As soon as the call ended, and I was as calm as I could be, I began operation "get on the plane without being discovered so I don't die some horrible death at the hands of Hydra and get to Washington." Unfortunately, that had meant leaving behind my warm clothing, cause they could easily give me away. Spandex it was.
I hadn't just been surviving while I was here, I had prepared myself as best as I possibly could and looked at the airport through Google maps. It helped me get an idea of the scope of things, and from what I had seen the airport was relatively small and only had one runway. That hopefully meant smaller security, so fewer cameras and fewer people to notice me.
But there was still the lingering doubt that that was accurate. If they were able to completely cover up their tracks on google maps that they weren't, in fact, some poor third world country I was pretty positive they could cover up some massive airport and make it look realistic.
On top of that, I felt nervous that attempting all of this meant that I had to risk everything. I mean, if someone did see me or if something went wrong it could potentially be a long time before I could get to another airport and then catch a plane there. Not to mention the fact that Hydra would undoubtedly be monitoring any airports in and around New York. I still didn't know how long I had been on that river, and I don't think I was ever going to find out, but Hydra might not be watching this airport as closely as some of the others. I wasn't flying directly into New York and it might be further away than where they expected me to be. I just had to cross my fingers and be as cautious as possible.
I also didn't like that this would be breaking a lot of laws. But, I had no money, no one to turn to and I had to get out of the country as fast as possible before Hydra found my trail. The best way to get out of the country without dragging anyone else into it or having to hide for a very long amount of time was going to be by plane.
I would go by boat if it came down to that, but it would be harder to stay alive and steal things there while also keeping myself hidden.
So here I was, crouched in the shadows cast by the night, close by to the front entrance of the airport, trying to figure out how to get on to my plane without security cameras or people spotting me and blowing my cover.
I mean, the answer seemed obvious. I had to camouflage and run to my gate. Except, as the tests at Hydra had proven, if I camouflaged for too long I could pass out. Not to mention my wrist. I tentatively flexed it, finding the muscles still a little bit sore. It was better, yet I was still intimately aware that if I stressed it out too much it could brea- need healing.
I looked back up to watch the small trickle of people wandering into the airport. I potentially could wander around the back and enter into my gate that way. But, there could be a lot more security there than inside. However, if I accidentally passed out the night could cloak me until I came back around. Inside, it would be very bright with nearly nowhere to hide. Going inside would mean I should be able to find my flight quicker than around the back. There should be plenty of signs telling me which was which and where a plane was headed.
And then there was potential people hanging around or were part of the staff at the airport who were Hydra agents. If they spotted me they would go after me. I didn't doubt my ability to escape from one person, but who knew just how many would be called in for backup to try and take me down before I could get out of the airport? I was Spider-man, though. Fighting bad guys, no matter how many, was in my job description. I hadn't really had to fight a whole army of something yet so I didn't know how well I would fare in such an unfair fight though...
There was also the fact that this was Wakanda. I doubted they would be able to come into one of, if not the most, advanced country in the world guns-a-blazing. If they did, Wakanda's people would cause an uproar, and it would be a beacon to the Ultimates and shield to tell them whereabouts I was.
They would be smarter than that, so it would make it harder for them to take me down. But they were more than willing to play dirty, but so was I. A cornered animal was more ferocious than a free one.
If I was them, I would try and pull me aside under the disguise of being airport security then knock me out. They would probably drug me so I couldn't fight them back. And now that they had my blood, they probably knew a faster, more efficient way to knock me out. If I was lucky I might have become more resistant to anything they would give me. Maybe that would make the difference between me dying or getting away.
I could wander in without my mask on. If someone did see me, that way it wouldn't raise too many alarm bells as to what I was doing and I wouldn't have to worry about my camouflage failing on me. Yet, I didn't have anything to cover my face beside it and there were security cameras. They still might come in guns out so I couldn't make any assumptions.
I mean, I had assumed that I wouldn't garner interest in my... "skill set." Look where I was now, half-way across the bloody world wondering how I could illegally sneak on to a plane.
