Displaced is a Spider-Man/Batman crossover fanfic written by TheMountainJew and Inbound.
Teenager Peter Parker was minding his own business when some random disembodied voice started telling him that he was needed before plucking him from his home city and dropping him off in Gotham without directions or a general idea of what just happened. Now, for the foreseeable future, he's stuck in the crime capital of America with no money, resources or a plan. But what else was new?
Initially written solely by TheMountainJew, the author was forced to drop it due to real life issues coupled with a writer's block, but the story was adopted by Inbound, who takes over writing duties from chapter 18 onward.
It is available in SpaceBattles
, and FF.net.
Displaced provides examples of:
- A Shared Suffering: Batman doesn't let it on, but he empathizes better with Spider-Man after finding out that Spidey's father figure was gunned down by a crook.
- Big Brother Instinct: Superman is said to be annoyingly overprotective, as he's reluctant to let his younger cousin Kara out of his sight.Kara was beginning to understand why her cousin was so reluctant to allow her anywhere near Gotham City. Why he tried to keep her cooped up in Smallville and smother her with overprotectiveness. It still annoyed her, but she was beginning to understand.
- Cosmic Plaything: Peter believes that the universe is actively out to spite him, as he has a long history of terrible things happening to him just when he starts to be happy, culminating in being tossed between universes by a higher power with no real explanation as to why.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: When Superman gets angry with Batman over his refusal to allow the Leaguers to help Gotham, Kara says "[they] are having a lovers' spat".
- Domestic Abuse: Spidey doesn't need more than one minute to realize what kind of relationship the Joker and Harley Quinn have, and he becomes disgusted. He is used to violence, but someone hitting or abusing their lover makes his stomach churn.
- Facepalm: Rose Wilson almost facepalms when Catwoman tells her to ditch her guns after hiring her services."Alright! That's enough doom and gloom for today. Put your gear on, grab a bagel, and let's get going. And no guns!"
"And what's I am supposed to use then? A shovel?" She asked sarcastically.
"Sure, why not? We... just need to get one first."
Rose resisted the urge to facepalm. - Get Out!: Leslie Thompkins tells Peter to get out of her clinic when her desperate attempt to talk him -and even blackmail him- out of being Spider-Man utterly fails.Peter: Fine.
Leslie: Then you'll finally stop?
Peter: No, reveal my identity, do whatever. It doesn't matter, it won't stop me in the end. Having my name out to the public and the police trying to arrest me won't change anything. I'll still be Spider-Man and I'll still be helping people no matter what. I'm sorry Leslie, but I just can't give up being Spider-Man, not now.
Leslie: ...Get out.
Peter: Wha-
Leslie: GET OUT I SAID! You want to get out there and get yourself killed? Fine! But I'm not going to be a part of it anymore. I've seen enough dead children for one lifetime, I'm not going to keep enabling your suicidal behavior! - Groin Attack: Kara kicks the groin of a thug who has accosted her in a dead alley so he stops bothering her.Kara gave the teenager in black and white tights a megawatt smile while the thugs took off running. At least the ones that could. The one Kara had in her hand tried to yank his arm out of her grip, but it was like steel. All he managed to do was bruise himself. However, she gave him a quick kick to the groin so he would stop being annoying and couldn't ruin her meeting with the newest hero of Gotham.
- Hammerspace: "Where did he got that from?", Spidey wonders when the Joker pulls out a Tommy gun "from absolutely nowhere".
- Heartbreak and Ice Cream: After Batgirl and Nightwing break up — once again — Supergirl drops by Babs' place to give her friend a shoulder to cry on while they eat ice cream and put Dick Grayson down:"Because you and Dick broke up. Again," she added as she hovered over her, placing her elbows on the headrest as if she needed to. Barbara's smile fell a fraction at that, but Kara continued before she could offer up a defense. "And you haven't been able to cry into my shoulder yet as we eat unnecessary amounts of ice cream," she pressed forward, worry clear in her tone to Barbara even though Kara tried to keep it hidden.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners:
- Supergirl and Batgirl. Kara drops by Babs' place because her friend needs her, and she doesn't care whether Bruce Wayne approves of her presence in Gotham or not.
- Superman and Batman's arguments are called "lovers' spats".
