Percy managed to get back to the hotel five minutes before the Decathlon started. He ran through the crowd of people as quickly as possible. He made it to the auditorium where it was being hosted right as Flash was about to walk on stage. Ned stood off to the side, talking with Mr. Harrington in a hushed whisper. When he caught sight of Peter jogging up, a huge smile lit up his face.

"Peter! You made it! I'm glad you're feeling better," Mr. Harrington said, patting him on the back.

Peter tried to roll with whatever excuse Ned came up with. "Yeah, I am definitely feeling better."

"Good, because you are back in. Flash, you are sitting this round out," the teacher directed. Flash huffed before storming off. Peter quickly made his way on stage where he took a seat next to Michelle.

"Ned," Peter tried to whisper, "where's the-"

"Peter, the round is starting," Liz warned under her breath.

"But-"

Liz glared at him until he could no longer meet her eyes and looked down. Peter resigned himself to getting the Chitauri core after the match had ended. He focused on the official explaining the rules at the podium and tried to take his mind off of the bomb that might explode. The only positive thing was that his Spider-Sense wasn't going off. He hoped that that meant they were in the clear.

The tournament went by in a flash. Peter didn't answer that many questions, he was too focused on the Chitauri stone. They still managed to win the championship with Michelle answering the last question in the sudden death round.

As the rest of their team was celebrating, Peter grabbed Ned and pulled him backstage. "Where's the stone?"

"The stone? It's right here," Ned patted down his pockets before looking around confusedly. He spotted his backpack leaning on the floor and grabbed it. He looked quickly rifled through the pockets before a panicked expression took over his face. He started to hyperventilate. "It was here, I swear."

Peter grabbed Ned by the shoulders, trying to calm him down. "Are you sure? Ned, I need you to think."

Ned took a deep breath and closed his eyes. After a moment he opened them again and said uncertainly, "I may have left it in the room."

Peter let out a small sigh of relief. At least it was away from the large crowd of people. "Okay, while you guys go to Washington Monument I'll head back to the hotel and track it down."

"Did you figure out what it is?"

"Yeah, and that's why I need to get it back," Peter told him, unintentionally vague. Ned just gave him an expectant look. Peter stared back at him, not understanding why his friend was staring at him."

Ned sighed exasperatedly and clarified, "What is it?"

"Oh, it's a bomb."

"It's a what?!"

***

After calming Ned down, Peter quietly snuck off and made his way back to the hotel. He ran up to the hotel room and started looking around the room. He checked under the beds, in between the sheets, and even in the bathroom but he could not find the Chitauri core. He was about ten seconds away from panicking when his phone beeped and distracted him. It was a text from Thalia reading, "CHcK TRH NEWS!!"

A moment later another text came in. "SOMETHING IS HAPPENING AT WASHINGTON MONUMENT."

And then another. "YOU IDIOT! WHAT DID YOU DO??"

Peter didn't even bother to check the news. He stripped down and put his suit on. He sent Thalia a text saying that he was on his way then ran out of the hotel as quickly as possible. He could see the Washington Monument from the parking lot and mentally thanked Mr. Harrington for choosing a hotel only two or three miles away.

Swinging across D.C, it seemed to take forever for him to finally arrive outside the monument. He somehow ended up standing next to Michelle. She was staring up at the tower, an uncharacteristic show of emotions easily displaying the worry that she must have been feeling. He didn't stop to chat for long. He could hear the incessant ring of his Spider-Sense as well as Karen's voice in his ear, informing him of the situation. The noise from the nearby tourists was only drowned out by the blood roaring in his ears and he could feel a sensory overload starting to overtake him.

Peter shook his head and pushed the feelings down. He wasn't important right now. What was important was his friends who were trapped at the top of the tower. He ran towards the side of the massive obelisk and started scaling it.

"Estimating ten minutes before catastrophic failure. All safety systems are failing," Karen told him as he scurried up the side of the monument. "Unexpected movement has accelerated the deterioration in the elevator. You now have one hundred and twenty-five seconds until failure."

"How do I get inside?" Peter yelled frantically.

"Activating reconnaissance drone. Proceed to the southwest window."

Peter followed the small drone around the side of the monument. He could hear the shouts of the tourists' below increase in volume as he moved. He stopped for a moment after he reached the top of the obelisk. He risked a glance down. The sight made him dizzy and caused the blood to rush to his head. He suddenly understood his cousin's fear of heights, especially because he no longer had his parachute to save him if he fell. He scooted over to the window and started kicking it with his foot. His hands were still firmly attached to the concrete like it was a lifeline.

"Why is it not breaking?"

"It's four-inch ballistic glass. You'll need more momentum," Karen said.

Peter let out a curse. They were over five hundred feet in the air. Why would they need ballistic glass? Nevertheless, he shot a web a few feet above his head and let it support him as he started jumping the pane of glass. He could feel the impact of each hit increase until he finally cracked the glass. His victory was short lived as he heard the blades of a helicopter behind him. He glanced back and found military agents pointing a gun at him.

Knowing it was pointless to reason with them, Peter kept his mouth shut as he scrambled to the tip of the monument. He had a plan that would probably work. Maybe. It was more like twelve percent of a plan but it was better than nothing. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and there was a faint ringing in his head right before he backflipped off of the monument and over the helicopter.

He opened the wings on the suit and then shot a web at the feet of the helicopter. He crashed into the glass and slid into the room. The elevator doors were open and he shot a web at the ceiling of the elevator as it fell. It held for two seconds before the ringing in his skull increased and his legs gave way as the door broke. He fell down the elevator shaft and landed hard on the floor.

He quickly got up and shot a web at the ceiling of the elevator shaft and used what remained of the elevator to brace himself. Somewhere in his subconscious, he registered the pain that the fall had caused. He would definitely be in agony later, but for the moment the adrenaline was helping to numb it.

The muscles in his arm protested as he slowly used the web to pull the elevator up to the first floor he could find. He could feel the metal starting to warp underneath his feet as his teacher and Ned were pulled out of the elevator. The ringing in his head increased until it was the only thing he could hear. He didn't even register the metal falling from beneath his feet. He instinctively shot a web that connected with Liz's wrist and saved her. He pulled her up until she was safely perched on the ledge.

"Thank you," Liz breathed out. "You saved my- our lives."

A wry grin stretched over his face. He pitched his voice lower when he answered, "Yeah, well I've never been a fan of the whole 'Elevator of Death' thing." He knew that she didn't understand from the cock of her head and the way her eyebrow rose. He was glad for the mask all of a sudden. It meant that she didn't see the dark look in his eye. He wasn't the biggest fan of gallows' humor, but you would think otherwise from how much he used it.

He's saved from answering her unspoken question when the web supporting him snapped and he let himself fall. About halfway down he jumped on the side of the shaft and crawled out. He snuck out of the museum where he made his way back to the hotel where Peter Parker was supposed to be so he could wait for his team to get back.

Wow, this chapter took forever to finish. I would write a few paragraphs and then I would lose my motivation. It's done though and I'm hoping to pre-write another couple of chapters this weekend. Let me know what you think.

<3 S