Thea panted as she flew down the suburban streets. Her eyes scanned her surroundings as she looked for Peter. Thea's eyes were squinted in the dim light of the street lights. The small glow from the moon and stars helped her glide over the streets without ever hitting something. The streets below were empty, only a few stray people walked along with them. In the backyards of some houses were parties. Thea breathed in deep and smelled the scent of food grilling. Giggles of children made Thea smile softly. But soon, the sound of laughter turned into screams of terror.

Thea immediately turned her head to the sound of the shrieks, only to catch the tail end of a person, clad in a red suit shooting off after a smoking van. She stopped short and watched as Peter chased the van. The van was smoking with the back doors hanging on by a thread. Thea watched as Peter jumped after the van from above. He barely missed the van and landed with a thud on the ground.

"Almost got you," Peter panted out at the van.

Thea took a breath and shot off after Peter. Peter knocked over some trash cans as he tried to climb up onto a roof of a nearby house to reach the van quicker. Thea was trailing behind Peter as he ran across the roofs of the homes in the neighborhood.

"Pet-" Thea stopped her shout. Not wanting to give away his identity for any ear that was listening in. "Spider-Man!"

Peter didn't turn around at Thea. His feet were tripping on the loose slates on the roof. The sound of knocking over and falling on the ground overpowered Thea's voice. Thea groaned as Peter kept chasing after the van.

Thea could overhear Peter panting out to himself, "Thought you got away from me, didn't you? I got you right where I want you." Peter came closer to the van, his body only a few feet away from it.

A small sound alerted Thea from above. The sound of mechanics grinding was coming from the sky. Thea looked up while still flying toward Peter and gasped. Above her was a giant winged man flying after Peter who was oblivious.

Taking no time to think, Thea shot her hands out toward Peter. Her purple mist quickly shot through the air after Peter's body. However, Peter's was gone from her sight when Peter shouted out, "Surprise!" and leaped from the roof to the van below.

Thea gasped out as the man with the metal wings swooped down to Peter and snatched him from behind. Her hand dropped dead as her powers disappeared. Thea stopped short as Peter screamed while the winged man took him high in the sky. With a quick movement, Thea forced her hands downward. Her powers flowed out of her hands as she flew up.

The winged man flew higher with Peter, who was struggling in his grasp. "What the hell!?" Peter shouted.

Thea flew faster, trying to reach Peter's dangling body. His eyes were staring down at the ground far below him. Thea reached an arm out and forced out more power to Peter. Peter struggled in the winged man's grasp, trying to free his foot. Thea failed to notice where the villain had taken them. The pair were flying over a large lake.

The purple mist shot through the air, leaving trails of glowing purple behind as it connected to Peter's wrist. Peter stopped his struggle as he noticed the familiar power wrapped around his wrist. Thea narrowed her eyes as she flew closer to the pair in the sky. Flying underneath them, Thea pulled her hands back, forcing Peter to be pulled forward. But the captor kept his strong grip on Peter's foot. When the captor noticed the new force on Peter, he looked down with a glaring look, the eyes glowing menacingly.

Thea then froze as the eyes landed on her. Her breath halted as her eyes widened in fear. She began to sweat and shake as her mind shut down. Thea failed to notice Peter's struggle continue and his suit begin to blink and beep with a parachute unfolding out. The air resistance ripped Peter from the villain's grasp and caused him to fall straight down.

Thea was set in her place, her powers keeping her afloat in the empty air, but her grasp on Peter's wrist was gone. Her eyes went wide as they glowed neon purple. The last thing Thea remember before she froze was the menacing eyes glaring at her. In Thea's mind, she fell deep into a nightmare.

The glowing eyes grew bigger as they came closer to Thea. She shook in terror as screams erupted from every side. Thea closed her eyes tight, waiting for the glowing eyes of evil to overpower her. The screams never stopped as she felt a cold chill fall over her. Right as the eyes surrounded her, she felt a sudden force fall into her. Thea gasped as the weight of a body fell onto her. She kept her eyes closed tight as her breath left her. The wind blew around her as it felt as if she was falling. A sudden chill of cold surrounded Thea as she struggled to breathe.

