𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝟕

—♜—

"𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄 he'd be okay with it?" Peter whispered.

"Ninety-three-point-eight percent chance he'll say yes," Kara whispered back, "so it'll be fine. Probably."

Kara straightened up as the two of them walked toward the Decathlon team, all of whom were waiting outside the school bus.

They were all wearing the yellow team jackets over their normal clothes—ones that Kara and Peter were missing—and, clearly, were all set to go to Washington for the Decathlon.

"But what if he doesn't?" Peter muttered back. "What if he yells at us?"

"Don't worry, babe," she whispered. "It'll be fine."

The chatter died down as they approached, and Abe called, "Hey, it's Kara and Peter!"

"Kara?" Liz raised her eyebrows as the pair came to a stop in front of them. "Peter?"

"Yeah, we were hoping maybe we could rejoin the team," Peter requested nervously, his eyes flitting over each member.

"No, no way," declined Flash as he walked up to them and shook his head. "You can't just quit on us, stroll up, and be welcomed back by everyone."

"Hey, welcome back, Kara and Peter," Mr. Harrington greeted. He stepped out of the bus and gestured to Flash and another girl as he told them, "Flash, Sabrina, you two are back to first and second alternate."

Flash's jaw dropped, an incredulous look on his face as he uttered, "What?"

Abe grinned while the others giggled. "He's taking your place."

"Come on." Mr. Harrington smiled at the team and gestured towards the door. "Let's get on the bus."

Grudgingly, Flash took off his jacket and threw it at Peter, who caught it with raised eyebrows. Sabrina, much more kindly and less bitterly, slid her jacket off and handed it to Kara with a smile.

Kara followed Peter into the bus and sat down next to him near the front.

As the bus driver began the route, Kara placed her backpack at her feet and leaned towards him as she murmured, "See? Everything went well, just like I told you."

Peter grinned. "I never doubted you."

Kara laughed."Clearly."

Her attention then turned to Liz, who stepped out into the aisle and shuffled through her cue cards.

"Okay, guys," Liz sighed as she landed on the card she wanted. "Let's go through some practice rounds."

She set her flashcards to the side and leaned over her seat to dig through her bag, then grabbed a handful of silver bells and passed them around.

"First topic: instrument sections of music," Liz announced as soon as everyone had their own bell. "What is a woodwind?"

Charles rang his bell. "Aerophones made of wood."

"Good." Liz nodded. "What are strings?"

Kara rang the bell, and when Liz nodded to her, she answered, "Instruments that are bowed or plucked; similar to the chordophones."

"Perfect." Liz smiled. "What are brass instruments?"

"Aerophones made of metal," replied Sally after ringing her bell.

A few more questions and correct answers later, Liz shuffled to a different cue card. "Focus up, everyone. Our next topic is the moons of Saturn. Thirty-eight of the moons are small and irregular; what is the largest of those moons?"

Kara rang her bell. "Phoebe. It's fifty percent ice, fifty percent rock. Possibly a captured differentiated asteroid or comet."

"Yep." Liz nodded. "What is Saturn's second largest moon?"

Abe answered after ringing his bell, "Rhea."

"Which of Saturn's moons is larger than Mercury?"

"Titan," responded Charles.

"Okay," Liz sighed. "Lightning round. What law states that in all energy exchanges, if no energy enters or leaves the system, the potential energy of the state will always be less than that of the initial state?"

Cindy quickly pressed her bell. "The second law of thermodynamics."

"This singer made the hit song Fly Me to the Moon, and was inspired by Bing Crosby and Tommy Dorsey."

Charles rang his bell. "Frank Sinatra."

"Which place was modernized in the 1870s, and employed concepts developed during the war?"

Flash answered after ringing his bell, "Fort Sumter."

Abe grinned. "Flash is wrong."

"Okay, guys, let's focus," Liz tutted as Flash glared at him. "Next one."

"Liz," Mr. Harrington called from the front seat, "don't overwork them."

Liz nodded. "Name three elements first isolated in the early nineteenth century."

Peter rang his bell. "Uh, strontium, barium, vibranium."

"Very good, Peter." Liz nodded, glancing over at him with a smile. "Glad to have you back."

Peter smiled. "Glad to be back."

Kara suddenly felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She took it out to see the picture of a certain someone's forehead and the name 'Forehead of Security' on the top of the screen.

"What is the current standard unit of radioactive—"

Kara stood up, clutching onto her phone tightly as she whispered to Liz, "Can I take this real quick? I'll only be a sec."

