CALM BEFORE THE STORM | PERCY JACKSON

Chapter Seven

Sophomore Year: Summer Break

Peter moved through the streets of New York with ease. The sky was starting to go down on the horizon and he was hypersensitive of the wind whistling across his skin, keeping him grounded. He was only half paying attention to his surroundings, more focused on the thoughts swirling around his head.

Things had changed between him and Tony after Hestia had talked to him. The man had actually apologized for taking his suit. When Peter found out that his mentor hadn't known he was hurt in the first place, it was like a punch to the gut. He had thought that Tony didn't care. It was a stupid thought because all the man did was care. He cared about Pepper and Rhodey and Happy. He even cared about Captain America, Steve, whatever. But the man had hugged him. He cared about Peter enough to admit that he had been wrong.

Peter was ripped from his thoughts as his web missed the building and he unexpectedly plummeted towards the street. He quickly fired another web onto the nearest building and rolled onto the roof. The gravel bit into his suit as he laid there, breathing heavily as he tried to get over the shock. Once he stood up, the hairs on the back of his neck rose and he looked around warily. He couldn't see anything and the ringing in his ears was faint enough that he didn't think it was too much of a problem. He would just have to keep his guard up. There was a flash of black from the corner of his eye and whipped around but there was nothing there. He sighed and launched off the building.

He continued to move through the buildings, this time completely aware of everything around him due to his paranoia. There was a blur of black on his left and he stopped abruptly, clinging onto the side of a brownstone. There wasn't anyone there and he blushed as he spotted the black umbrella on the roof across from him.

He had only made it two blocks before he caught movement out of the corner of his eye again. He whipped his head around to look at it long enough for him to crash onto the roof of the building he was supposed to run over. He tucked in his legs and tried to roll into the fall in order to minimize any damage. He sat up and ran a hand down his face. He wanted to take off his mask but he was surrounded by taller buildings that made it possible for anyone to see who he was.

Peter pressed the palms of his hands into his head, trying to alleviate the pressure that was building there. "Get it together!" He kept having sporadic visions during the day but he couldn't figure out the source. He knew that he probably should have gone to Hestia months ago when it started but he was content to ignore it when it seemed like a one-off occurrence. The number of visions was starting to rack up and he probably needed to tell someone about it. He sighed, not looking forward to the conversation he was going to have when he got home.

"Peter, your heart rate is elevated. Would you like me to contact Mr. Stark?" Karen's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"No, it's fine Karen. I just thought I saw something. I'm probably just sleep-deprived," he reassured her.

"I'm not detecting any signs of high blood pressure which would indicate a lack of sleep. Are you sure you don't want me to alert Mr. Stark?" Karen asked again.

"No, Karen-"

A sharp ringing in his ears interrupted him and he whipped his head up as he heard gunshots. Running to the edge of the building he couldn't see anything suspicious but there was a bank across the street. Jumping on the roof of the bank, he closed his eyes and focused on his hearing. He could faintly make out the sound of yelling from inside as well as the even fainter sirens in the distance. It was most likely a hostage situation but based on the time, only the staff would have been inside. That made his job slightly easier with fewer civilians to get out.