Harvey sighed as the mayoral candidate stood up on the stage which sat constructed near a highway sitting beside a shore. If one were to look out over the shore, they would see the modern and tall city of Gotham across the large body of water. Behind the stage and the growing seats of press conference reporters, sat several pylons of building materials, and beyond that rested the gloomy back drop of Arkham Asylum.

Vicki Vale herself was in the crowd of reporters as she looked down at her smartphone with a frown, "Peter should have been here. He's not responding." Vicki looked up at the back up photographer for the Gazette polishing off his camera lens, "Well, at least we have a photographer."

Harvey finished speaking quaintly with the Zellerbach's, the older couple sitting in their seats behind the main podium already wired with several microphones. He smiled as he whispered something to his assistant who also sat down in a nearby seat on the stage, as the D.A. stood forward in front of the podium. The man smiled seeing Bruce Wayne's cherry red sports car pull up, the wealthy man stepping confidently out of his drivers seat as he began to make his way towards the stage.

The reporters began to buzz questions, and comments at the Wayne Enterprise owner and CEO, attempting to get him to respond or notice them. "Mr. Wayne, photo for the Gazette?" "Bruce, Over here!" "Bruce, Bruce!" Bruce smiled at several of the photographers and reporters buzzing at him, with a humble demeanor in his voice he greeted them, "Good morning everyone."

Bruce smiled as he walked up the stage with his arm out in a hello motion, "Morning Mr. Dent." Harvey smiled as he held his hand out towards Bruce's sports car, "Hey Bruce, can we swap cars? I mean, mines not fast and the paint's rusting off... But boy does she have charm."

A few reporters laughed at Harvey's joke and razzing of Bruce, as Harvey spoke seconds after his joke. "Now we didn't bring you out here to speak with you about cars, seriously folks." Bruce scratched his neck slightly embarrassed as he smiled and stood behind the podium, Harvey standing to the side.

"No, we're here about Arkham Asylum." Harvey continued with a nod of his head as he raised his hand slightly in a wave motion, "Ever since it's opened it's doors, Arkham has been a breeding ground for the criminally insane." As Harvey continued to speak, Bruce looked down at his smart phone in his hand as it buzzed.

Alfred had texted the billionaire, Need to talk. Bruce frowned as he listened to Harvey speak as he replied with a short, Not Now, and gently slid his phone back into his pocket now on vibrate. "It's methods for rehabilitation, crude. It's security? Lacking. Worse still? Those who do get out, or god forbid who escape, are even more dangerous than before they went in!"

Harvey nodded confidently, and passionately as he drove his point through. "Arkham Asylum, is a cancer on Gotham." Harvey gave a slight cough and a confident smile as he wrapped his arm around Bruce, "But today, with a sizable contribution from this man here, we break ground on a state of the art mental healthcare facility." Harvey pointed to the stages backdrop behind himself with a smile, showing the future plans for the facility, "One that will improve the well being of Gotham, and it's citizens for years to come."

Claps resounded as Harvey smiled, "Now Mr. Wayne has something he would like to say, Bruce?" Bruce nodded, and with a deep breath and a moment of thought began to speak from his heart. "You know when I was uh, nine years old. My parent's took me to see a movie, about a hero who was in a mask." Bruce's eyes held pain in them as he continued his story, "He was a hero, who stood up to oppression. And defended the people from injustice, no matter the cost."

"That night, my parents paid the ultimate cost, defending me from a man." Bruce quietly shut his eyes, as if experiencing a displeasing flashback as he coughed and maintained his composure, "Who needed the kind of help that this facility can provide." Bruce paused for a moment as if considering what next he could say. "Let us honor their memory, with this new facility. In the hope that a night like that, never happens again."

Harvey gave Bruce a moment to recuperate himself and let silence fall, before half a minute later he stood forward and looked toward the crowd with a serious look plastered on his face. "On the anniversary of that fateful night, we dedicate this facility to Thomas and Martha Wayne, and usher in a new era of healing for Gotham."

Bruce smiled as Harvey looked towards him and nodded in an affirmative. "Well, you're all here to learn more about the hospital, and I'm sure you have a lot of questions, lets get down to it.." Bruce said as he looked at the reporters and gave a firm smile, as the reporters clamored to be answered and heard. "Over here! Bruce! Me me!"