Liz nodded. "Yeah, fine."

Kara pressed the answer button as she headed toward the back of the bus and brought her phone to her ear.

"Hey, Uncle Happy," she greeted, "what's up?"

"Got a blip on my screen here. You left New York? Does your mom know? Does Tony know? Does Rhodey know? Does—"

"They all know," Kara interrupted as she sat in the seat behind Ned, who was watching the model from the web shooter in his hands. "It's just a school trip. I already told—" She paused for a second as something processed in her mind, and, incredulously, she questioned, "Wait, are you tracking me?"

He scoffed. "I've been tracking you since the day you got a phone, Kara."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Are you tracking Peter?"

Happy paused for a moment before tentatively asking, "Am I allowed to lie?"

"No."

"Yeah. I'm tracking his suit."

"You can't just do that!" Kara exclaimed quietly as she folded her arms. "That is a complete violation of our privacy, Uncle Happy!"

Ned raised his eyebrows as he pointed towards the hologram that was following the Spider-Tracer.

"That's different," Kara whispered.

"What's different?" Happy questioned suspiciously, causing her to wince.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "Listen, it's just the Academic Decathlon. I went last year. It's no big deal."

"Hey, hey. I'll decide if it's no big deal," Happy chided. He paused for a few moments as he thought it over, and reluctantly admitted, "Sounds like it's no big deal, but remember, I'm watching you. And your mother's watching you. And Tony's watching you. And Rhodey's watching you. And—"

"Everyone's watching me," she sighed, "I got it."

After saying a grumpy goodbye to Happy, she hung up. She was about to move back to her spot beside Peter and join back in on the quizzing that was still going on when she paused.

There was someone else she could call. Someone who could possibly give her the answer on exactly what the hell the glowing purple core was supposed to be.

Kara quickly pressed the contact she needed and raised her phone to her ear.

As soon as the call went through, she greeted, "Hey, Uncle Tony, do you have a minute?"

"Yeah," he answered. "What's up?"

"So, uh, Peter—"

"Hold on, before you start," he interrupted, "I've actually been meaning to ask you something."

Kara let out a long sigh and nodded her head back as she asked, "What?"

"So, I made this new suit a while back, right, and y'know, the yellow is more of a pineapple yellow, the red is more of a cherry red, so I need a name that's related to fruit. Got any suggestions?"

She let out a silent groan. Of course that's what he interrupted her for. "Why don't you ask Amelia? She comes up with pretty good names. She's the Cisco of us all."

Tony was quiet for a few moments before he confusedly questioned, "She's the . . . what?"

"The Ci—never mind, you don't watch The Flash."

"Is it something offensive?"

Kara shrugged. "If anything, it's a compliment."

"Okay, whatever, I don't care. Yeah, I asked. Maximoff gave me Peach Cobbler, which is horrible, it's a disgrace, I'm not even considering it," Tony scoffed, and Kara's nose wrinkled. "Amelia gave me something else, and it's equally as bad—maybe even worse."

Now a little interested, Kara furrowed her eyebrows and queried, "What is it?"

Tony gave a loud scoff. "No, if I tell you, then you're just going to repeat it."

"Yeah, that's true," she chuckled.

"So? Anything?"

"Uh . . . Well, fruit . . ." Kara pursed her lips as she shut her eyes, a million options running through her mind. Suddenly, she perked up as one idea stood out. "What about the Iron Mango?"

Tony was silent for a moment, leading Kara to wonder if he had even heard her. Quietly, he questioned, "Come again?"

"The Iron Mango?" she repeated. "Get it? Mango is a fruit, the 'man' part is—"

"No, not that, I know what a mango is."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Okay, but—"

"That's the suggestion Amelia gave me," Tony told her. "Are you conspiring with her?"

"Conspiring?" Kara echoed incredulously, an amused chuckle escaping her lips afterwards. "This isn't the Mafia."

"No, no, you two are plotting against me," he said firmly. "I know it."

She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Uncle Tony, I really need to talk to you about—"

"The Iron Mango," he scoffed. "What kind of name is that? There's no way both of you—"

"It's really important—"

"—came up with that same ridiculous name on your own. I should've known. You two have been against me—"

"This is something that's urgent—"

"—since the day you were born. I should've never let you in—"

"Please listen for once—"

"—the same room. God, why is everyone out to get me?"

"No one is out to get you!" Kara paused for a moment before shrugging and correcting, "Well . . . Amelia and I aren't . . . currently out to get you! Uncle Tony, I need—"

"No, you can talk to me when you've stopped conspiring against me and have come up with a name better than that one. I'm not even gonna say the name. That's how much it sucks."

