Crisis Averted

- - - - -

"Oh, God. Okay, okay. She's is so going to kill me."

Peter was running down the strip of the Lincoln Memorial pool in his Spider-Man suit, holding his phone to his ear. He tried calling Ned, only for Liz to interrupt the call and ask him where he was. He had missed the big decathlon, and everyone was wondering where he was. He was attempting to warn Ned of the Chitauri power source he took from one of the Vulture's crew, knowing now that it was an active bomb. Nobody was getting his message. So he had to call in the big guns.

Ana Michaels.

The ringing stopped and her voice flooded in his ears. "Go for Michaels."

"Ana! Oh thank God! Listen to me, you know how I told you about the tech and how powerful they are? Yeah, well, it's alien, and Ned has the power source in his pocket. It's a bomb!"

"Peter Benjamin Parker, you are in so much trouble when you get back to Queens!"

"I know, I know! If the bomb goes off, I'm gonna need your help. How fast can you get to Washington?"

"But... I literally just sat down."

"Ana!"

"Fine! I'll be there before you could say web-slinger."

Peter threw his backpack against a tree trunk and webbed it on there. He was approaching the Washington Monument where the top of the obelisk crumbled when a flash of purple energy hit it. He skidded to a stop, throwing his hands over his head.

"No, no, no! Karen? What's going on up there?" Peter babbled.

"The Chitauri core has detonated and caused severe structural damage to the elevator." Karen, his suit AI, assessed, giving Peter visuals on the elevator stuck at the top.

"My friends are up there!" Michelle cried, pointing up at the monument.

"What?" Peter turned around, widening his eyes. "Ah, don't worry ma'am, everything is going to be okay."

Peter continued running, climbing onto the Washington Monument, hurrying to get to the top. A helicopter with Washington police got there, and instead of helping the civilians get to safety, they aimed their weapons at the kid trying to save his classmates.

"Stand down! Return to the ground immediately!"

Peter crawled to the very top, holding onto the stone. He needed momentum to crash through the windows and get inside. The cops on him made the situation a whole lot more stressful.

"This is your last chance or we will open fire!"

An exasperated sigh, followed by a throat being cleared.

"Give the kid a second to breathe, officers."

The three cops turned around, shouting in surprise when a hooded figure was in the helicopter with them. They couldn't see her face from the mask she wore to hide her features. Ana had ushered the civilians closet to the monument away from the base incase anything heavy fell over their heads. She saw the helicopter threatening Peter and had to intervene before the fifteen year old got shot at.

"Web-slinger." Peter grinned underneath his mask, taking the opportunity to launch himself away from the monument and web-sling himself towards it, using the helicopter for the extra push. He crashed into the window, as Ana dropped out of the copter, escaping the cops that shot their weapons in her direction. She was holding the bars at the bottom, thrashing around to put them off.

Ana looked down at the far ground, before letting her fingers slips and free fall. She created a portal at the base of the elevator and dropped in it, only having to step out of the way when it came crashing down. She coughed when dust went everywhere, waving the debris away.

"Everybody good?"

She looked up, seeing Peter hang upside down at the top of the elevator shaft. His webbing broke off and he dropped. Ana looked up, positioning herself perfectly and opened her arms. Peter landed in them, still screaming.

"Stop shrieking, I got you." Ana shook him, walking out of the elevator base.

Peter cleared his throat, locking his hands around her neck. "Oh, right. Thanks." He looked at her covered face, smiling. "Nice mask."

"Nice job, Spidey."

- - -

"Why would you give Ned a bomb?"

Ana was taking over for May, driving them all back to New York. The older woman sat in the back, fast asleep. She had came the second news spread about what happened. Peter was in the passenger seat, knees up to his chest with a permanent smile on his face. He was proud of himself for saving the day.

"I didn't know it was a bomb." Peter answered, turning his torso to face her as she drove. "When I was stuck in the Damage Control warehouse, I found out. And I was locked in there overnight."

"It was a Chitauri core, Pete." Ana stated, glancing at him briefly. "That always means bad news. You should've been more careful around that thing, instead you took it to a school decathlon."

"Hey, everything worked out in the end. Nobody died." Peter countered.