"Thea!" a familiar voice shouted at her. The voice sounded muffled, almost as if it was underwater.

Thea gasped out in real life, taking in a gulp of water into her lungs. She choked on the water as her eyes widened to see Peter struggling in his own parachute. She looked to see her own body was tangled in the parachute, keeping her underwater. Thea's eyes rolled into the back of her head as her lungs took in more water. She felt a sudden hit to her chest as Peter struggled underwater, accidentally hitting Thea with his foot. Her mind went black multiple times as she struggled to keep her body and mind awake. Finally giving in, Thea's mind went black.

The surface of the water was calm, not showing any sign of struggle underneath. A figure dived into the water at lightning speed. Iron Man emerged from the water, carrying the tangled mess of Peter and Thea.

"Huh? Oh, hey," Peter coughed out.

Thea stayed silent and still in Iron Man's grasp. Peter turned to look at her, clad in her uniform. His eyes widened as soon as he saw her still body.

"Thea?"

Thea's eyes stayed closed as Tony dropped the pair on the ground of a playground gently. Peter quickly untangled his body from the parachute and took off his mask and flung it on the floor. Thea laid on the ground still, her body still tangled. Peter untangled her quickly and calmly. Peter placed his head along her chest as he listened carefully.

"Hey, just what do you think you're doing Spider-Boy?" Tony shouted out. He walked forward to Peter and Thea on the ground.

Peter quickly turned around, his eyes wide with fear as he shouted out, "She's not breathing!"

Tony walked forward to Thea and knelt on the ground next to her and Peter.

"Friday, check vital signs," Tony spoke out quickly. He gripped a metal cover hand with her cold one.

"Her heart is still beating, but very slowly. Her breathing has stopped due to water in her lungs. Immediate CPR is required," Friday's monotone voice spoke in the suit.

"Shit," Tony spoke out.

He quickly turned to Peter and spoke out rapidly, "No time to explain why, but you need to do the CPR right now."

"But-"

"Just do it!" Tony shouted. He stood up and took a step back, letting Peter lean in closer.

Peter took a soaking hand and pulled down her mask that was covering a part of her mouth. Her skin was pale and almost blue in color. Her eyes were relaxed but closed. Peter looked at her dead looking face for a second before he placed his hand on her jaw, forcing her mouth open slightly. Taking a deep breath, Peter leaned down to Thea's mouth and placed his mouth on hers. He breathed out, into her mouth and then immediately took it off and began chest compressions.

This cycle of CPR continued on for a few more seconds when suddenly, right when Peter breathed into her mouth, Thea coughed out. Her lungs emptied themselves of water as she coughed out. She quickly sat up and turned away from Peter who was next to her, his body almost laying on top of her. The water fell to the ground beside her in a puddle as she breathed in a deep breath. Her eyes were closed tight as she turned back over, sitting up straight on the ground. A sudden feeling of warmth fell over her cold and wet lips. Thea opened her eyes to see Peter with his eyes closed tight, leaning over Thea and connecting his lips to hers roughly.

"Okay, now Parker that's way too much now. No more CPR, she's alive," Tony said to Peter. Tony gripped Peter by the back of his suit and pulled him away from Thea on the ground.

What was that about? Tony wondered.

Thea looked at Tony and Peter in terror. Her hands immediately rose into a defensive stance in clenched fists. Her powers glowed on her hands as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Woah, woah, Thea. It's just me," Tony said while walking toward her slowly. He calmly knelt down to her level and raised a hand gently.

Thea shook her head slightly and slowly put down her hands. "Dad?" She quickly pushed herself up and ran to Tony and threw her arms around him. Tony closed his arms around her body, watching as Thea closed her eyes tight as rested her head against his chest. Peter watched from the sidelines as Thea pulled away from Tony hesitantly.

"Come on, let's warm you guys up," Tony spoke out to Thea and Peter. He helped Thea up and the trio walked over to the nearby jungle gym. On the way over, Peter picked up his mask he dropped on the floor and climbed on top of the jungle gym.