Kara groaned, shutting her eyes in frustration as she insisted, "This is really important!"

"Nothing is as important as this," Tony said stubbornly. "Goodbye."

"Are you kiddi—" Kara was interrupted by the sound of him hanging up. "Goddammit!"

"You good?" Ned questioned, his eyes still stuck to the Spider-Tracer tracker.

"No," Kara grumbled.

She gave no further detail as she stood up and walked back to her own seat. Peter gave her a small smile when she sat down next to him, but that smile soon became worried as he noticed her grimace.

As Liz continued asking questions and students continued answering, Kara leaned towards Peter and muttered, "Happy's tracking us."

Peter's expression contorted into one of confusion. "What? How?"

"Well, I know he's tracking my phone, and probably my suit, too," she answered with a sigh. "But for you, it's just the suit."

Peter's eyes widened as he glanced down at his backpack, which held his suit inside. "Are you serious?"

Kara frowned. "Unfortunately."

Kara paid no attention to the quizzing for the rest of the trip to Washington, nor did she barely process the small updates of location that Ned occasionally whispered to them once they had gone to sit with him in the back seat.

Before she knew it, they were at their stop.

Kara glanced out of the window, seeing the hundreds of students that were already swarming inside the building and the couple of school buses that were pulling away.

She grabbed her backpack and slid it on, then followed the rest of the team out and into the hotel.

The main floor was well dressed for the Decathlon; there were large posters hanging for the railing of the second floor, there were signs of the sponsors placed every ten feet, and there were booths set up with tents overhead that had the Decathlon logo on it.

"Everyone stick together," Liz instructed as they walked in, leading the group toward the sign-in table.

"Yeah," Mr. Harrington awkwardly agreed as he glanced back at them.

"You kidding me?" Charles scoffed, his eyes wide behind his glasses as he looked around. "This place is huge."

Flash shrugged. "I've seen bigger."

Kara exchanged an eye-roll with Ned.

Abe pointed upwards. "There's a bird in here."

They followed his finger to see that there was, indeed, a bird that was perched upon the railing of the second floor.

"Hey," Peter murmured as he leaned towards Ned, "you brought your laptop, right?"

Ned looked at Peter with suspicion. "Why?"

Peter only whispered for them to wait until they were in their rooms.

After checking in, they headed upstairs; Peter and Ned were sharing a room, and Kara was sharing hers with Liz.

"You excited for the Decathlon?" asked Liz with a grin as the two of them began to unpack their bags.

"Mhm." Kara nodded as she took everything out of her bag (though she kept her suit inside). "Last year's was awesome."

"Did you bring a bathing suit?" Liz questioned, pulling out her own and waving it towards Kara so she could see. "We're planning on going swimming. You can borrow mine if you need to; I brought extra."

Kara's eyebrows furrowed. "I thought we weren't allowed to go swimming?"

Liz laughed and waved a dismissive hand. "It's not like Mr. Harrison's keeping track of us, anyway. He's probably already asleep."

Kara grinned. "I might, then. But, actually, I need to go talk to Peter about something first."

Liz gave a light hum as she nodded and continued to unpack her stuff. "The rest of the team is probably gonna just hang out here, so just come back when you're done."

Kara nodded and grabbed her backpack, which really only had her suit, before calling a quick "See ya!", and headed out of the room and towards Peter and Ned's.

She knocked on the door and tucked her key into her pocket, waiting patiently until Peter swung open the door and gave her a hurried smile. She entered to see that Ned was already typing away on his laptop, leaning back on the pillows of the bed with Peter's suit laying next to him.

Peter resumed what he was doing before as he stuck a flashlight between his teeth and worked on the wiring of the suit.

"Peter," Ned sighed as Kara sat down next to him, "why are we removing the tracker from your suit?"

"Uh" —he took the flashlight out of his mouth— "because I gotta follow these guys to their boss before they move again and I don't really want Mr. Stark to know about it."

An incredulous expression came over Ned's face as he stopped typing and looked toward him. "So you're lying to Iron Man now?"

"I like it." Kara grinned before giving a small gasp and placing a hand on her heart. "Am I influencing you?"

"No, I'm not lying," Peter insisted as he looked over at the two. "He just doesn't really get what I can do yet."

Kara glanced at Ned, who didn't seem all too convinced by this argument. They both watched—Ned a little more nervous than her—Peter stick the flashlight back in his mouth and use a pair of tweezers to carefully pull the tracker out.

