriously, ace?"
the dog looked entirely unapologetic.
jason crouched beside (name), keeping his voice quieter than usual.
"hey... hey, it's okay."
they stared at him, not understanding a single word.
their breathing was still uneven.
jason glanced at ace before pointing at the dog.
"ace."
he pointed again.
โace.โ
(name)'s eyes flickered towards the german shepherd.
"...ace?"
jason's face lit up.
"yeah! ace!"
he scratched behind the dog's ears.
"good boy."
ace's tail thumped happily against the floor.
jason gently took one of (name)'s shaking hands and, after waiting a moment to make sure they didn't pull away, placed it carefully on ace's back.
the fur was... soft. warm. ace didn't bark. he simply leaned into the touch.
(name)'s shoulders slowly relaxed. "...ace."
the dog wagged his tail harder.
"see?" jason grinned. "he likes you."
they still didn't understand but they understood ace and maybe... ace understood them too.
by the time they reached the dining room, the smell alone made (name)'s stomach rumble.
strawberry pancakes. their favourite.
alfred smiled as he placed a plate in front of them. "i had a feeling these might remind you of home."
(name) looked up at him before quietly whispering, "...dank je."
alfred smiled warmly. "you're very welcome, miss parker."
bruce glanced between them. "...what did they say?"
"dank je," alfred translated. "it means 'thank you.'"
bruce nodded once. "...you're welcome."
(name) didn't understand him but they smiled anyway.
breakfast was quiet.
jason talked enough for everyone, occasionally pointing at different things on the table.
"fork." "plate." "juice."
(name) repeated a few words under their breath, earning an approving grin from him.
after breakfast, jason led them through another maze of hallways until they reached a room with a television almost as big as one of the walls.
(name)'s eyes widened.
jason smirked. "cool, right?"
they blinked. "..." "yeah."
he laughed to himself before grabbing a videotape from a nearby shelf.
hocus pocus.
for the next hour and a half, the room filled with witches, black cats, and jason laughing far harder than the film deserved.
(name) didn't understand most of the dialogue. they didn't need to. the bright colours, silly expressions, and jason's laughter were enough. once... just once...
they laughed too. it was quiet but it was there.
jason noticed. he didn't say anything. he just smiled.
a gentle knock interrupted the end credits. "master jason." alfred stood in the doorway. "i'm afraid miss parker has another engagement."
jason frowned. "...already?"
"their tutor has arrived."
(name) tilted their head. tutor?
alfred crouched beside them. โit's time for your english lesson."
they looked between alfred and jason before quietly climbing off the sofa. jason gave them a small energetic wave. "bye!โ
"...bye," (name) replied.
alfred led them downstairs towards one of the studies.
a man with round glasses and neatly combed brown hair stood as they entered. he offered a polite smile.
"good morning."
alfred turned to (name). "miss parker, i'd like you to meet your new tutor.โ
"dr. otto octavius."
alfred stepped forward. "in dutch, doctor."
"ah." the man cleared his throat before attempting the language. "goedemorgen."
his accent was clumsy. (name) frowned. it sounded wrong.
"...goedemorgen," they replied quietly.
"excellent." his smile widened. "already evaluating pronunciation."
alfred looked at him. "they're six."
"precisely." dr. otto octavius crouched until he was at eye level.
"highly observant children are... fascinating. they learnt quicker when theyโre younger."
the way he said fascinating made (name) uncomfortable.
he wasn't smiling at them. he was studying them. "shall we begin?"
the lesson started with simple flashcards. apple. book. chair. window. (name) repeated each word carefully. their accent was thick. otto corrected them every time. again and again. and again.
"apple."
"...apple."
"better." he scribbled something in a notebook.
(name) couldn't read it.
they noticed, however, that he wrote far more than the lesson required. every answer. every hesitation. every expression. every mistake.
his pencil never seemed to stop moving. "very interesting..."
they tilted their head.
otto looked up. "nothing." he smiled again. that same strange smile. "you're learning much faster than expected."
an hour later...
"what colour is this?" he held up a red block.
(name) thought for a moment. "...red."
"good." he swapped it for a blue one.
"...blue."
"excellent." then he deliberately held up the red block again.
"blue?"
(name) frowned. they knew that wasn't right. "no..."
"no?โ
"...red."
otto watched them carefully. not because they'd answered correctly but because they'd challenged him. "...good." he wrote another note.
the lesson finally ended.
alfred returned to collect them. "how did they do?"
otto closed his notebook. "remarkably well." his eyes lingered on (name) for a second too long. "they possess an... exceptional mind."
alfred smiled politely. "that's wonderful to hear."
"yes." otto adjusted his glasses. "i imagine they'll become quite extraordinary."
(name) didn't like the way he said extraordinary. it sounded less like a compliment and more like a prediction.
after saying goodbye to dr. octavius, alfred led them upstairs.
"master bruce is in his study if you'd like to see him."
(name) nodded.
alfred knocked once before opening the door before leaving the child to deal with his chores.
bruce looked up from a mountain of paperwork. "hello."
they offered a tiny wave. "...hello."
there was an awkward pause. bruce glanced around the room before opening the bottom drawer of his desk.
he pulled out a small wooden box. inside were dozens of little toy cars. he set the box on the rug. "...i thought you might like these."
(name)'s eyes lit up. they quietly sat on the floor, lining the cars into neat little rows before making tiny roads across the carpet.
bruce returned to signing papers. the room stayed silent. every now and then, he'd glance over the top of a file.
(name) was completely absorbed in their little world, making soft engine noises under their breath as one red car raced another.
it was... peaceful. bruce hadn't expected that.
he'd thought entertaining a child would involve constant conversation. instead, all they seemed to want was someone willing to sit in the same room.
he found thatโฆ he didn't mind it. not one bit.
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