Chapter Sixteen

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By the time we reach the monument, I am out of breath. I stare up at the top, remembering the time my dad brought me here for the first time when I was little.

"We made it," I say breathlessly.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. Karen, what's going on up there?"

"The Chitauri core has detonated and caused severe structural damage to the elevator."

"Oh, no."

"My friends are up there!" MJ says to us.

I immediately get scared that my spell didn't work and hope that she doesn't recognize me. I try to keep my expression neutral so she doesn't know that I'm freaking out internally.

"What? Uh... Don't worry, ma'am. Everything's gonna be okay," Peter says.

"We'll save them," I reassure her.

Recognition doesn't come across her face, and I sigh in relief.

Thank God.

"Excuse me," Peter and I yell as we run through the crowd.

"Oh, my God, that's tall," Peter looks up when we reach the base of the monument.

"Okay, you climb, I'll fly."

"Got it. Let's go, we have to hurry."

Peter jumps and begins climbing, while I lift into the air, dark energy surrounding my hands and pushing me further into the sky. We maintain the same pace, going as fast as we can.

"Estimating 10 minutes before catastrophic failure," F.R.I.D.A.Y informs us.

"Their safety systems are completely failing," says Karen. "The occupants are imminent mortal danger."

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Peter yells.

He starts using his webs to pull himself up faster. The higher we go, the harder it gets to use my powers. They flicker in and out every now and then, but I continue going up, trying my best not to look down.

"You now have 125 seconds until catastrophic failure," says F.R.I.D.A.Y.

"What?" asks Peter.

"Why?" I ask.

"Unexpected motion has caused the deterioration to escalate," Karen answers.

"How do I get in there?" Peter asks.

"Activating reconnaissance drone." The emblem on Peter's suit detaches, and the spider-shaped robot flies up, over the monument.

"Woah, has that been there the whole time?" Peter asks. "That's awesome."

"Locating optimal entry point. Proceed to southwest window."

"Karen, I'm on my way."

He moves around the monument, and continues climbing. I pause, looking around for where I should go next. I decide to go towards the window, and I reach it before Peter does. I drop myself onto the ledge by the widow, clinging to the stone, while facing the wall. Peter reaches the window shortly after, and does the same as me. We both take a deep breath and then turn around, facing the open sky.

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