"Ah . . . Gotcha," Peter muttered as the tracker fully disconnected, his voice a little muffled from the flashlight.

Kara could feel a satisfied smile form on her lips.

"All right, Happy," he murmured as he took the flashlight out. He stuck the tracker onto the lampshade next to him and grinned. "Enjoy tracking this lamp."

Ned, who was still typing away, leaned forward towards the laptop screen as green coding appeared. "There's a ton of other subsystems in here . . ."

Peter, who had stuck the flashlight back into his mouth and was peering into his suit, hummed, "Hm?"

A childish grin appeared on Ned's face as he continued, "But they're all disabled by the Training Wheels Protocol."

"What?" Peter breathed out, immediately crawling over to get a good look. "Training Wheels Protocol?"

"Ah, classic Tony Stark," Kara sighed as she leaned back on the headboard. "No respect."

"Turn it off," Peter demanded.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Ned replied with a shake of his head. "I mean, they're probably blocked for a reason."

"Yeah," muttered Kara, "because Uncle Tony sucks."

"Come on, man. I don't need training wheels," groaned Peter as he slid off the bed. He jumped up onto the other bed that was covered in their toiletries and gave an exasperated sigh. "I'm sick of him treating me like a kid all the time! It's not cool!"

"But you are a kid," Ned pointed out with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, a kid who can stop a bus with his bare hands!"

"Peter, I just don't think this is a great idea," Ned pleaded as a pained expression came upon his face. "I mean, what if this is illegal?"

"What do you mean 'if'?" scoffed Kara. "This is definitely illegal."

Peter jumped off the bed and knelt down as he leaned forward on their bed. "Look, please. This is my chance to prove myself. I can handle it. Ned, come on."

Ned shook his head. "I really don't think this is a good idea."

Peter kept his gaze insistent as he leaned forward and whispered, "The guy in the chair."

"Don't do that."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Peter's lips as he continued, "Come on."

Staring at his pleading expression, Ned heaved a sigh and seemed to think the idea over for a few moments. Conceding, he nodded and reluctantly typed.

Their eyes drew to the suit as a blue flash of light pulsed through and crackled; it had worked.

As Peter went into the bathroom to change into the suit, Kara glanced at her phone to see that Amelia had texted her ten minutes before, asking if she had made it to Washington okay. Kara quickly replied with a yes, and elaborated no further—she could tell her about this later.

Peter came out of the bathroom a minute later wearing his suit without the mask. He grabbed a blue sweater and zipped it up all the way to the top to hide it, then pulled his hood over his head.

Kara stood up, shoving her phone into her back pocket. "I should come with you."

"No, it's okay," Peter reassured her with a small smile. "I need to prove that I can do it."

"Peter . . ." She frowned as she grasped the sides of his arms.

"I'll be okay," he said softly. "I promise."

Kara gazed at him for a moment before yielding with a sigh. "Fine. But call me if you need help."

"Mhm." Peter nodded, and his smile broadened after she planted a short kiss on his lips.

She returned back to the bed to sit next to Ned and watched nervously as Peter fixed his sweater and headed toward the door.

He peeked out into the corridor and looked both ways before turning back toward them. "Yeah, the glowy thing, it's evidence. Keep it safe. All right?"

Ned reached over for the core that was laying on the side of the bed and picked it up while muttering, "Okay, okay."

Peter pulled down his sleeve and activated the tracker. His eyes widened. "They're moving."

"Be careful," Kara called as he left the room. Once the door had shut behind him, she turned to Ned. "Nedster."

Ned looked up from the core and to her. "Yeah?"

Kara grabbed her backpack and zipped it open. "I need you to hack into my suit or whatever and change something for me."

Ned nodded as he placed the core to the side and picked up his laptop, watching as Kara tossed her suit onto the bed. "What?"

"He made this Enhanced Interrogation Mode thing, but it makes my voice go all chipmunk-like," she told him with a scrunched nose. "I just want my voice to sound like a robot or something. Or like Harry Potter."

Ned grinned. "Easy-peasy."

—♜—

As soon as Kara was ready for the Decathlon, she headed over to Peter's room and knocked furiously. She stayed with Ned until about eleven o'clock (Mr. Harrison came knocking at the door and told them to go to bed), but Peter still hadn't been back.

The door slowly opened to reveal a groggy Ned, who was still in his pyjamas and had a mess of hair.

His face had been an excited one but dropped when he saw who it was. "Oh. It's you."

