Chapter Twenty-Eight: Ringmaster

It takes Peter five minutes too long to swing from the bookstore to the Empire State Building. Luckily, he doesn't have to slow down for inconvenient things such as traffic and detours due to Mysterio's sudden appearance. Karen, MJ, and Ned all give him updates as he swings as to any moves Mysterio tries to make. Peter can't stop thinking about what Mysterio said, "The show waits for no one!" He forces his already fatigued arms to swing himself forward even faster.

When he arrives on the scene, he lands on the outside of one of the Empire State Building's thousands of windows. He's only about six stories up, but he can see the helicopter's light at the top. It's a long climb to the observatory deck, roughly seventy more floors, but he doesn't hesitate to start his ascent.

"I'm getting serious flashbacks to Washington, guys," Peter grunts in exertion as he uses his webs to climb faster.

"Except the Empire State Building is more than twice the height of the Washington Monument," Ned corrects without remorse. That's helpful.

"Yeah, I'm aware. Thanks for the boost of confidence!" Peter responds sarcastically. He glances to the live news feed every few seconds to make sure all the hostages are still safe. There are at least six visible hostages and Mysterio is confident enough to be monologuing to the helicopter with his arms raised.

"If it makes you feel better, the Empire State Building wasn't built by slaves," MJ reassures matter-of-factly.

"Oh yeah, so much better. My faith in humanity has been restored," Peter humors her.

"It was during a time when people of color didn't have rights," MJ adds. Y'know, how could Peter argue with that?

Once he gets closer to the 86th floor, where the observation deck is, he looks at the live feed to see what side Mysterio is on. Based off the live feed, Peter can see that Mysterio is on the platform that faces North. Peter crawls to the North side of the building and continues to climb up.

The observatory wraps around the spire and is partly enclosed by interconnecting, metal bars that don't quite close off the platform. Instead, it leaves a gap from the top of the bars to the base of the building. Peter should be able to swing over the cage-like structure to reach the observation deck. He feels better knowing that it decreases the risk of anyone being able to fall off, considering the bars look about ten feet tall. When he reaches the 86th floor, he stops.

"Peter? Why'd you stop?" Ned questions nervously as Peter eyes the ridge of the observation landing.

"Math. Trajectories and stuff," Peter supplies in a concentrated mumble. He shoots a web from each wrist and, once they're attached, he slowly leans back. If I can just get the angle right… With a swift, aching tug from both arms, he launches himself upwards. He lets go of his webs, flying up over the metal bars and landing on the concrete observation deck in a low stance.

When he lands, he's in front of the line of hostages that are huddled as close to the bars as possible. He's the only one blocking Mysterio's path, who stands proudly with gas flowing from his boots and lasers mounted on his shoulders readied to be fired.

"Hey, Dome Head! I was just thinking about you! Look, you didn't have to go to all the trouble of contacting me through national television. If you wanted to hang out, you coulda just asked! I'm a simple guy," Peter immediately banters, hoping it'll earn him some time. Time for what, he's not exactly sure. He just wants to take the fight away from the hostages.

"He finally arrives!" Mysterio announces with his usual flare. "Tell me, how did it feel to watch that little girl stare death in the face?" he questions, taking Peter completely by surprise.

"Focus, Parker," MJ warns through the comms. Peter does his best to listen to her.

"In fact, you almost didn't get to her in time, did you?" Mysterio inquires nonchalantly. Peter can tell what the villain is trying to do. Mysterio's trying to make the hostages turn against him. Make them lose faith in Spider-Man. Peter won't let that happen.

"But I did save her, because that's what I do. I help people, unlike you," Peter counters.

"Me?" Mysterio repeats as if he's innocent. "I'm only trying to educate that people! They have to know that untrained, sloppy 'superheroes' like yourself only make things worse. They need a professional!" Peter could almost laugh at the production this guy is making, if it weren't for the group of hostages behind him.

"You seriously think you'd be better at keeping people safe? Hate to break it to you, but you would have to be a good guy to do that. And who says I'm not trained?!" A guy with a glass bubble on his head calling Spider-Man unqualified?! Peter would have to pinch himself to prove he's not dreaming.