Maybe I could hide in someone's bag? If I went to the check in for my flight and quietly slipped into someone's bag I would be taken more or less straight to the plane without much hassle. It would cut down my time spent camouflaged too. It would work... except that I would be underneath the plane where it wasn't pressurised. I could suffocate or freeze to death at the sub-zero temperatures. The flight was eighteen hours long, I wouldn't survive in just this for that long. I was super-human, but not that super-human. Even if I did, the bag could be transferred straight to another plan and I could end up even further from home.
Well, what did that leave me with? Sneaking around the back or booking it inside. I mean, I could pause for breaks in bathrooms and such. There should be some all over the place. So if I told myself, "get to this place in the airport, find a bathroom and get my energy back before getting to this place," I should be able to get to my plane in time.
Now that left me with the problem of where on the plane I could hide. It should be a big plane if it was heading directly to Washington. Maybe if I snuck past the flight attendants scanning people on and find a seat on the plane before most people were on I could sit in a comfy seat the whole flight? Except, I could accidentally take someone else's seat and if a scene erupted...
So I couldn't sit in a seat, and I couldn't sit down with the bags down below. But... if I remembered correctly there were still over-head lockers. If I was careful and found one that only had one bag in it I should have enough room for myself the whole flight. I wouldn't die because of the cold or lack of oxygen either!
It was perfect. Run inside, camouflaged, of course, take breaks in bathrooms, find my gate and then sneak on to the jet bridge and plane before anyone got on and hide in the overhead lockers for the duration of the flight. I should be able to do the same sort of thing getting out of the airport too.
I took a few deep breaths, I could do this. Worst case scenario I'm found and I have to run back out of the airport and re-plan.
I could do this.
I camouflaged and immediately began running to the front entrance. I stopped to wait for the automatic doors to open before I stopped to take in my surroundings. There were a few desks with different airlines to check-in at, where there were some lines formed. Looked like there were only going to be two or planes leaving soon. That was great for me. To the left of the check-in was the start of security where you had to line up and get you and all of your belongings scanned. Dotted around the place in small clumps were many stores such as McDonald's or random trinket shops.
I was pretty sure I had to get through security to get to the gates, damn. I ran in that direction and jumped on to the ceiling just as the numbing pain from camouflaging began.
I probably only had a couple of minutes left before I began to get dizzy but I didn't want to risk it. I would rest up a bit after I got through security. With an extra burst of speed, I began to rapidly climb across the ceiling, passing above the heads of security people and the scanners. As soon as I had gotten past them I let go of the roof and ran, looking left and right for a bathroom.
I was starting to feel light headed when I finally spotted a bathroom. Without worrying for the moment about if it would look strange I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Swallowing the whine threatening to bubble up I hurriedly locked myself in a stall closest to the exit. I noticed that there wasn't anyone else currently in the bathroom which really worked to my advantage right now.
When I was sitting on the toilet cover, I finally let the camouflage melt away. The relief was immediate and almost painful. I breathed, waiting until the pain had gone away and I was feeling back to almost one-hundred percent before I got back up again and went to open the door and run again. Just as I was turning the lock someone walked into the bathroom. I stood as still as a statue as I heard them slowly walk towards a stall a few down from me and lock the door behind them.
I blinked a few times, slowing down my breathing until I was calm again and my thoughts weren't panicking about how they had to be a Hydra agent, before opening it and opening the door to the bathroom.
Someone looked up and stared at where I was now standing. They seemed to be looking directly at me, and they were frowning.
Oh my god, they had spotted me, they were going to alert Hydra. I knew that that other guy was a Hydra agent! There was no way he wasn't and this guy was going to grab me in just a second and hand me straight into Hydra's arms-
The guy shrugged and pulled out his phone as the door closed behind me.
O-oh. They were probably just waiting for their friend inside. Wow, I needed to work on not freaking out.
I began to run again and realised I was now at the gates. I would have to look for my gate and check every single one to find the one headed to Washington. This was going to suck. I would have to be relatively quick too because by my guess there were only twenty minutes until people were scheduled to board. I picked up my pace and when there were a lot of people waiting at a gate I would slow down and check if they were going to Washington, instead of checking every single one. I had to take a break one more time before I finally found my gate. By this time, it was only ten minutes until they would board.