Peter's eyes gently opened, as the vigilante gasped finding himself in a dimly lit living room, himself laying on a comfortable couch. The teen gently sat up on the couch with a groan, feeling every muscle in his body screaming. 'Where... Am I.' Peter quietly thought to himself, the teen feeling his body up, fear striking him as he was only dressed in his suit's undershirt and undershorts. "My costume.."

"I'm having it washed." came a reassuring and familiar voice from across the small apartment he found himself in, as he quickly looked at where the voice came from. The woman held a warm smile on her face, and it seemed genuine but the way her brown eyes stared into his soul, he became slightly worried.

He quickly raised his hands up to his face, knowing the mask was gone as he felt his bare lips and cheeks. Peter frowned at the woman as he remembered her voice, "You had no right to undress me, Cat lady. My identity being a secret has always been important to me."

Selina gave a warm chuckle as she sat on the end of the couch beside the wounded hero with a sandwich on a plate, her brown eyes staring at his own hues. "I don't even know your name, I just know you as Spider-Man. Or my teenage hero, or perhaps even my new secret admirer?"

The nimble woman laughed at Peter's offended blush as she gently handed Peter the plate, the teen quickly looking happy as he began to chew into the sandwich without a second thought. "So..." Peter said with a mouthful of turkey sandwich in between his talking, "My names.. Peter. How about yours?"

Selina chuckled once more at the teenager with a full mouth and a one track mind, "Selina. What got you so interested in the hero game Peter? Why do you do what you do?" Peter's eyes flashed with something Selina couldn't quite place. Was his eyes showing pain, or honor... Or maybe both?

"Well... I became Spider-Man about a year ago officially. Just got discovered by the media several months ago." Peter explained, trying to not lie to the woman, but he couldn't just tell her he was from another dimension and of all his adventures! She would believe him to be crazy, or a liar... or both. Peter frowned as he looked down at the plate he held. He didn't understand why he felt the need to tell Selina his story, but he felt that maybe he'd feel better if he let some stuff go, he had never even talked much to the psychiatrist aunt May had got him. "I never met my parents, they died when I was too young to remember them. My Uncle Ben died about a year ago as well..."

Selina held a somewhat believable frown on her face, as for some reason she really did feel herself bothered and she held some real sympathy for Peter. "I'm so sorry Peter. Did his death cause you to become Spider-Man?" Peter held a far off smile on his face, "I um. Yeah. I was supposed to go to the library one night... Uncle Ben drove me there."

Peter's expression turned sour, his eyes showing an anger that looked unbecoming of him. "I... I went to a gaming tournament. It was a trading card game, where you used certain cards to fight another players cards. Like Yu-Gi-Oh."

Selina frowned as she nodded, "I've heard of those. What happened, Peter?" Peter frowned and placed the plate in his hands on the coffee table in front of the couch he sat on as he continued to express the worst memory he had up to this point, "While I was trying to win money for a gift, for this girl. Uncle Ben sat outside of the Library across the street waiting for me to come out. A mugger tried to car jack him. He threatened to shoot him."

Peter began to feel tears growing in his eyes, as he tried to wipe them away and tried to go on with his story. "He... He refused, and told the man he could walk away and everything would be okay. The mugger, shot him.." Selina's frown worsened as she began to reflect on a special person she had once lost, the older woman sitting closer to the injured teen as he tried to force his tears from falling out openly.

Peter failed in controlling his tears as he sighed, "It haunts me. I held his hand as he died. I will never forgive myself for it... But, I caught the mugger, and became Spider-Man. My uncle inspired me to become a hero, I don't want anyone to ever feel what I've felt." The teenager tightened his left fist with a flash of pain on his face as he continued, "I know if I have the ability to save others, to use my gifts for good. I will. I promised it on my uncle's deathbed, and to myself... And I always try to keep my promise." Peter smiled as he rubbed at his tear filled eyes and tried to make the woman less worried with a little white lie in his eyes, "I live with my aunt at least, so I'm okay."

Selina now held a small smile, the woman's right hand gently rubbing his slim shoulder as she took the teen vigilante in a hug. "I never did thank you for saving me the other night. Thank you, Peter."

Peter nodded with a genuinely innocent smile, "Of course.. You were fighting Batman, weren't you?" Selina nodded as she sighed, the teen looking as if he wanted to ask her more questions as they remained in a hug, the woman slowly backing away from him letting him go. "What is it Peter?"