"Does a certain ferry incident sound familiar?" His blood runs cold at Mysterio's words. "Or how about the warehouse in Queens?" Peter's heart picks up speed. Stay calm, stay calm, stay- "Someone who were experienced wouldn't need Iron Man's help. Someone who were experienced wouldn't have fallen into an obvious trap." No no no no, relax. You're just tired and high-strung. Focus, like MJ said.

"I made it out of that warehouse," Peter says confidently.

"Did you, Spider-Man?" Mysterio's simple seed of suspicion is enough to plant doubt in Peter's mind. Did he make it out? Is he the same person? He didn't question himself this much before the warehouse, so he couldn't be the same. Spider-Man is here, but…where's Peter Parker? Is he still trapped underneath those tons of rubble?

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he feigns boredom and tries to regain some of his confidence through his banter. "We could fight or, hear me out, we could go to this sandwich shop on 21st street. Best sandwiches in queens!" Mysterio doesn't even humor Peter with an answer, he just gets straight down to throwing punches.

Peter's main priority is to get Mysterio as far away from the hostages as possible. He side steps one of Mysterio's kicks to start leading the insane villain away from the others.

"Karen? How far are the- woah!" Peter dodges a quick fist by a mere inch. "How far are the firefighters?!" He doesn't want to have to be worried about the hostages getting caught in the crossfire while he fights.

"Firefighters are coming up in the elevator as we speak. I've been in contact with them and they are happy to cooperate to make sure the hostages get out safe," Karen answers without missing a beat. As she speaks, Peter runs up the metal bars at the edge of the building to avoid one of Mysterio's punches. Peter successfully flips over the man and lands behind him to deliver a swift kick to his air tanks. The tanks dent ever so slightly and Mysterio stumbles into the metal bars with a clang.

"Nice try! 'A' for effort!" Peter quips, sending another kick to the villain's ankles to hopefully damage the other gas nozzles. He shoots two Taser Webs at Mysterio's back and watches the electricity flash through the webbing. Mysterio seizes for a brief moment before the lasers on his shoulders cut through Peter's webs. "The one time I actually get the dumb Taser Webs to hit and you cut right through them?! That's rude, man! There's some things you just don't do!"

"You better get used to not getting what you want," Mysterio warns in a low tone. Peter scoffs, If only he knew. Mysterio raises his hand and orbs of light suddenly flitter around him before encircling Peter. Peter knows it's just an illusion, but that doesn't stop the lights from causing blue and black dots to take over his vision.

"Adjust the light filters," he tells Karen as he backs away from the visual onslaught. If this keeps up, his senses will overload. Thankfully, Karen lessens the input and he no longer feels the need to rip his eyes out. His vision clears just in time to see Mysterio leap over his head. "Woah! Maybe you should give up the whole supervillain thing and become an acrobat," Peter banters. Mysterio hasn't been able to jump like that before.

"Surprised, are we? You shouldn't be. With my talent and hard work, I designed them!" Mysterio proudly admits as he gestures to his boots.

"MJ, add 'roboticist' to the list of our multi-talented friend," Peter murmurs into the comms. Mysterio continues as if Peter had said nothing.

"Someone like you could never understand the technical complexity that goes into-"

"Do those have magnetic coil springs?!" Peter interrupts excitedly, bending over to get a better look at the boots. Mysterio pauses, slightly taken aback, if not annoyed. "That's wicked!" Peter's only goal is to distract the man long enough to give the firefighters time to get to the hostages. Mysterio's gas increases in flow ever so slightly and more images of him appear. Déjà vu, much?

"Remember this?" The Mysterios surround Peter, utterly indistinguishable from the real Mysterio. Luckily, Peter already knows this song and dance.

"This old parlor trick again? I'm starting to get bored, Mysterio," he taunts.

"Why change my tricks when they fooled you so well?" Mysterio's familiar, omnipresent voice booms. The group of Mysterios surround Peter as he lowers into a fighting stance, then they attack. Attempted punches and kicks blur Peter's vision, but he makes no move to block or counterattack. Trust your Spidey Sense. They aren't real. A fist flies through his chest. Wait for the real one. A kick passes through his head. Trust yourself. Immediately after the kick, his Spidey Sense goes off, sending chills over his shoulders. Left. He trusts in his senses, backflipping out of the way of the real Mysterio's rocketing punch.

"Peter, your blood glucose levels are low and you seem to be experiencing exhaustion. I suggest a nap," Karen's parental voice comes through. The concrete cracks from the force of Mysterio's metal fist colliding where Peter once was. When Peter lands, he shoots a web at Mysterio and tugs him off balance.