- Irony: Peter uses a library computer to see if he has a local counterpart that he needs to account for during his stay. Conveniently, his counterpart was homeless (fitting in with his current situation) and is deceased (allowing Peter to quietly assume the identity after some hacking of records to make it look like local Peter isn't dead). The really ironic part is the cause of death: An untreated spider bite.
- The Matchmaker: After meeting Spider-Man, Kara decides he's perfect for Barbara.Some might ship Spider-Cat, but she was determined to make Spider-Bat a thing. Barbara needed a rebound guy desperately to get over Dick, but her best friend was stubborn and wouldn't seek one out on her own. Which meant it fell to her to find her a decent man.
- Mugging the Monster: A group of thugs ambush a girl walking into a dead end. Said girl happened to be a Kryptonian. Needless to say, it didn't end well for them.
- Never Be a Hero: Batman doesn't want Spider-Man operating in Gotham City because -Batman believes- Spidey is a young rookie whose lack of experience will get him killed or worse.
- Not in Kansas Anymore: Peter paraphrases the line when he gets abruptly teletransported from Marvel's New York to DC's Gotham."I am not in NYC anymore", Peter said flatly. In the past two years he's become very familiar with New York's skyline, he knew it by heart, both day and night. What he was looking at was certainly not his home city.
- Oh, Crap!: Catwoman blanches when Joker casually calls her by her real name, confirming he knows her real identity.
- The Password Is Always "Swordfish": The Penguin actually had "penguin" as his computer password.
- Powers Do the Fighting: When Kara bumps into some crooks she stands still while they hurt themselves by hitting her.
- Primary-Color Champion: Discussed when Supergirl meets Spider-Man for the first time and remarks that "Red and blue were the way to go for costumes".
- Punch Catch: Spidey effortlessly catches the fist of a bank robber who tries to hit him. Wisely, the crook gives up.Walking over, he grabbed the nearest bank robber that he hit with the door and lifted him so they were eye to eye. The man seemed terrified but he quickly schooled his emotions before taking a swing at Spider-Man. He didn't even look away as he caught the man's fist with a grip of steel.
Just like that, the fight left the man's eyes. - Shipper on Deck: Kara ships Batgirl/Spider-Man.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: At the end of their first confrontation, Spider-Man webs the Joker's mouth shut to silence his crazy rant."Well, Spider-Man," Joker spat the name out with Surprising venom, "I'll make sure my next plan involves dealing with you once I get out of Arkham...again!" He threatened dramatically before he threw his head back and laughed. "It's going to be so much fun! You joke around unlike Bats, always so serious that one. I—" he continued but was cut off by Spider-Man webbing his mouth.
"Sorry, my hand slipped." - Spanner in the Works: Peter's appearance during a Joker's ploy accidentally causes an unprecedented gang war all across Gotham.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Batman pulls one on Spider-Man when their conversation is over.
- Superman Stays Out of Gotham:
- Played straight with the Justice League, who is told to stay out of Gotham despite the ongoing bloody gang war.
- James Gordon agrees with Batman that super-powered heroes should stay out of their city because their presence would draw super-powered villains.
- Defied by Spider-Man, who doesn't care for Batman's wishes. Eventually, Batman has to accept Spider-Man isn't going anywhere.
- Subverted by Supergirl, who argues that walking around in her civilian clothes and letting unsuspecting crooks "attack" her doesn't violate Batman's rules.
- Trapped in Another World: Spider-Man is dropped off in the DC universe with no apparent way to return home.
- We Will Meet Again: After being defeated by Spider-Man in the first chapter, Joker will swear they meet again, and "it will be so much fun".
- What the Hell, Hero?: Played for laughs when Batman and Spider-Man have an argument and Spider-man is incensed that Batman didn't drink the root beer he had left for him earlier.Spider-Man: I buy you a can of soda, and this is how you repay me? I'm totally trustworthy!
Batman: I didn't drink the root beer.
Spider-Man: You are such a dick! I paid like a buck fifty on that! That could have gone to my rent, you jerk. - Would Hit a Girl: As much as Spidey is concerned, he will not pull his punches as fighting a villain only because said villain happens to be female. Thinking otherwise would be ridiculous and sexist.
- You Will Know What to Do: When Death of the Endless finally reveals herself to Peter she confesses she brought him into that universe because he needs to fulfill a specific purpose... which she can't tell him about yet.
