I Am Karen - Spider-Man / Peter Parker [1]

Chapter Twenty-Two - The Vulture

He was doing the right thing. Fighting for the right cause and Maria was proud of that but also terrified. Peter was alone. He didn't even have her suit which had the capabilities of contacting people for help. He was all alone out there and that thought just echoed around her head constantly, tormenting her. She couldn't do it; she just couldn't leave Peter to face the Vulture on his own.

Swearing, Maria made a run for it. She bolted out of the entrance of the hall and ran passed an array of students who were only just arriving to the school. With a few clicks of her watch, Maria called one of her father's many auto-piloted cars to her location. She would have called on of his suits but she was well aware he had changed all the codes so that she couldn't get access them and she didn't really have the time to hack into the suits. As she waited a small beep sounded beside her along with the sound of tiny rotators. Looking to the left she spotted the drone watching her quizzically. She smiled as she patted her shoulder and the little robot landed upon her. She had wondered where the little fella had got to. Seconds later, Maria found herself staring at a familiar car. Quickly, she ran around the sleek blsck model and slid into the driver's seat.

She had KAREN bring up the Vulture's suspected warehouse location on the car's navigation system - Maria had finally been able to pinpoint the area from where the Vulture always flew from and with the scans of the city reading the wingsuit's energy readings, pinpoint the exact warehouse where the wingsuit's readings always started and disappeared at. Luckily, Happy had been teaching Maria how to drive since just before she turned sixteen and she was pretty good at it. She was yet to take her test though so she was going to have to be extra careful in the traffic - she really didn't need her father bailing her out of jail.

Smoothly, Maria was able to pull away from the school and enter the busy traffic of New York. Following her Sat Nav closely, she carefully began weaving between cars and using back alleys to close the distance between herself and the Vulture faster. Maria was pretty certain in her haste she had made driving mistakes here and there but she was desperately pushing those thoughts out of her mind, if she dwelled on them, she would start messing up even more than usual.

Eventually, Maria was heading into the quiet area of the city, away from the houses and stores but towards the warehouses. By the end, the Stark girl found herself pulling up beside an old industrial park in Brooklyn. Knowing that parking beside the building would be highly suspicious, Maria moved the car slightly beyond the building before she parked up. Knocking the car off, Maria sat for a moment staring at the old, dark building. If the Vulture was inside she had to be more than careful. She had promised her dad to not get involved anymore but she couldn't let the criminal get away. But could she really disappoint her father again?! She felt like she was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Are you alright, ma'am?" KAREN suddenly asked in her ear. The AI had clearly picked up on Maria's distress.

"I just don't know what to do. My father would be furious if I walked into that building but ... if I do nothing then he'll get away or someone will get hurt. I can't get the police; the FBI went up against him last time and spectacularly lost" Maria admitted as she rested her elbow on the door and leant her head against her hand. For a moment the AI was silent, Maria could practically hear the code thinking.

"You would do no better than the FBI" KAREN bluntly answered. Maria was annoyed by the answer but she also knew that that was true.

"I know that, but I know more than the police know, I'm more here to help Spider-Man if he needs it but I don't know if I should inform my father" Maria explained.

"You should tell your father" KAREN answered immediately. It seemed Maria had programmed the AI to know her father well, including his reactions. Maria was dreading this conversation. She was going to be lectured again.