"Yeah, lemme just let the supervillain know it's my scheduled nap time," Peter retorts sarcastically. Mysterio quickly recovers and fires a laser in defense, which blasts right past Peter and cuts into the metal bars. The beam melts the metal, causing it to creek as a large chunk begins to slide off. Peter is about lunge for it when he stops himself. No Spidey Sense. Not real. Ignore it. He sprints passed the Mysterio illusions straight towards the real one, then jumps into the air to bring down a solid punch on the villain.

Mysterio blocks Peter's fist with his metal gauntlet, but the metal around his forearm gives way under Peter's strength. The nozzle on Mysterio's right wrist crumples and he grunts in effort to push against Peter. Mysterio may be good with combat, but Peter quickly notices a distinct lack of strength when he overpowers the villain. Peter grips the metal glove and pushes Mysterio down to his knees, causing all the illusions to vanish.

"Karen!" Peter yells, hoping that she'll get the message.

"On it," she responds affirmatively. In the corner of Peter's HUD, Karen contacts the firefighters waiting inside to start working on getting the hostages out while Mysterio is distracted. Mysterio uses his free hand to try to grab Peter and pull him off, but Peter's Spidey Sense warning allows him to swiftly lift his legs out of the way. When Mysterio's other hand passes underneath Peter's feet, Peter shoots a web at the flying fist and lands before binding the villain's wrists together.

"See? This is what happens when you break the rules," Peter scolds as he replaces a cartridge. "No one's above the law and I don't want to be a snitch." His breathing is becoming more labored than it should be, but he can't focus on that when lives are in danger.

"You're nothing but cowardice and empty threats!" Mysterio yells as his chemical abrasive eats through the webs around his wrists. Just as he breaks free, Peter shoots a Web Grenade that attaches to Mysterio's chest. It explodes in his face, disorienting him long enough for Peter to fire another Web Grenade at Mysterio's feet to keep him momentarily stuck in place. Peter quickly gets to work, attaching webs to Mysterio's abdomen and running sideways across the metal bars to wrap them around his chest. "You think these measly webs can hold me back?!" Mysterio demands. Peter jumps from the bars to the side of the building, taking quick strides across the panes of glass as he webs up the villain from all angles.

"Peter, your metabolism is beginning to eat away at your muscle tissue to receive the necessary fuel to sustain your body's activity," Karen warns. The webs pin Mysterio's arms to his side and start to create a cocoon around him. Peter further makes sure Mysterio can't escape by shooting webs to block where the chemical abrasive is released from his suit. There's no way Peter is going to let him get away again.

Once Mysterio is trying to break free but can't, Peter uses Splitter Webs to connect the bundled up Mysterio to both the bars and the main building in a such a way that it somewhat resembles a spider's web. Peter shouldn't be surprised anymore. He lands and pops out the two empty cartridges in case he needs two more Web Grenades. Better safe than sorry.

"How's that for an empty threat?" Peter quips before getting down to business. "Karen, let the firefighters know I have Mysterio restrained. They need to get the hostages out ASAP. Ned, MJ, are the police on their way?" Mysterio huffs a small, amused laugh, catching Peter off guard. Not the kind of laugh that suggests he liked Peter's joke. The kind that practically screams "I have the upperhand, you just don't know it yet." It's…worrisome, but Ned responds before Peter can dwell on it.

"Should be coming up any second behind the firefighters. They almost have all the hostages out," Ned relays in a serious tone.

"Nice work, Parker," MJ praises slightly. Peter is about to thank her when the gas that has been lazily hanging around his feet begins to rise. The flow from Mysterio's singular functioning wrist nozzle is increasing.

"Oh, this is bad…" Peter mutters to himself, his mechanical lenses going slightly wider.

"Peter?! Is everything okay?!" Ned's frantic voice speaks up.

"Nope, not okay. Definitely not okay. Karen, circulate the air in the suit and filter out as much gas as you can. Can't talk guys, gotta focus!" Peter can hear MJ's snort as he implies that he's actually listening to her advice for once. Mysterio uses his lasers to simultaneously cut through the webbing and aim for Peter. Without fail, Peter's Spidey Sense warns him in time for him to jump out of the way. As soon as he lands, the tingling sensation returns but it isn't as sharp as the last time. He only barely manages to dodge another laser.