Peter frowned, "Did he give you that black eye you've got?" Selina frowned slowly and nodded as she held a hand over her eye gently, as if embarrassed by it. "Yes..."

Peter nodded with a frown and continued his thoughts, "The Batman seems a little, dark... literally. He's said by the media to be a wacko jumping from rooftop to rooftop, enacting false justice on criminals. But then again, for the praise I've been receiving, I have also been abused pretty hard so I know the press can lie. Was he in the wrong, or were you?" He didn't even want to mention J. Jonah. Jameson to Selina, he began to have some pretty angry flashbacks in his mind over the snobby reporter.

Selina slightly sighed as she nodded, "I was probably in your eyes doing wrong, I was there to steal a flash drive from the mayors office. Batman was there to stop the armed thieves." Peter frowned and looked as if Cat Woman had kicked a puppy, or in this case a kitty. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"Well, a lady has to survive as well, doesn't she? I'm not really the hero type, it doesn't pay the bills, nor does it sound pleasant to risk my life for people who wouldn't care about my sacrifices. I guess I'm just a bad kitty.~" Selina said this, believing in her words and quirked an eyebrow up as she stared at Peter's sad composure. "What is it?" She asked, curiosity drilling at her. Peter shook his head, "You seem like a hero to me... You saved me."

The thieving woman began to laugh as if he had told a funny joke. She stood up from the couch and began to walk towards her bedroom, her hips swaying naturally as she shook her head. "Kid, you've got a lot to learn about me. I just saved you merely because I owed you one. I could have let you die up there. Consider us even, Spidey."

Peter sat on the couch with a genuine frown as he sighed and finished the sandwich, Selina had made just for him. A cat walked out from Selina's bedroom and meowed at the teenager, as it quickly formed a trust for him. Peter slightly giggled at the black cat rubbing against his foot touching the living room floor, "Ahaha, cut it out that tickles.."

Selina smiled as he walked in, wearing a business outfit. "Seems Isis really likes you, Peter." Peter smiled as he gently picked Isis up in his arms as he continued to pet and adore her, the cat lovingly purring and nuzzling against him, "Maybe it was the turkey I just ate."

The cat thief had a far off look in her eyes, a look of surprise painted on her face seeing how happy Isis was with the spider vigilante. "Odd. She usually dislikes most people." Peter grinned, "Jealous are we?" Selina scoffed as she began to put up her hair and looked at herself in a mirror.

"Well Peter, you're free to crash here if you'd like until you fully heal. I've got a... technical date with a guy, I'm not really interested in him but... He's got friends in high places." Selina said as she sprayed herself with a lavender perfume, that Peter sniffed and slightly shivered recognizing it as one Aunt May had often worn. "This doesn't sound good.. Should I be worried?"

Selina grinned and walked up to Peter as she took the teenager in a hug. "Awwwww, You're so adorable! Is my little spider jealous?" Peter began to blush like mad as he pushed the woman off of him, accidentally a bit too rough as she fell on her rump. The tan skinned woman chuckled and got up not phased as she began to slip heeled shoes on, "You didn't have to beat me up like Batman."

Peter frowned at the woman who began to get ready to leave for her dinner date, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude..." Selina was turned away from Peter as she looked at her door, her thoughts raging like mad as she sighed rather annoyed with herself. "Listen Peter... I was just kidding, you're a bit too young and... innocent for my tastes. But you seem like a good kid. If you go home to see your aunt, cherish her and stay out of trouble for a while. And you definitely don't want to meet me again, I'll just corrupt you."

Selina grinned as she waved a peace sign at Peter and left the apartment, a lock resounding behind her as Peter was alone in her strange apartment. "Yeah.. Cherish her whenever I find my way home..." Peter stood up shakily and grunted in pain at his legs screaming but he grit his teeth and did a few warm up stretches.

He fell back onto the couch with a grunt as he held his right foot in pain, "Ouch.. ouch." Peter grunted and gently took a remote laying on the nearby coffee table in his hand and turned on Selina's small television figuring he'd be down awhile. His eyebrows furrowed as he began to watch a rerun of the press conference with Bruce Wayne that he himself was supposed to meet Vicki for which happened about half an hour ago, which entailed the opening of a new mental hospital named after Thomas and Martha Wayne.

