Lena awoke with a device on her mouth identical to the device that Tony had put on her the first day that they had met. She was lying on a cement floor, her bones aching as she lifted her head, blinking away the blacked-out sleep that she had not asked for.

When her eyes focused, she realized she was in a cage, metal bars towering far above her head. It was menacing and dark, the vast open space instilling fear instead of solace. She was tempted to cry; to scream and cry and meltdown in front of whoever these maniacal people were. She shook, but pushed away her emotions for barely a second. She could not give them what she wanted.

Peter?! Getting her voice out to his mind was hard, but she felt Peter's overwhelming relief despite the weak signal.

She felt him jump to life, Lena, do you know where you are? I came to the city to come and find you.

Looking around, she tried to see if there was any possible way to identify where she was or if she was able to maneuver a way out. In her peripheral vision, a guard was asleep, his back leaning against the corner of the cell. Apparently, they had not expected her to wake so quickly, or their budget of security staff was extremely low.

I do not know exactly where I am, but I think I can find a way out. She crouched down, examining the snoozing man to see if he had anything useful on him.

No, no, just wait for me to get-

She cut him off, No. I will do what I have to. I am not helpless, Peter Parker. She knew she was being short with him, but the underestimation was starting to get exhausting. Working tirelessly at her combat training was starting to pay off, she was a force to be reckoned with.

The regret was pungent, Yeah, of course, keep me updated so I can help if I can.

Okay.

She knew Peter did not mean any harm by his comment, he was only trying to help, but Lena had a handle of the situation, and having him try to bust into this crazy person's facility might just get both of them captured.

The lock on the door to the cage had an electronic sensor, she could tell that much. On her guard's belt loop was a card, which had to be her ticket out of there. Cautiously walking to his corner, every step feeling like it echoed off the walls, she took her time examining her options for retrieving the card. The man had a bulletproof vest on, and an idea ignited in her head. It relied on the fact that potentially no one was watching her on a nearby security camera, but if their security measures were in any way similar to this guard, she was good to go.

With a deep breath, she wrapped her fingers around the straps of his vest, engaged her biceps, and slammed his body into the metal bar, making sure it made direct contact with his head. While he had already been asleep, she had to be sure that he was not going to wake up and become yet another obstacle.

The ID was attached to his belt, which left her with the uncomfortable option of removing it. It was a jagged and awkward process, but when the ID card brought out an audible "BEEP!" followed by the door swinging open, it was worth it. When she had been kidnapped, she was only in her oversized shirt. Now, she was in a pair of cloth pants, and it was going to remain a mystery to how both the undergarments and the pants got put on her. It was sickening to think about. She fastened the belt as tightly as is could go around her waist, which left it loosely hanging on her hips. Lena was not known for her curves.

Since the room was almost pitch black, she scaled the side of the wall, applying light pressure in order to activate the door. When she felt a divot, she paused, preparing herself for the potential combat she was about to engage in (she could confirm that there were two consciences, both extremely open, standing outside of the door). She spent a moment wishing she had access to her voice, the men were so simple-minded she could bend them like clay, but it was no use pitying herself. Her combat skills were going to be put to the ultimate test.

She slid out door after barely opening it, hoping the stealth attempt would somewhat take them by surprise, which it was close to doing. It only took them a second to notice her, but she was able to anticipate their every move. In fact, it was almost the only thing they could think about. She put an elbow to one's nose, a knee to another's stomach, then suavely pulled the taser from the other's belt electrocuting the first and using all of her lower body strength to shove her foot into the second's face. It was all what felt like one breath, and what Peter would call "easy money."

Both of them on the floor, she went through their pockets to see if either of them had anything useful. They both had guns, devices that she only had basic training with, but she could use them if absolutely necessary. The one thing she was hoping for was a key to unlock her voice, but she knew she would not get that lucky.

Oh, how it was a maze. She had three directions of fluorescent lit hallways that she could take. Ultimately, she decided to push forward, taking the path straight ahead of her. When had that ever done her wrong? She brought herself to a light jog, keeping her senses as heightened as possible. There would be no surprises from the enemy.

The hallway led her forward for a while, with no alternating hallways or other rooms. It was not until she got the end that something changed, and it was the lab that a scientist was hard at work in. She pressed her ID to the door, and much to her surprise it also swung open for her to walk into. Why a security guard had access to this room, she did not care to know. Hopefully, she would not have to interact with anymore of these awful people.

She could not always get what she wished for. A scraggly-looking middle-aged man was examining her suit with intimate detail, inspecting it under a microscope. She stood there, unnoticed, wondering what possibly the purpose could be, and eventually walked up to him and punched his airway, completely taking him by surprise. After a knee to the groin and then to the face, he was left unconscious on the floor to become someone else's problem.

Pressing the sensor on her chest, the suit tightened onto her body, and she felt a little more like herself. Even though she had no way to speak to her AI, it was nice to hear PET's voice in her ears.

She could not use her voice to activate the suit, but as she turned her head, the screen inside of her goggles had a small icon in the corner with a map of the floor that she was on. Based on that, she could conclude that a certain section of it was a set of stairs, but there still was no guarantee. If they were stairs, she could likely get to a roof to flag down Peter.

There was no better plan, so she took off, praying that she would not run into any adversaries.

Two left turns and a right turn took her to the door that she was looking at on her screen. She paused, closing her eyes to sense for human consciences on the other side. There was two, and they were stationary, it was hard to determine their precise locations, and if she knew there were stairs it would be entirely different. She could use stairs to her advantage.

Creeping the door open, she peered through the crack, relieved to find that there was a landing and a stair right at her feet. She slipped through and took off going up, taking the first man by surprise. She shoved the activated taser in his neck and shoved him, his body tumbling down the stairs and tripping the man on the lower level that had started to pursue her. He was already speaking into a radio, so she took advantage of the extra time she had and sprinted up the stairs, seeing two flights before the goal of the roof was reached.

The wind hit her in a gust, but she kept moving forward, knowing that she needed to get a good look at the view and send Peter a mental snapshot of where she was. Running to the center, she took in the skyline, immediately recognizing it New York. The relief was flooding.

Peter! I am on a roof! I am in New York!

He jumped to life again, but someone grabbed her by her arm, reminding her that she was not completely out of the water. The man was in all black including a mask, and she shoved her foot into his stomach, getting him off of her.

It was not good enough. More of these men were flooding the area, and there was only so much she could do without her voice. She did not have the heightened senses of Peter Parker, and while she was decently versed in combat, she still had room to improve. She was being backed into a corner, almost literally, and she only found one way out.

The edge of the building looked daunting, and as Lena ran, she could not help but think of Austin Jansen, who she had talked out of jumping. If Austin could see her now, she hoped he would laugh. When her feet left the edge, she propelled herself up, hopefully buying herself some extra time. This was either the end, or if her timing was right, everything was going to be okay.

Lena had experienced a plethora of new sensations when she started adapting to being human, but she never thought the sensation of falling would be quite as blissful. Sure, her stomach dropped, but as the wind whistled in her ears and caressed every inch of her scalp, she could not help but close her eyes and let the abyss wash over her body. Physically being unable to scream allowed for a peace that was unattainable.

In a way, it reminded her of swimming.

THUD.

Contact, safety, eyes widening, and a familiar face, or mask that was, filling her view. Peter Parker had caught her, just as she had trusted him to do. If she could have smiled, she would have.

You got me.

He could feel his restlessness and anxiety, but he still cooly responded,

"You think I would let you fall?"