Wringing out his wet mask, Peter explained what happened to both Thea and Tony. Tony was now hovering over the jungle gym that held Peter and Thea.

"And then he just, he just, like, swooped down like a monster and he picked me up and, uh, he took me up, like, a thousand feet and just dropped me and I fell into Thea. How'd you find me? Did you put a tracker in my suit or something?" Peter asked while hunched over and shivering from the cold.

"I put everything in your suit," Tony paused and then pointed at Thea and Peter, "including this heater."

Thea felt a sudden rush of warm airflow through her suit as she warmed up. A large billow of steam rose from both Peter's and Thea's suit as they both shivered. Thea gasped out and Peter exclaimed, "Whew, that's better. Thanks."

Peter's teeth chattered as he rubbed his hands together on his newly dried suit.

"What were you thinking?"

Peter scoffed out as Thea narrowed her eyes at him. Peter lifted a hand to the air and exclaimed, "The guy with the wings is obviously the source of the weapons. I gotta take him down."

"Take him down now, huh? Steady, Crockett, there are people who handle this sort of thing," Tony explained.

Thea watched silently as Peter asked, "The Avengers?"

Thea rolled her eyes and placed one arm over the other.

Tony raised an arm and shook it violently. "No, no, no. This is a little below their pay grade."

"Anyway, Mr. Stark, you didn't need to come all the way out here. I had that. I was fine," Peter reassured him.

Thea turned to Peter in shock and scoffed at him. Her arms uncrossed as she forced her body to face Peter completely.

"You most definitely did not have that," Thea said. She flicked away a stray wet piece of hair that had fallen over her eye. She paused for a moment, her eyes trailing downward. "I didn't even have that."

Peter looked at her with sorrow in his eyes and parted his lips to say something. Tony cleared his throat, causing the two teenagers to look up at him. "Well, Mr. Parker, I'm not actually here."

Thea watched in disbelief as Tony's mask lifted up to reveal a black spot where his face should have been. Thea quickly jumped off the jungle gym and leaned against it, her arms crossed in annoyance.

"Thank god this place has wifi or you both would be toast right now. Thank Ganesh while you're at it." A soft, "cheers" spoke through the mask. "Look, forget the flying vulture guy, please," Tony pleaded.

"Why?" Peter exclaimed.

Thea sighed out at Peter and closed her eyes.

"Why? Because I said so!" Tony shouted. His voice softened as spoke to someone else. "Sorry, I'm talking to a teenager," Tony paused and focused his attention back on Peter, "Stay close to the ground. Build up your game helping the little people, like that lady who bought you a churro."

Thea opened her eyes at this and focused them on Peter who sighed out and looked down at his feet.

"Can't you just be a friendly... neighborhood Spider-Man?" Tony continued.

"But I'm ready for more than that now!" Peter tried to convince Tony.

"No, you're not," Tony replied and closed the mask of his helmet shut. Thea flinched slightly at the harsh sound.

"That is not what you thought when I took on Captain America," Peter uttered. His arm rose to point at nothing.

Thea sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that night and spoke harshly to Peter. "Pete," Thea paused, looking up at Peter's broken expression, "Captain would have taken you out if he had that chance. You're... you're just not ready... and neither am I." Thea closed her eyes, sparing herself from watching Peter's expression change from broken to despair.

"Listen to Thea," Tony said, his arm reaching out to gesture to her, "If Cap wanted to lay you out, he would've."

Peter's gaze stopped on Thea's still body that was leaning against the jungle gym before they reached Tony's.

"Listen to me. If you two come across these weapons again, call Happy."

A sound of an engine revving came faintly through the speaker on the helmet. Thea rolled her eyes and stood up straight, her body no longer relying on the jungle gym.

"Are you driving?" Peter questioned.

"Thea," Tony's voice spoke. Thea looked up in confusion at the suit. "I need you to start being more careful," Thea glanced away from the suit, not responding. "And Peter. You know, it's never too early to start thinking about college. I got some pull at MIT. End call," Tony finished.