"You almost did." She pointed out, "Those cops were ready and willing to shoot you off the monument. But I came in right before they pulled the trigger." Ana scoffed. "The Accords make it hard for someone like you to do a simple task. And shoot on sight? That's a bit hardcore."

"You're just mad at them. At the Accords. It's what made your friends go on the run." Peter spoke out before he could stop himself.

Ana gave him a side glare, gripping the steering wheel. "You're treading sensitive territory here, pal."

"No, but that's just it. You should've signed so you could still be a hero. We could be Avengers together."

"But there are no Avengers. Half of us are in the shadows. And Tony, he's busy with his company. Rhodey's on-again off-again with the Air Force. Vision... I don't know what he's up to these days, but I know he misses Wanda, so he's probably a mess and moping around in her room. Natasha's deep in cover, probably sporting a new look to evade face tracers." Ana shook her head, getting a little serious with Peter. "You just don't get it, the Accords, in my personal view, are bad news. Take today for an example, the government had no idea there was a threat in a heavily populated place. They only acted because they saw a guy in a suit climbing a monument. How long do you think it would take for 117 countries to decide on whether to take action or not? And the bomb was seconds away from going off and killing innocents. Situations where swift action needs to be taken... that's why the Avengers were made. This law chased away people like me who believed in the freedom of our actions."

Peter sat in silence for about another minute before gazing at her. He always assumed she didn't want to sign because it meant she would have to work with people she doesn't like. And he knew how much she hated faking smiles in front of bad people. Knowing of the true reason, it made sense to him. "Ana... how did you get to Washington so fast?"

"What?" Ana furrowed her brows, glancing at him.

"You were in Queens when I called, and as you can tell it's taking a while to get from here to there."

"I took a quinjet." Ana lied.

"You have a jet?" Peter questioned.

"Yes."

"Awesome." Peter whispered. Ana took the scarf from her neck and gave it to him. He balled it up and used it as a pillow, resting his head against the window.

"Get some rest. We're almost home."

- - -

Ana carried a tired May up to their apartment floor, having to use the stairs when the elevator was closed for repairs. She didn't mind it, it was just the awkward silence between Peter and herself that she couldn't bear. What he had said rubbed her the wrong way, and she hadn't said a word since the ride back. She knew he didn't mean anything by it.

Peter strolled inside, opening the door wider for Ana to slide in with May. She shot Peter a tight lipped smile and settled May into bed. After shutting the bedroom door, she headed for the front, glancing at Peter as he sipped from a glass of water at his seat on the couch. Ana paused at the door.

"Pete... don't treat this win like it'll open doors for more wins." Ana voiced, crossing an arm. "Keep your feet close to the ground. Stay focused."

Peter leaned forward in his seat and placed the glass on the table, looking across to her. "But, just the other day you were telling me to do what I felt needed to be done. To go for what's right in front of me." He almost argued.

"Yeah, do that. With your eyes open. I can see they're getting starry eyed. Distraction to the big picture, that's dangerous." Ana retorted. She shook her head slightly, beginning to close the door as she trailed out. "Night, Pete."

She could hear him mumble out a reply as she approached the stairs. Instead of going down, she went to the roof. The breeze hit her face the second she walked onto the top. She stood at the edge, resting her hands against the concrete barricade. The city was twinkling in the nighttime. It reminded her of the galaxies, and how beautiful the brightest points shone in the darkness.

She was intrigued by the outer space. She wanted to explore more. Find out where exactly Marcus came from. Her lips turned upside down then. Her father was a god. He lived in the galaxies before he fell to Earth. She wondered if he could get right back up to his home, or if he was stranded with no way out. Maybe he could leave whenever he wanted to, and chose to stay. And how long was he on Earth?

Ana ducked her head, and sighed. She had so many questions with no one to answer them. She hated thinking about it. But she couldn't help herself. It was something she had thought about since she was a kid — where did she come from? Who were her real parents? Why was she so different from everyone else? And where did she belong in this multiverse?

"To be determined..."

- - - - -

Hope you enjoyed! Tell me what you thought and I'll update again soon. The final chapter will have a surprise!

Q- What is your dream job?