I swam through the murky water, the current accelerating me along at a faster pace then even I could swim. From what I could tell I had been underwater for about two minutes and I had made significant progress downstream. Not enough to beat a boat, but enough that if one of the agents was watching for me from the side of the river I would be long gone by now. I had already gone past two bends in the river which was pretty great progress.

It was almost calming here underwater after the chaos that had been my escape, even with the still ever-present threat of Hydra, even as my lungs burned for air. They might kill me if they found me, that much was obvious, and that's still a terrifying burden to have to rest on my shoulders. I had to try and get home with them watching like hawks would rabbits, with no outside help. Hydra could be anywhere.

I mean, in the end, I guess I wasn't that much of a help as a superhero. I only stopped petty crime and helped old ladies cross the street. So if I died I wouldn't think that anyone would care for superhero-me but I had Ganke and my parents, they would miss me. Also, I didn't want to die an agonising death so there was that. If I had to give up being a superhero if it meant living relatively peacefully with Mum and Dad... I would take it in a heartbeat.

Being a superhero had brought me way too much grief already...

I was glad that at least for the moment I would be able to tell when Hydra was following me. I would feel the vibrations or waves of a boat coming after me. They couldn't really sneak up on me in the water.

I mean, if they tried on a boat they would be too loud, if they turned the engine off and paddled I would be faster than them and there was no way that someone could set up and scuba after me in time, if they tried to shoot me I could drown and even then it was almost impossible to see anything in here with how dirty the water was. I trusted my powers enough to keep me out of immediate peril, and I felt more certain of them in general after having them tested so thoroughly. If any good came out of all of this, that was it.

And I mean, I had snuck away right under Hydra's noses! The best part was that they had been none the wiser, at least for the most part. Even when they did know I was escaping they didn't really know where in the facility I was because they hadn't thought that I would escape that way.

Just, little ol' me against thousands of trained Hydra agents, and I had lived to tell the tale. It felt surreal to even acknowledge that. I couldn't even imagine telling younger me that this would happen.

I couldn't get too cocky about it, I knew that. I still had a long way until I got home, depending on where I was. I could still be in the US, or I could be all the way in Australia for all I knew. So if I stuffed up at any point or left a big enough trail for them to follow they would be on me like lions to a lone antelope. Or something. Point is, they wanted me, and even when I got home I wouldn't be safe. I might have to be constantly on the lookout but I could do it. I would do it.

The biggest middle finger I could give them was living my life as normally as possible, and that's what I had every intention of doing.

I mean, I could always ask for help. SHIELD would help me, right? I didn't think that Fury was heartless. He had let me be Spider-man and had even given me a costume. I... did also have really important information about Hydra. I had lived with them for about a month, after all.

Wait. Oh man, that meant people would ask about where I had been and what had happened to me. Crap, I did not want that sort of attention.

But, maybe Hydra wouldn't try too hard to get me. I was only one person. I didn't know too much about the base or how it was run, and I would only have a vague description of where the base was if SHIELD asked me. Nor was I that unique of a superhero. I had all the powers plus two of Peter's. Still, I was the start of some project of theirs and they wouldn't want anyone knowing about it to potentially shut it down. So I guess it would be easier for them to kill me before I caused them any more damage...

If they didn't decide to experiment on me first. Strap me down to a cold metal table and figure out my pain threshold before cutting me open. Exploring my insides... ignoring my screams.

With my lungs aching from lack of air, which was not helped by how I had lost some when the cold water had greeted me, I picked up my pace as much as possible before I would run out. I didn't want to drown but I also didn't want to surface until I was well and truly far away. If they had somehow managed to follow the course of this river in the cars then I would be in trouble. Maybe if I swam more to the opposite side of the river I could quickly get out in case I needed to? Seemed like a good idea. They couldn't exactly cross over this. I didn't think there was a bridge anywhere close to me, well at least as far as I knew. It seemed like a really rural area, so no infrastructure would be a reasonable assumption.

But what did I know?