"Ned!" Kara exclaimed before pausing and narrowing her eyes. "Why aren't you ready yet?"

"We still have fifteen minutes," he mumbled as he gave a dismissive wave.

Kara stepped inside and closed the door behind her before looking around. Her panic instantly grew when she realized that the two of them were the only ones in the room. "Ned, please tell me that Peter went to go get breakfast or something."

Ned shook his head. "I don't know where he is. He still hasn't shown up."

"Oh, God," Kara groaned softly to herself. "You get ready, I'll try and contact him."

As Ned got ready in the bathroom, Kara tugged her phone out of her pocket and instantly dialled Peter's number. She tapped her foot as she heard nothing but ringing, and sighed as it reached his voicemail.

Kara then unzipped her backpack and pulled her earpiece out. As she settled it in, she hurriedly asked, "Hermione, do you know where Peter is?"

"According to his tracker, he is currently in the same room as you."

"What? No, he's—" A loud groan escaped her lips as her eyes caught the lamp. "Dammit."

She took the earpiece off and put it back into her backpack. Her attention then drew to Ned, who was now wearing the yellow team blazer and had neat hair as he walked out of the bathroom and gave her a hopeful smile.

"Any luck?"

Kara sighed as she shook her head, causing Ned's face to drop.

He began to pace around the room, checking his watch every now and then as Kara continued to try and call Peter.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Ned, Peter," called Liz, "we're gonna be late. Come on, let's go."

Ned rushed over to the window and drew the yellow curtain to peek at Liz before rushedly saying, "Okay. Uh, hold on, hold on."

Kara slipped on her backpack as Ned shoved the purple core into his bag.

She gave one last glance at her phone before tucking it into her pocket with a sigh. Peter was fine. Probably.

—♜—

"Woo-hoo!" cheered Flash as the team approached the Washington Monument. "We won!"

After a long day of writing tests and answering questions, MidTown Tech won the championship. They had been awarded glimmering medals and a large trophy, and Flash took it upon himself to carry the trophy for them.

Kara couldn't keep her mind focused on the victory, however, as Peter was still missing and not picking up her calls. She had absolutely no clue what to do, and she most definitely did not want to assume the worst.

"You guys," Liz gushed, "I am so proud of you."

Flash grinned. "Told you we didn't need Peter."

"Flash, shut up, you didn't answer a single question," Kara scoffed, causing Flash to throw her a dirty glare.

Kara dug her phone out of her pocket as they entered the Washington Monument, and dialled Peter's number once more.

Her heart leapt as he picked up, and she let out a sigh of relief.

It seemed as though Peter was simultaneously feeling that wave of relief as he exclaimed, "Oh, Kara, you're alive!"

"Wha—of course I'm alive," Kara whispered. "Peter, are you okay?"

"Kara, Kara," Peter said hurriedly, "where's the glowy thing, the glowy thing?!"

"Don't worry, it's safe," she reassured him, glancing over to Ned, who was putting his backpack on the conveyor belt. "It's in Ned's backpack."

"No, Kara, listen! No, no, Kara, the glowy thing is dangerous!"

"What the hell happened?" she sighed, balancing the phone on her shoulder as she pressed her ear against it. She unstrapped her Bond Touch bracelet and tucked it inside her bag before putting it on the conveyor belt. "You missed the Decathlon! Ned and I covered for you."

"Kara, listen to me!"

"We're at the Washington Monument now. You gotta—"

Liz took the phone from Kara, and incredulously questioned, "Peter, is that you? You freak! You are so lucky we won. You know, I want to be mad, but I'm more worried. Like, what is going on with you?"

After going through all the security checks, the group huddled into an elevator.

"Hey, Mr. Harrington," asked Flash with a grin, "can I be the one to tell Peter he's expelled?"

Kara glared at him. "Flash, I don't know how many times I gotta tell you to shut up."

As they began their ascent, the tour guide, in a monotone voice, said, "The Washington Monument is five hundred and fifty-five feet, five and one-eighth inches tall."

Kara glanced at Ned's backpack for a moment, and then did a double-take as she realized that a purple glow had appeared.

The tour guide gestured out of the glass doors. "Notice how the marble and granite are cut around the stone."

Kara's eyes widened as thin, purple beams began to shoot upwards. "Ned—!"

Too late.

A loud crash sounded, and everyone let out gasps of horror. The elevator jerked to a stop, and grime immediately fell upon them.

Ned dropped his bag to the floor and backed up, exchanging a look of fright with Kara.

