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chapter twenty-three

     The assassins were here.

     In the building.

     Asking for him.

     People all around him immediately knew something was wrong and started shouting and screaming and—it was too much. Peter covered his hands over his ears, each scream echoing like an explosion.
     "Come with me," came the bodyguard's gravelly voice.
     Peter nodded, still wincing at the noise level. Ned and MJ followed in suit, ignoring Peter's orders for them to stay in the cafeteria.

     The four of them stopped in the hallway, and waited for the man to say something.
     "Leave," he commanded, staring at Ned and MJ. "I'm not responsible for you."
     "He's right, you guys should go," Peter added seriously. "I don't want you to get hurt."
     They simply shook their heads, making Peter frown.
     "Fine, but we need backup. I'm gonna text Mr. St—"

     Before Peter could finish, the office door loudly flung open, and out stepped Agents Four, Five, and Eight.
     "Hiya Peter!" Five waved, smiling.
     "You wanted me?" He asked coldly, gritting his teeth.
     "Who's your friend?" She asked, staring at MJ. Though, Peter knew by the look in her eyes that she already knew.
     "What do you want?" He balled his hands into fists, fingers curling around his phone, preparing for a fight.
     "What do you think?" She laughed. "Haven't we been through this?"
     "This doesn't have to end in a fight," the bodyguard said.
     Peter loosened his phone in his hands, trying to be discreet in turning it over. He looked back up to the agents, to make sure they weren't watching, but Four was looking him dead in the eye. He swallowed hard, daring to start texting. He typed 'SOS' as fast as he could, smashing the button to send it to Tony. Hopefully he took it seriously and didn't assume it was just Peter being bored in class.

     Five rolled her eyes, having just watched Peter's stunt, if you can even call it that.
     She stepped close to Peter, placing her hand on his shoulder.
     "We—"
     "Don't touch him!" MJ snapped, immediately punching Five.
     "That's my girlfriend!" Four snarled, unsheathing two knives and sprinting forward.
     Peter jumped at her just in time, gripping her wrists and twisting them to a sickening angle. She yelled in agony, and Peter took the opportunity to kick her in the gut, as hard as he could. Ned frantically ran into a classroom, and Peter couldn't blame him.
     The bodyguard, having been standing there, joined the fight.

     It became quite clear in his next moves why he'd decided to join so late.
     The man wrapped his arms around Peter's neck, putting him into a chokehold. Peter gasped for air, reaching behind him and clawing him in a panic to get him off. The bodyguard was holding him up, so he couldn't squat down and maneuver his way out.
     Thankfully, Ned came to his rescue and hit the man over the head with a chair. The man crumpled to the floor and Peter was released. He bent over, recovering with his hands on his knees to catch his breath.
     "Thanks," he rasped, putting a hand on his throat.
     "Are you alright?" Ned asked, eyes wide. Peter promptly nodded, and Ned left him to join MJ, who was struggling with Eight. Out of the corner of his eye, Peter could see that Five was making sure Four was okay, but they soon joined the fight.

His friends fought rigorously, and it was clearly tiring them out. Peter was still fighting, as he had much more stamina than his friends, but he was incredibly worried for them. The assassins began to overtake them, and panic coursed through Peter's veins.

And that's when Tony Stark blasted the door at the end of the hall open.

"Mr. Stark!" Peter gasped, looking over to him. It was a mistake, and he folded over as he was punched in the stomach.
There wasn't really much time to explain, so Tony quickly joined the fight. The assassins were tough, and it was lucky that Tony had gotten here so quickly.
"You took my kid," Tony growled beside Peter, blasting Eight with his suit's repulsors.
    Four kicked Peter in the kneecap, and he let out a cry of pain, thinking it might be broken. He fell hard on his wrist, and struggled to stand. But Peter still had fight in him, so he limped on over and started fighting Four. He noticed she only using her feet, which made sense considering the fact that Peter had probably broke her wrists earlier. She kept tripping him, which was more annoying than damaging. Her face was all bloody after a while of enduring Peter's punches.
     "You don't look too good," he grimaced, standing back. "Did you break your nose or something?" He teased. She wiped her nose with her black sleeve, looking at him with fire in her eyes. It was rather intimidating, but Peter had a newfound confidence now that Tony was here with him.