Well, even if there was a bridge, if I was far away from the bridge I could make lots of progress or even hide before they would be able to get to me. Even just hiding under the potential bridge might work for a little bit.

Maybe I could then somehow hijack a car and keep on speeding on? I knew I couldn't play the same trick twice with the motorcycles but if I somehow made it look like it was just Hydra agents in the car I could manage to get away, at least for a bit longer.

I did know all this was hypothetical but it really could make a huge difference if I had some sort of plan ahead of time. Also, it definitely helped me not completely and one-hundred percent freak out about all of this so there was that.

I tried to move towards the other side of the river, and then I realised something. The current was great for keeping me moving forward fast even if I decided to take a break, but it was also strong enough to make it hard to reach the side.

But I wasn't panicking yet. It was weird, yeah, but surely if I breached the surface it would be easier to get to the side but I still had maybe a minute more of air before I really needed to surface. I kept swimming forward, determined not to worry about it too much.

There was a twinge in my spider-sense and when I paid attention to it, I realised it was getting stronger. It wasn't at a pace that was especially alarming but it was enough for me to notice and worry at what was causing it.

Was Hydra approaching? Was there an animal in the water that wanted to take a nibble on me? I sped up, whatever it was I didn't want anything to do with it. That's when I noticed that somehow the current was getting faster and swirling around me more. My spider-sense was beginning to go wild. What could that be from-?

I cried out, losing precious air, as I smacked into something. Boulder, my mind supplied.

I went to try and surface, to swim out of the way or something, anything, but my spider-sense shrieked too late for me to do something and I had to brace myself to hit another boulder. And another. I tried again when my spider-sense was calming down a little bit more but my spider-sense sent off a shrill alarm once more. I barely had time to process this before I hit the last boulder with my left arm outstretched. My body slammed in after it, worsening the impact of it and there was an audible 'snap' even underwater.

Even as dazed as I was, my heart sank. This wasn't good.

I felt relieved that I couldn't feel it yet. I was numb and would be until the adrenaline wore off. The immediate danger was gone and my spider-sense was quiet so I let myself be pushed down to the bottom of the river by the current, using this to help myself as I pushed off the mud as soon as I felt it. Using both arms, even though I knew it could cause further damage to my injured arm, in just a few seconds I successfully managed to breach the surface of the water. I gasped in a breath of fresh air, like a thirsty man in a desert who had just found water, then gasped in a few more until I accidentally sucked in some water from my mask and coughed.

I breathed a few more times, tipping my head forward so I wouldn't inhale any more water. When the dizziness was more manageable I grabbed my mask and lifted it up above my nose, though not off.

The water was still carrying me along so I let myself relax and float on the top, catching my breath.

I felt tired, which I knew was probably because I had gotten no sleep last night, or maybe it was because of not having oxygen for several minutes... but I'll just blame it on lack of sleep.

It didn't really help that it had been day when I got out, when they had been treating it like it was night. I was supposed to be "in bed" right now. It hadn't been that long since I had asked to go to the bathroom.

What was with that? Maybe they were doing it so that when I got out I would be even more exhausted trying to adjust. Or maybe it was that thing I had heard of that happens when you change time-zones. Jet something or other.

I guess the most worrying thing right now was that I was dizzy and lightheaded. It could be because I'm tired, it could be from the ever-growing pain in my arm whenever I moved, or it could be because I had held my breath for too long, it could be from the exhaustion of fighting and fitting into cramped spaces...

Whatever the cause was, if I fainted or my awareness or even my reflexes were slow because of it, it wouldn't be good. I could drown or even if I didn't drown and just floated Hydra could catch up and then I could be shot or caught again. Then all of this would have been for nothing.

I looked around, eyes drooping worryingly, and spotted a log just a few meters away. I could hold on to that and pass out without drowning! I would get further away without too much hassle, too, and if I just held on to the bottom I would be hidden from sight if they came along. I paddled over with one hand pushing me forward (I had to be mindful of my new... injured arm ((I wouldn't call it broken, not until I got a proper look. It was probably denial but whatever, it was just... sprained maybe)) and grabbed on to the bottom of the log with my okay arm.