He starts to feel…fuzzy.

Detached.

This is bad.

"The filtration doesn't appear to be working as well as we hoped. The gas is affecting your senses as well," Karen regretfully admits.

"Why aren't the filters working?!" Peter demands, narrowly missing a laser. He tries to shoot a web at Mysterio, but it veers off to the side. How is my aim off?

"Usually your enhanced metabolism is able to burn through the remaining gas that isn't filtered by the suit. However, your metabolism is currently occupied with keeping your energy levels stable enough for you to remain conscious. Essentially, you are purely running on adrenaline," Karen informs. Okay, that's bad, Peter distantly recognizes. Between his foggy brain, talking with Karen, and a distinct lack of a Spidey Sense, the next round of lasers manage to graze Peter's leg and hit his ribs.

With a sharp gasp, he lazily shoots a web aimed at the windows and is somehow able to swing across. At this angle he can see the view of the city, unknowingly continuing life as if Peter weren't fighting for a number of lives.

"I'm not liking this bright red blip on my screen indicating an injury," MJ speaks up, hiding her concern with a harsh tone.

"Just a flesh wound," Peter argues. It's hard to keep his eyes open.

"You have a suit breech," MJ says with a tight voice. "Even more gas will get into your suit. You need to get away from it," she orders. The gas is already causing his movement to become slow and imprecise. His ears are muffled and deep down he feels…aggravated. For no reason, which is even more frustrating. He distantly recalls May telling him about some side effects being agitation, but he needs to stay focused.

"Peter, you heard MJ! Get out of there!" Ned reiterates, obviously more panicked. Peter's vision blurs and his muscles ache, protesting any movement.

"My, how the tables have turned, Spider-Man," Mysterio chuckles deeply. "Disappointing, as always. Let's finish this up." For once, Peter knows when he needs help. He can't do this by himself, not like this. Heroes need help too, Tony's words echo in his head.

"Karen," Peter slurs, "turn on aim assist 'n call Mr. Stark." What he doesn't realize is that the gas entering his already damaged suit is decreasing its mechanical integrity.

"I'm- orry, ca- the- circu- ffline," is all he hears from Karen's comforting voice before the silence. No… He's not sure why he panics, but something about the thought of losing Karen sends him into hysterics.

"No no no no, Karen? Please don't leave me! No! Come back! I need you! Please! I don't want to be alone!" Peter's harsh voice tries to get through, but not even his friends answer him anymore. I'm all alone. I'm all alone. I can't, I can't. Everyone leaves. Why does everyone always leave?!

But he knows he still has to stop Mysterio, so he pushes back his suddenly overwhelming amount of grief to shoot a Taser Web at Mysterio, who is slightly obscured by the gas. Peter's vision spins and he misses his target by a good foot. His frustration bubbles up. Why can't you just aim?! You're supposed to be a superhero! Everything shifts and he feels himself falling off back onto the observation platform's concrete floor. A bright laser passes over his head as he falls, only missing him by a few inches.

While it does miss him, it still carves a long crevice into the concrete where he was previously sticking to and shatters panes of glass as it veers across the length of the building. The laser starts to melt the metal supports of the windows, rendering them extremely unstable in a matter of seconds. A scream snaps Peter out of his drug induced haze.

It's a boy on his knees a good fifteen feet away with broken glass surrounding him, staring up at the mangled mess of red hot metal. His knees are scraped and his eyes are wide as he stares up at the twisted metal in fear. The metal shifts, creating a horrid screech. The lights inside the building flicker and Peter can hear the muffled yelling of a woman. Oh god, no. I have to get to him. I have to, I have to save him!

Peter sloppily shoots his webs to barely pull himself forward, but he can't get to his feet. Everything feels sluggish, but his heart beats erratically. His arms burn and he can feel his muscle fibers ripping themselves apart. Faster! He grits his teeth and pushes his body even further. He pulls himself a few more feet closer on his stomach. He can't think clearly, but he knows that he has to reach that little boy. I have to. I'm Spider-Man. I have to. Just a bit more! I save people, that's what I do! I have to!

He lifts a shaky hand to try to extend his wrist and shoot another web, but his hand falls limp. His muscles just won't listen.

He can't breathe.

He can't move.

He won't make it.

The metal gives way.