Since I'm a bit under the weather, I make Anthony do the running around. He goes back to the parking lot, and it turns out Ned is gone, and so is Spider-man. Anthony, on the phone with me, narrates going to the school dance. Flash is talking about how Spider-man stole his car.

Holy fuck, Peter cannot drive, as far as I know.

I tell Anthony that Ned is the man in the chair. If Flash didn't see Ned, he's going to be in the computer lab. Ned also has a key. Anthony muscles his way in. At that point, I am mostly recovered and I make my way to the coat room. I feign exhaustion once I'm there, pretending I ran to tell Mr. Cobbwell that there's been an accident in the parking lot and I think someone is hurt. He asks me to watch the coats.

While he's gone, I flip through them. There aren't many, but it is a colder night in September so there are a dozen or so people who brought coats. I only need one person dumb enough to leave their car keys in the pocket. No one did. Mr. Cobbwell's blazer is in here though.

Bingo.

Anthony calls me back with an update on where Peter is headed. He says he's going to call a cab. I don't have time. Thankfully, teachers park in a different lot than students. I find Mr. Cobbwell's beater and he has a GPS. It takes seconds to plug in the address. It is still in Queen's, thankfully. I'm so happy Ximena let me practice driving illegally while in upstate New York.

Mr. Cobbwell is going to kill me.

So, I call Dantae.

"Hey," he says through the line.

"There is no time to explain, but I need you to get to Midtown," I tell him. "I'll pay you back for a taxi. You need to find a way to get Mr. Cobbwell as calm as possible."

"Who?" he says.

"You're clever!" I insist. "Distract him! Something. I've stolen his car, and I don't think they'll let me on probation for this one."

"Darcy!"

"I'll explain later, just go!"

I'm not driving as quickly as I would like. After all, I'm in a stolen vehicle, I don't have a licence, and the idea of tampering with a cop's brain, while tempting, will make me pass out and then I'm no good to Peter at all.

No cops stop me. I pull up to the warehouse. There isn't much else around. Something is crashing inside. Flash's car is in the lot, but there is no sign of Peter.

Then, something smashes. I cannot see it from this angle, but it sounds like part of the building is caving in. I'm sure the sound will be heard for miles. The ground even rumbles.

"Holy fuck," is all I manage to say, bracing my weight against Mr. Cobbwell's car. A cloud of dust shoots out form it, but it isn't thick enough to blind me. All I can do is stare.

Then, some man with gigantic metal wings comes flying out from the other side of the building. My heart is racing. The adrenaline is pumping again. It clears my head and narrows my focus.

"Shit," I say. It's not the situation that is awful, but what I'm about to do.

I sprint into the building. I can feel my heart racing. Peter's in here, and the guy who I'm assuming is the vulture is gone. It's me now, and him. It's easy to navigate the building, because I can still hear something smashing every few seconds. I follow the sound, carrying my heels in my hands. The ground is hard on my bare feet. I wish I had worn those black boots that he got me in initially.

There is rubble. Part of this section of the building has caved in. I can't climb it bare foot, and I certainly can't climb it in heels. Parts of the rubble are on fire.

"Peter!" I call out. My heart is racing. There is no reply. "Peter!"

A pipe explodes, drowning out my voice. He's got to be in here. He can't be dead.

I lean against part of the rubble. It tears into my shoulder. My dress is caught on it. Surely, it will rip, but I don't care. I need something stable to hold me up while I try to do this.

I listen for thoughts. I extend them. It's quiet. It's so very quiet, and I have trouble reading minds when I can't see someone's face, let alone when I don't even know where they are. My heart is pounding louder than any other sound. I listen so hard, I can hear my own thoughts. They are panicked, racing, not any one idea. My body begins to tip into the rubble. It's supporting me instead of my own bare feet. He's in there though. He has to be. He can't be dead.

He's panicked too, and he's in the middle of it.

Against my better judgement, I snap the heels off the shoes. Then, I bend them until they crack in the middle, forcing them on my feet. I struggle my way across the rubble. Now, I can hear his panicked breath.

"Peter," I can't both move to him and call out to him. It's dark in here, and the darkness comes both from the building and the blackness around the edges of my vision. If I weren't panicked, I'd surely slip unconscious now. I fall, scraping my hands open.

"I'm here," I call out to him, forcing myself to make noise. "It's Darcy. I'm here."

"I'm stuck!" his voice is raw, and I can feel his nerves, and I wish Dantae were here instead of dealing with Mr. Cobbwell back at Midtown. "I'm stuck, Darcy. Darcy please. I can't... I can't move! Help!"

"Push," I tell him, feeling my heart ache. "You've... you've got to push Peter."

It would be for his benefit if I could hear his thoughts. I could tell him what to think. I can hear water dripping. Some other pipe is leaking. It reeks. It's not water. It's gas. There is fire. My head hurts too much to shout.

So, I try my best to push a thought into his head. To let him know what I'm thinking. There is a gas leak, and there is open fire. We've got to go. It's being shoved in. My vision is entirely black. I can't keep my eyes open.

I can't keep myself awake.

Every sound is like an echo around me. I try to force my eyes open. I can see Peter. He's looking up. I cannot make anything else out.

He's running. I can feel my body jostling.

"You got out," I tell him.

He's panting so hard. There's no mask on him and his face is bleeding. I cannot force myself into his head. Then, I look up. I can see the night sky.

Something explodes behind us. I hear the boom. Peter is still moving. Then, he puts me down. My head kills. I don't bother to look at what I'm on.

"You did it," I say.

He pants, looking down at me, "I don't think I like when you play hero. You... that was scary."

"We're out though," I say.

He leans down and kisses me. I can feel my heart flutter. Even if I'm tired, and I can taste his blood, I push through the pain.

"I've got to stop Vulture, but I'll find you later," he insists. "Do not drive home."

"Go," I tell him.

He does go.

While he told me not to leave, I don't have much other choice. Emergency services are going to be here soon. I left the keys in Mr. Cobbwell's car. I roll onto my front. I'm on top of it. I'm not strong enough to get inside though.

"Darcy!" I hear someone calling my name.

I grunt, "here!"

Then, someone runs over. It's Sergio.

"What the fuck is going on?" he says.

"Put me inside," I tell him. There's no use asking why he's here. My brother must have talked to Anthony and sent Sergio after me, or something like that. It hurts to even think about. "We need to drive back to Midtown."

"Yeah," he shakes his head.

Then, he helps me off. He isn't as strong as Peter. Well, I shouldn't be surprised. Peter has superpowers. He manages to shove me in the passenger seat and do up my seatbelt. All he can do is shake his head.

"Next time you steal a car, ask me for help. I know how to hotwire them," he gets in and drives away.

~~~~~

There should only be one chapter left!