"Oh my God," Flash muttered. "Look at the ceiling."

They all looked up to see that a glowing, red crack had cut across the elevator ceiling, which wasn't any more reassuring for them.

"Just stay calm, everyone," Liz instructed.

Abe, however, was not staying calm. "Oh, we are all going to die here."

"I'll call Amelia," Kara muttered as she pulled her backpack off and unzipped it. She leaned into Ned for support when the elevator shook once more, and grabbed the Bond Touch bracelet that she had left inside the bag.

A gasp escaped her lips when she saw that the bracelet was completely fried; the blast had ruined it.

"Shit!"

She'd have to have Tony fix it later. That is, if she survived this.

She shook her head to Ned as she shoved the bracelet back in her bag, and he groaned.

Charles peered out the glass and shook his head. "We're freakin' screwed."

"Okay guys, I know that was scary, but our safety systems are working," the tour guide reassured them. "We're very safe in here."

"Kara," Ned whispered urgently, "do your thing!"

Kara gave him an incredulous look. "But then everyone'll know!"

"If you don't, we're gonna die!"

"Honestly, I feel like that's the better option."

Everyone began clamouring as the tour guide pushed one of the ceiling tiles open, and they could see the next floor above them.

A park ranger had pushed the doors open and shouted down at them, "Let's go. Give me your hand."

One by one, the students, with the help of Mr. Harrison, climbed on top of the elevator and stepped onto the platform of the next floor.

Ned watched with wide eyes. "Kara?"

Kara, who was watching with just as much fright, nodded. "Mhm?"

"What's the chance we'll die?"

"Oh, you know . . . sixty-two percent."

"Oh, good," he breathed out. "That's great."

After lifting Cindy, Mr. Harrington looked around at them. "Okay, who's next?"

Liz grabbed onto Mr. Harrington's shoulder and was about to place her foot on his hands to give her a boost before Flash shoved her out of the way.

"Me, it's my turn!"

"Flash, seriously?" Ned exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

Flash, the trophy still in hand, looked up at the hatch. "Come on."

Cindy called down, "Don't worry about the trophy."

Flash climbed out of the hatch, and the elevator immediately shook causing the others to shout.

"Take my trophy!" exclaimed Flash as he shoved the trophy up to the park rangers, who then heeded his order. He began climbing out once more, and the elevator shook again.

Suddenly, the roof of the elevator ripped off, and the elevator began to fall.

Kara, Ned, Liz, and Mr. Harrison all began to scream as they pressed themselves against the sides of the elevator.

Abruptly, the elevator stopped, and they dropped to the ground.

Kara breathed a sigh of relief, though that relief was short-lived as the elevator began to fall again.

There was a loud crash as the elevator hit a beam and stopped once more, and the next thing they knew, Spider-Man had fallen in through the ceiling.

The impact broke a wheel, and the elevator plummeted once more.

Peter shot a web upwards, and the elevator came to a sudden stop. He hung upside down, his feet braced against the ceiling and clutched tightly onto his web.

He deepened his voice and cleared his throat. "Hey, how you doing? Don't worry about it. I got you."

"Yes!" Ned cheered, pumping his fist into the air and causing the elevator to shake slightly. "Yes!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, big guy, quit moving around!" Peter exclaimed.

"Sorry, sir," Ned said quickly. "So sorry."

Grunting, Peter began to slowly pull the elevator up the shaft. After a few minutes, they reached the upper floor.

The park rangers opened the doors that had shattered glass and beckoned the others inside.

"All right. This is your stop," Peter called.

They all began to get out, one by one, and Kara followed Ned out and breathed a sigh of relief when she made it onto the platform.

"Go, go, go," Peter encouraged. "Everybody out! Move it, people. Move it, move it!"

Mr. Harrington reached out to grab Liz's hand, but just before he could grasp it, the ceiling snapped and the elevator fell once more.

As Liz began screaming, Peter slung a web around Liz's wrist, and the elevator plummeted below her as Peter clutched the web tightly.

"You're okay," Peter reassured her as he began to pull her up. "You're okay."

Mr. Harrington and the park rangers grabbed onto her as she was lifted towards them, and carefully pulled her onto the floor.

Once Liz was standing on the floor, Peter put on a Brooklyn accent and asked, "So, uh, is everyone okay?"

Before anyone could answer, however, the web snapped, and Peter fell down the shaft.

"Thank you," Mr. Harrington called as they all peered down at him.

Flash, who had the trophy in his hands once more, leaned over and shouted, "Are you really friends with Peter Parker?"