Your Friendly Riverdale Spiderman | RIVERDALE/SPIDERMAN CROSSOVER ¦

5.

Peters first night in Riverdale was uneventful. After a quick dinner with both Betty and Jugheads family members (he still didn't quite understand what was going on with the living situation) Betty escorted him up to Jugheads room.
"You sure it's okay for me to be in here?" Peter asked, taking in the piles of important looking papers and an entire wall that looked like something out of a movie, with pictures and notes and things connected together. There was even an enormous map of Riverdale with different coloured marks showing different things.
"Just don't touch anything, okay?" Betty said. Peter approached the map.
"What are the different colours?"
Betty hesitated a moment before answering. "Red marks high risk areas. You know, places people are on the most danger. Blue is areas we have mostly under control." Peter noted there were significantly more red areas than blue. "Black marks their nests. Places they've made to be a sort of head quarters, I suppose."
"And the yellow?" Peter asked curiously.
"Places they seem to have the most interest in." Betty sighed, pointing to one yellow mark. "This house, for example. They want me, or I suppose any family member would do I guess, so they can blackmail Jug and the serpents out of this fight."
"That smells like foul play," Peter said. Betty nodded in agreement.
"Anyway," she said. "Maybe don't mention I've been showing you this to Jughead."
"Course not," Peter said, grinning. "It's safe with me."
Betty smiled. "Okay. Get some sleep then." She started towards the door then turned back. "Tomorrow's Monday, so you'll be coming to school with us?"
"Yeah, guess so," Peter said, hoping Happy would have completed the enrollment process by then.
Betty nodded and left the room. Peter sighed, chucking his bag on the floor and flopping back onto the bed. Something hard beneath the sheet bit into him and he groaned, sitting up to remove... A knife.
"Well that's pleasant company," He muttered, placing the knife on the night stand. He lay down on the bed again, hoping there wouldn't be any other visitors of the knife variety, and pulled out his phone to call MJ.
"Peter," she said, answering on the second ring. "Today was so boring with you gone."
"Sorry." Peter sighed. He and MJ had been together for close to a year now and everything had been going great, but he still felt bad every time he took off to take care of something as Spiderman. He couldn't help but feel like by being with MJ he was putting her in danger, just the way it was for Betty, being targeted by a gang simply because she was dating the opposing gangs leader.
"It's nothing too dangerous, right?" MJ asked quietly.
Peter sighed. There were risks in everything he went to do, but he'd long since learned it was best not to reveal too much. All it did was make MJ worry and things hardly ever went wrong. "I'm Spiderman, MJ," He said reassuringly. "Honestly, there are few things in this world that are really all that dangerous to me. I've been to space, after all."
MJ laughed softly. "Well you're modest."
"Seriously though, everything's fine," Peter said firmly, hoping she'd believe him.
"It will be once you're done with it," MJ said, and Peter could hear the smile in her voice. "When will you be back?"
"Not sure," Peter said. "Guess I'll just have to see how long it takes to get this sorted."
There was a moment of silence on the phone before MJ said, "I'm guessing you can't tell me what you're doing?"
"You know Happy doesn't like me sharing this stuff," Peter said. For the most part, that was true, though this particular mission wasn't one that Happy was particularly involved in. Not the way he normally was. In fact, Peter being sought out by someone personally and coming of his own accord was something that seldom happened.
"Okay," MJ said. "Well, I've still got school tomorrow so I guess I should go to bed."
Peter sighed. He wished he could tell MJ what was really going on, but he'd discovered after doing this kind of thing for so long that it was better not to share the details until everything was over. "Sleep well, MJ. Love you."
"Love you too, Spiderboy," MJ said, and then the line went dead.
Peter sighed, chucking his phone beside the knife he'd unearthed in Jugheads bed and falling face first into the pillows.
He had no plan.
This was probably one of the least planned missions he'd done. It wasn't even a mission so much as a trio yes taken to help out someone that clearly needed help, only to find that they were dead and the whole town needed saving.
And apparently school was a necessary part of this mission. That was new.
Peter rolled over, staring up at the ceiling. When was he actually going to get a chance to help and make things right if he was just going to be at school the whole time?
He needed a plan.
Picking up his phone again, he scrolled through his contacts. Ordinarily it was Happy and Ned that helped him come up with his plans but something was telling him that they weren't particularly well versed in gang warfare. Who was, after all?