Everything was going to plan so far, no one had noticed me and I was where I needed to be. I walked up to the doors that led onto the jet-bridge and tried to open it. Nope, it was locked. Crap.
I should have a few minutes before I would need to un-camouflage again, so I settled for leaning against the desk while I waited. This would be good. I mean, I was hidden from sight and as long as I kept in tune with my sense I would be able to camouflage before anyone discovered me here. Which meant I could take short breaks. I rubbed my hand over the top of my mask, as soon as it was opened by someone I could sneak past them and get onto the plane. Easy.
I closed my eyes, tuning into my enhanced senses to check where people that could potentiality discover where I was and to check what they were doing. No one was close enough to the desk to alarm me, and my spidey-sense was only a faint hum in the background to let me know that there was a good chance someone might see me. I already knew that, so until it increased I was going to try not to stress over it. I was as safe as I could be right now.
I sat up straighter as I heard footsteps growing closer, the hum of my spidey-sense getting stronger. Still in camouflage, because I hadn't relaxed it while I was thinking, I looked around the desk to see a small child, maybe five or six, come running to the door.
They peered into the jet-bridge curiously, and I relaxed. It was okay, they were just looking around. However, the pain, the numbness and the dizziness were growing rapidly worse while I waited for them to move along. I bit my lip and closed my eyes, straining to keep it going even as my sense of up and down becoming tilted.
I had to keep it going, they might alert everyone here to my whereabouts! I knew I probably would if I were their age and saw a missing hero, and If they did, I would be back to square one.
Just one small burst of visibility, that's all I needed. Just to get rid of some of the pain washing over me.
I opened my eyes and turned visible, only to see the child had turned around and was staring at me. Oh no, I was done for. Just one small mistake and now I was discovered and Hydra would get me and I would be killed. I would never see my family again. I had been so close but because I had been so stupid- I should have chosen to go by-
The boy smiled, "Spider-man," he murmured, looking at me with wide, almost adoring, eyes. They took a step closer.
I pressed a finger to my lips, silently shushing him. That's all I would, or could, do. I could only cross my fingers and hope they wouldn't tell their parents until I was far enough away for it not to be too big of a concern for me. The kid nodded, hopefully in understanding, and went back to his parents. I could see their huge grin as they looked back at where I was sitting. Okay, I was safe for now it seemed. God that had been so careless of me, I should have uncamouflaged the moment I knew I was safe.
I camouflaged again, just in time as I spotted a staff member come up from behind me, heading straight past me in a confident walk and over to the door. I got up hurriedly and huddled in fairly close behind her as she pressed a card to the lock on the door. She swung the door open and I had just enough time to duck inside before it closed and locked again.
I followed her like a shadow, my heart hammering. I was so close, I was nearly on the plane and closer to home. The door to the plane was already open so she just walked straight in. By how clean everything looked I guessed that they were nearly ready to bring in the passengers onboard. I stepped inside and saw where all the passenger seats were.
I walked between the small gap between seats, trying to decide where the best place to put myself would be. Should I stay in business class? Nope, I could get noticed easier and more people would pass underneath me. I would be closer to the entrance if it came down to that and there would be fewer people under me for the duration of the trip, too. What about at the very back? There would be less people passing underneath me during the time we were boarding, and even if I was discovered down there it wouldn't change my chances of getting out of there all too much I didn't think. Yeah, I think that would be the best place to go. I would be getting off last when we finally landed anyway (because I would have to wait for the flap to open so it wouldn't look suspicious and when that happened it would be hard to duck in between people), it only made sense to go there.
I quickly walked down, aware that I only had a few minutes to hide. Okay, keep cool, keep up the camouflage for a few more minutes and then I would be all good. I could close the flap behind me and then switch it back on when someone opened it up again. When I was all the way at the back of the plane I reached up on my tippy-toes to open the flap. I then climbed onto a seat and was able to pull myself up and into the small space.
I had to tuck myself into a ball just to fit myself into half of the space. Oh man, I really hoped that there wouldn't be two bags placed up here. If someone did, I guess I could climb on to the ceiling and find another one to hide in. I just had to cross my fingers and hope that my luck wasn't crap for once.
I could do this. In the end, surely people would be sympathetic?
Even if they weren't... I was Spider-man.