"Mr. Wayne, Julia Remark of the Tribune,my sources say alleged mob boss Carmine Falcone came to your home the other night at the Harvey Dent fundraiser, you even shook his hand." A reporter stated as she followed off with her real question, "Are you working with the mafia?"

Bruce slightly scoffed and shook his head, his eyes glanced away from the camera's watching his statements as he stared down at the reporter, "Carmine Falcone is just another voter, like you or me. He simply was there to learn about Harvey's run to be your next Mayor."

Harvey frowned as he stood forward and tried to defend Bruce and keep things going smoothly, "Please, keep your questions on topic people. We're here about the hospital remember?"

The female reporter was silenced, as a young man stood up, "Mr. Wayne, this morning the Globe received evidence of an offshore bank account managed by Carmine Falcone, and your father, Thomas Wayne."

Bruce frowned as he recognized what the field journalist was saying, "What exactly are you implying?" The man didn't hold back as he replied just as quick and loudly, "Transactions connected to organized crime going back years, and continuing to this day. The paper trail is tying your family directly to the mob."

Several gasps throughout the small audience occurred as the man tried to bait Bruce, "Care to comment?" Bruce held a stern look on his face as he gazed at the other reporters sitting in one row, "And did anyone else, receive this... 'Evidence'?" The journalist nodded, "The Globe, the Gazette, we all did." At Bruce's silence, he frowned and began to hassle the billionaire, "Mr. Wayne, Mr. Wayne!"

The reporters became riled up as they all began to shout and ask questions at once. "Mr. Wayne, is all your money dirty?" "Is the Wayne family legacy built on lies?!" "Did you know about this Bruce?" "How long has your family been dealing with Falcone?"

Against the myriad of dirty accusations and shocking questions, Bruce attempted to remain calm under fire, the philanthropist fixing his tie. "Heh... I think you should check your source. Sound's to me like an intern is finally putting their creative writing minor to good use."

The reporters seemed to have ignored him as they began to wildly heckle him until the press turned into one bad joke. "Why aren't you talking about Falcone?" "Could this be true?" "Mr. Wayne, don't ignore us!"

Bruce held a frown on his face as Harvey Dent, the man running for mayor openly whispered to him and patted his shoulder as if to calm him down. Bruce Wayne quietly walked off the stage and went behind the stage's backdrop to check his phone, while Harvey attempted to console the reporters, "Please, Please. This act of heckling on Bruce is shameful, and cruel considering what the anniversary of today is. Now, I'll be campaigning tomorrow at..~"

The speech was cut off as a new's anchor in his studio, Jack Ryder gave a visible 'oof' as the studio camera panned on him. "Seems the legacy of the golden child has just been called into question, while it's all speculation at this point, does the Wayne family really have a connection with the mob, and is Gotham's last bastion of purity a lie? Or is something, or someone trying to throw Mr. Wayne's family under the bus? More will be answered on Gotham channel six news."

Peter frowned as he flipped off the television, the teenager slowly standing up on his aching feet, still shocked at the rerun of the press conference he had just watched. "Even Bruce Wayne get's pummeled, I will have to apologize to Vicki for not showing up, ugh."

"Sorry Cat woman, but Spider-Man has to get back out there. And most likely stop you in the process." Peter mumbled to himself as he found her washer with his suit now a damp wet. Once his suit was put on, the vigilante shivered in his now cold and damp spider suit, Peter shivering as he tried to make an excuse to himself for his actions. "Well... I-I mean.. You can't put this in the... Dry... Dryer.."

Peter, in his suit adorned with cuts on his chest, leg, and shoulder areas frowned as he opened Selena's window and jumped onto her fire escape. He closed the window quietly, and frowned at the cold morning air, "I'll have to patch my suit up somehow... I wish I had Mr. Stark here to help me, he was always much smarter.."

With a thwip of his web, Peter found himself jumping off the fire escape. He flung himself through the air, as first he felt he had to go back to his possessions at the homeless shelter. "First I get my phone, apologize to Vicki, then see if I have still have a job at Doll-Mart." Spider-Man shook his head and gave a great shout and thwipped more webs to use as several Gothamite's looked up with funny stares, Spider-Man was gonna be okay, but he still had his mind focused on the future, and of possibly returning home.

A/N: In case you didn't see it in the last chapter update :D I have a poll on my profile concerning this story, and will release other polls at a later date. Thank's for always supporting my story. *Thwips away on my web*