It took me a couple of minutes, but eventually, I fell asleep hanging on to it, floating on my back with my arm hugged to my chest.

My spider-sense began to go off at a low but insistent hum, urgent enough to pull me out of my dreamless sleep. I blinked a few times, eyes fuzzy with sleep, immediately noticing that my arm was aching badly. It was like a hot blade was simmering on my wrist without cooling down. I was surprised that that hadn't woken me up sooner. It hurt badly. I would have to look at it as soon as possible and see what I could do...

I glanced up at the sky and noticed that the sun was setting. Definitely not rising because the sky was getting increasingly dark. So I had been floating around for maybe... four hours? Something close to that anyway. I had escaped and fell asleep around mid-day so yeah, about that. Well maybe longer, probably longer cause I had no idea what time the sun sets here compared to New York. Who knew? I could have been asleep for twelve hours.

I carefully peeked over the log, I had to find the source of my spider-sense before anything bad happened, cause it was bad enough to wake me up. It could be an animal in the water. But as my spider-sense got stronger and stronger, I noticed a boat in the distance. It wasn't moving along very fast, but it was rumbling along at a steady pace. Probably not fishers then, cause they would go to a location and then stop the boat, right? Right. The people on it were looking around from various spots in the boat, peering around as if they were searching for something, or someone.

If they weren't Hydra agents I would be legitimately surprised.

I slowly and carefully moved my log closer to the bank of the river, heart beginning to pound loudly in my chest. Maybe being closer to the bank would help them not spot me, as they would have fewer angles to see me and if they did I would be out of the water running in a quicker amount of time. I couldn't exactly hide underwater, which was better because the water was murky and hard to see through, because not only would they be able to catch up to me if they spotted me (I wouldn't be able to beat a boat in a race while in water even if I tried!) but I don't think I could hold my breath long enough for them to pass and disappear from sight.

I wasn't going to climb out of the water either. They would undoubtedly spot me getting out and then they would have a trail to follow. I was going to take a chance and try and hide under their noses. I would have to climb out of the water soon anyway but I would do it when Hydra wasn't around.

If they did spot me though, I could get out and run. I could outrun a human easily. Cars were a different manner but it didn't look like they had any cars with them.

I kept my head down so low that I could only breathe through my nose. I had edged my way almost to the bank when the boat began to pass by me. I held my breath, keeping very close to the log.

"Why couldn't they have a red and blue costume like the last one?" I heard one of them complain, "He just had to have a black costume!"

I tensed up, they were closer than I thought. I kept silent, not daring to even move my legs to swim in case they saw the movement in the water. This was the moment of truth. If they saw me I would be almost back to square one. They would be on to me like... pigeons to birdseed. Or something.

"Shut up, he might be nearby. We can't give away our position." Another agent scowled. I mean, they weren't wrong. I was right under their noses. For once, more literally than figuratively.

"Might? I doubt it. If I was him, I would have gotten up and run as fast as my little spider legs could take me. " The first one said dismissively.

"Henry didn't see him resurface, and you guys know how good his eyesight is. I bet he drowned," yet another one argued.

"No way, he's a smart kid. He wouldn't drown. I reckon we're looking like idiots while he's laughing his head off here in Wakanda." The fourth one explained.

...

...

I was in Wakanda?

What the actual heck. Why the flipping heck would Hydra take me here?

The boat passed by, its occupants and the conversations they were having drifting away with them. I waited until they were around the next bend and out of sight before I swam over to the shore. I climbed out, dripping wet, and went over to the closest tree. It was big enough for me to hide behind without anyone on the river being any wiser.

I sat down and took my mask off, placing it beside me. I couldn't believe that Hydra had decided to take me here of all places. I was so far from home, too! At least Wakanda was friendly, for the most part. I still wouldn't go to the authorities for help because Hydra might be able to get me if I was kept in one place, but with the country being so small and... third world no doubt Hydra would have plenty of connections in there. I couldn't go to the police even if I really wanted to here.

But I had more pressing issues to think about right now, like my arm.