Your Friendly Riverdale Spiderman | RIVERDALE/SPIDERMAN CROSSOVER ¦

2.

"Peter, what are you saying?" Happy barked down the phone.
"I'm just telling you, Aunt May thinks I'm on a school trip and you can't tell her any different!"
"What are you doing, Peter, this is ridiculous!"
"They need my help, Happy, I have to go," Peter said as he used his nail to draw a face on the window of the bus he was on. "I just thought I should tell you in case, you know, I need you to fly down and rescue me."
"I'm not rescuing your ass when you're being this stupid," Happy snapped. "And on top of it all you want me to lie to your Aunt?"
"Well, don't lie, just don't tell the truth."
"That is literally the definition of a lie."
"Oh, I gotta go, Happy! Love you, bye!" Peter hung up the phone and pocketed it before grabbing his bag and leaving the bus. No sooner had he stepped off onto the pavement, the door slammed and the bus sped away.
Peter looked around his first proper glimpse of Riverdale. There was not a person in sight; unusual for 4.00 in the afternoon. Peter wandered down the street, glancing into empty stores and houses that all had their curtains drawn. There was graffiti everywhere. Trash lines the streets and everywhere Peter looked there was something smashed or broken.
This town looked abandoned. It felt abandoned.
Peter pulled out the card Fred had given him almost a month ago now. He'd tried to call a couple of times, but it had always been someone else answering, and when he asked for Fred he'd always gotten some variation of an awkward silence followed by 'sorry, he can't come to the phone right now.'
But Peter had decided to come anyway. It certainly looked like the town needed it.
Now all he had to do was find Fred.

Peter had been in Riverdale for barely fifteen minutes when he became aware that three men and a woman were following him. He carried on as if nothing had changed, then darted into a side alley and up a drain pipe, pulling his mask on as he went. He crouched on top of the building, quickly stripping down to his suit and stuffing his clothes into his bag as he watched the foursome run into the alley, clearly expecting to find a teenager to beat up.
"Hey guys," Peter said, landing in the middle of them as Spiderman. "What are you looking for?"
All four of The Spiders exchanged confused glances. The woman smirked, stepping closer.
"And just what are you meant to be?" she drawled.
"Oh, I'm Spiderman," Peter said. "But please don't think I'm like, with you guys or anything. Really, you guys should think of a different name so nobody makes that mistake."
One if the men, a big, beefy guy with hair that looked like it had been half burnt off, lunged for Peter.
"Well, that's not very nice," Peter said, leaping upwards and landing on the alley wall as the beefy guy hit his friend instead. His friend yelled angrily and the two went down, fists flying. Peter shot some web at the two men, binding their hands to each other. Both men roared in anger.
"Get down and fight, coward," the woman spat.
"Gladly," Peter said. He swung down, kicking the woman's remaining accomplice in the face and knocking him to the ground before landing in a crouched position in front of her. There was a click, a glint of silver, and then she was lunging at him with a knife.
"Not fair!" Peter exclaimed, darting backwards, dodging the knife. He was about to knock it out of the woman's hand when he heard shouting from down the street.
"They've got someone down there, guys come on!" A voice yelled.
Peter heard their footsteps coming closer and shot a web upwards, pulling himself away. He ripped off the mask and pulled his clothes back on, dropping back down to both the remaining Spiders backs to him. He glanced around then got onto the ground just as three more men, these ones probably barely out of their teens, rounded the corner and entered the alley.
With two of the Spiders still struggling to get apart on the ground, the three newcomers were easily able to take the woman and her crony, who's nose was running with blood where Peter had kicked him.
"Tie them up," the one that seemed to be the leader said to the other two. He approached Peter, adjusting his beanie as he held out a hand. Peter took it, allowing the stranger to pull him to his feet.
"What happened here?" Beanie wearing leader asked, gesturing to the Spiders still struggling in the web.
"There, uh, there was a guy in a suit," Peter said, trying to play the scared victim. "Like, a red suit. He swung in on a-a rope or something. Then left when you guys came."
"Weird," beanie guy mused, crouching down beside them. He touched the web tentatively, ignoring the shouts of the two trapped in it. "It's like webbing or something." He glanced up at his friends. "Tie these guys too. Dunno how long this will hold them."
Peter only just managed to stop himself telling them how long it would last.
"I haven't seen you around here before," beanie guy said. "I'm Jughead. Serpent King. This here is Sweetpea and Fangs." The two named stepped forward nodding a greeting." Peter realised now that they all wore leather jackets. Gang jackets. So these for the serpents; the good guys Fred had mentioned.
"Who is this guy?" Sweetpea asked, narrowing his eyes. "A newby Spider recruit?"
"They just attacked me, no way am I a recruit!" Peter exclaimed.
"Could be some sort of initiation thing," Fangs said thoughtfully, reaching out as if he was about to grab Peter.
"Guys, stop," Jughead said. "Keep patrolling the streets, alright? I'm gonna take this guy wherever he's headed so he doesn't get jumped again."
"You sure we can't?" Sweetpea asked, looking like he was more keen on having Peter as a meal. "We could get some answers put of him."
"You haven't asked me any questions, what answers do you want?" Peter asked. These may be the good guys, but this Sweetpea seemed to be keen on some not so good things.
"Guys, I've told you what you've gotta do," Jughead said, placing a hand on Sweetpea's back and practically pushing him out of the alley, despite Sweetpea being considerably larger. Fangs followed, and the two wandered off, talking in low, muttered tones, presumably about Peter.
"Right," Jughead said. "Question time."
"Fire away," Peter said, adjusting the bag on his back and following Jughead down the street.
"What are you doing in Riverdale? We don't get a lot of newcomers or visitors these days."
"I'm visiting a... A friend of my mums."
"Care to name that friend?" Jughead asked, pulling some junk aside that had been somehow very successfully concealing a motorcycle.
"Fred Andrews?" Peter said. Jughead's fave changed instantly. "What? He doesn't live around here?"
Jughead was quiet, mounting the motorcycle and motioning for Peter to get on the back before he spoke. "Not anymore," he said softly. "I'm going to take to his house. You can talk to his son."