With a groan of frustration, Peter got to his feet, finding himself in front of the map again, staring at the yellow mark over the house he was in.
This place was a target in itself. With so many people, why didn't the Spiders just break in and take what they wanted?
Peter tugged nervously at his hair. Something didn't feel right. Something was wrong, he was sure of it.
There was a loud thump from down the hallway and Peters eyes widened. They were here. Well, something was here.
"Betty?" Peter called, rushing out of his room and head in my in the direction the sound had come from. Hearing a muffled voice from behind the door to Betty's room, he barged through the door and stopped dead.
Betty was on the floor, a gag in her mouth as she struggled against three men.
"Get off her!" Peter shouted, leaping into action and throwing a punch at the man closest to him. The man got to his feet angrily, leaving the other two to hold the still struggling Betty.
"You're gonna regret that," he growled, walking heavily towards Peter. It was too late for Peter to get into his suit and he couldn't give away the identity of Spiderman. He took a deep breath. He was going to have to do this the old fashioned way.
"I think you're gonna regret this," Peter snapped back. As the big man lunged towards him he jumped, high. Catching hold of the man's shoulder, he used the jumps momentum to swing himself around and plant his foot right in the small of his opponents back. With a cry of pain and anger the man was sent flying forward into the closed door.
"A little help!" He yelled to his friends holding Betty, turning angrily on Peter once more.
"No!" Peter shouted, lunging for Betty as he saw what was happening. One of the men still holding her had picked up a heavy book and used it to hit Betty over the head, knocking her out instantly. The third man met Peter as he got to Betty, shoving him back.
Three against one. Well, Peter had faced worse.
As two of the men came at Peter, the other made his way over to lock the door. As Peter fought Betty's mother came to the door, finally having heard the commotion from downstairs, but with the door locked there was nothing she could do.
"How is this kid so strong?" One of the men panted, blood dripping down from his nose.
"I could do this all day," Peter responded, dodging another man's punch and kneeing him in the groin. "Sorry about that."
"We have to go," The third man, clearly in charge, said through clenched teeth to his companions. "That maniac outside will have called the for help by now."
"Go then," Peter said, standing over Betty. He nodded to the window. "What are you waiting for?"
"She's ours," the man snarled.
Downstairs, the sound of yelling became clear. Peter recognised Jugheads voice, and Betty's mother yelling to him where they were.
"I don't think so," Peter said. "You really wanna hang around? At least a dozen serpents just arrived and I think you're out numbered."
The men had no choice. Keeping himself between then and Betty the whole time, Peter watched them climb back out the window, clearly how they'd gotten in in the first place. When they were gone, Peter knelt beside Betty, who was just coming too.
"Hey, hey, stay down," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder as she tried to get up. Gently, he removed the gag they'd put in her mouth and helped her to sit up. "They're gone. Are you okay?"
Betty didn't get a chance to respond before the door was kicked in. Peter knocked it aside as it fell towards them, revealing Jughead with a hoard of serpents behind him.
"What the hell happened?" He asked, making his way instantly to Betty's side.
"Three guys," She said, rubbing her head. "Spiders."
Jughead git to his feet, turning on the other serpents. "How did they get through the guard we have on this house?" No one answered, clearly not wanting to face the wrath of Jughead Jones, and he turned instead to Betty's mother. "Where was my dad? Isn't he supposed to protect her?"
"He got a call, he's the sheriff, he had to go!" Alive exclaimed defensively. "Your serpents are the ones that let them through."
"Jug," Betty said, pushing herself to her feet. "I'm fine, honestly. Peter got here before they could take me."
Now Jughead turned on Peter. "Do you took three guys on your own? How the hell did you do that?"
"Are you mad at me for saving your girlfriend from people that are only after her because of you?" Peter asked, a little ticked off that Jughead was angry after what he'd just done.
Jughead was quiet for a moment. "You're right," he said softly. His eyes rose to meet Betty's and he stepped closer lifting a hand to her face. "This isn't good for you. All I'm doing is putting you in danger."
"I'm fine, Jug, honestly," Betty said, trying to reassure her boyfriend.
"No," Jughead said, dropping his hand from her face and turning away. Peter could see how much this was hurting him. "No, you have to be safe. We need to figure out a better way to keep you safe." He smiled sadly at Betty. "I just don't think being with me is doing that anymore."