"No, I don't need to go to coll-" Peter stuttered out, his arm outreached at the empty suit.

"Mr. Stark is no longer connected," Friday's voice cut off Peter's. Thea watched with hollow eyes as the empty suit flew off without another word.

"That's awesome," Peter grumbled out. He began to climb down the jungle gym, his eyes avoiding the glaring ones of Thea at the bottom. With a jump, Peter landed on the ground next to Thea, his gaze looking down.

Thea's hand twitched slightly as she tried to raise it to Peter. Slowly, her gloved hand rose near Peter's face, a few inches from him. Thea watched as Peter flinched and clenched, waiting for her to hit him. Peter's eyes were closed tight, waiting. Thea sighed out and instead, gently placed the raised hand along his cheek. Peter winced at the sudden contact but then relaxed when he didn't feel pain from it. He looked up slowly, his eyes staring at Thea's narrowed ones.

"You're an idiot... you know that right?" Thea's cold hand on his cheek felt warm to Peter. Like a flickering fire to curl up next to on a cold winter day. A friendly and cozy feeling. Peter leaned into her hand slightly, his head tilting.

"Yeah... I know."

Thea cleared her throat and removed her hand from his cheek. Peter stared at her in confusion and then quickly realized what had just happened. His cheeks flushing lightly. He moved back quickly and gripped his now dry mask tightly. Peter slipped the mask on his face but miscalculated and the eyes on it ended up miscued on him.

Thea stifled a smile and reached up around her face. Her fingers grasping her mask and then pulled it back up around her mouth. The mixture of cloth and metal covering her mouth felt both warm and cold. Thea watched Peter in confusion as he struggled to guide his mask to the correct position. She sighed out and smiled softly at Peter's struggle. She reached up, her gloved hands gripping the mask and tugging it slightly.

Peter yelped in surprise at the new pressure on his head but relaxed when it noticed it was Thea. He waited patiently as Thea pulled Peter's mask over his face correctly, placing the eyes over his own. With a final tug to secure it tightly, Peter winced and swatted her hands away from his head.

"You pulled my hair," Peter winced as he rubbed his sore scalp.

"Well it's not my fault you have hair and you couldn't put your mask on correctly," Thea retorted while crossing her arms over her chest.

~~~~

Thea and Peter continued on their way back to the party that they came from. Thea tried to get Peter to let her carry him with her powers while she flew. But he insisted that he was fine walking. Thea knew deep down that Peter really meant that he didn't want Thea to get another episode from her powers.

Peter muttered to himself on the way back, Thea barely able to listen in. The pair entered an empty yard with long grass growing. A faint glow shone in front of the pair on the ground. Peter stopped his stride and crouched down to it.

Thea waved her hands and spoke to Peter cautiously, "Hey, hey, Peter."

This didn't stop Peter from picking up the glowing weapon and turning it over in his hands.

"Whoa," Peter spoke as he scanned the item, his eyes landing on the glowing core.

Thea was about to reach down with her power to take the weapon from Peter's hands when a ringtone called out. Peter quickly answered the call from Ned, putting it on speaker for Thea to hear.

"Hey man, what's up? I'm on my way back with Thea."

Ned cleared his throat and spoke softly, "Actually, I was calling to say maybe you shouldn't come. Listen to this."

Thea and Peter waited as Ned lifted the phone from his ear and held it up to the air. Thea winced as she heard, over the phone, the sound of Flash shouting out on his DJ set up.

"When I say "penis," you say "Parker." Penis!"

"Parker!" the crowd screamed.

"Penis!"

"Parker!"

Ned sighed out, "Sorry man, I guess we're still losers. I'll see you tomorrow."

Thea could still hear over the phone the chanting of Flash to the crowd.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school," Peter sighed. He hung up and carefully lifted the weapon. Thea watched Peter as an expression of determination grew clear on his mask.

~A/N~

Here's another chapter of Beating Pulses!!!! 

I've already planned out Thea's future in the movies that came out. And I'm really liking how it's coming together, so hopefully, I can write it out well too.