I can't believe how fast they got this set up," Annie's dad said, surveying the scene.

He wasn't wrong. A little over a week ago, the students of Midtown High were alerted that there would be a carnival set up to make up for the canceled dance. Something special for the students and their families.

And now they stood in the school's parking lot, which had been completely transformed. The dull space was now a colorful kaleidoscope of rides, gleeful screams, games, and food stands.

"I'm so excited!" Ryan said. She had been talking non-stop about the carnival since Annie invited her.

"Parker!" Jermaine called. Annie turned around and saw Jermaine and his mother walking up to them.

"That's Jermaine?" Normie asked.

Annie nodded, and greeted her friend. She introduced Normie to him and to Ms. Grant.

"Come on guys, lets get our tickets," MJ said. Her mom's long read hair was braided down her back. "Girls, you have juice and glucotabs?" she asked digging through her large bag.

"Yes mom," Annie groaned. "And its not like there's a lack of sugar here." All around her, people were eating cotton candy, ice cream, candied apples. She could smell the burning churros.

"I'm good Mrs. Parker."

"Thank you Ryan," MJ said, narrowing her eyes at Annie, her look telling her to knock it off with the mouth. Glory smiled and shook her head in solidarity.

"This place looks like a death trap," Glory said, eying the rides that appeared to just sit on the concrete. "Jermaine, don't go on anything rickety."

"Yes mom," he sighed.

The group chatted for a bit, then went their separate ways.

Annie and her friends walked through the colorful maze. Normie's hand brushed against hers. She grabbed it, and blushed when he smiled.

"Get a room," Ryan teased. Jermaine laughed.

"Knock it off," Annie said playfully. She was happy Ryan was behaving herself. She had to make her friend swear she wouldn't bring up her midterm paper.

Ryan gave her another look, and Annie's heart fell. She had told Ryan she and Normie had just gotten together, but it was clear Ryan could tell she and Normie had known each other a long time. Why didn't you tell me? Her eyes seemed to say.

"What do you guys want to do first?" Jermaine asked.

"I'm a little hungry," Normie said.

"Food it is!"

"Onward fearless leader!" Annie said, following her friend.

Jermaine led them to a cluster of food trucks and they found an empty picnic table to sit at. The too hot food was a blessing in the cold. Of course, the conversation focused on Annie's relationship with Normie. Annie explained their parents had been friends, and that they recently reconnected with Normie's mom, which lead to them getting closer. Normie would chime in, adding a few details, creating a believable story. She hated lying to her friends, but it was nice having someone outside of her family who understood why.

Soon the conversation changed to school, SATs and college. Jermaine fretted about studying for the test. They were all scheduled to take it during the spring, but his was the first one scheduled.

"I can't rely on just swimming. That's what my mom is always telling me. 'What if you get hurt? What if you aren't fast enough?'" He shook his head.

Annie nodded, relating. What was with parents and all of this pressure?

"Where do want to go?" Normie asked, taking a bite of his slider.

Jermaine listed a school in DC that had been trying to recruit him. He shrugged. "I always thought I'd go to ESU, like my mom, but, I don't know, this other school looks pretty cool."

"I want to study abroad," Ryan said, and she had been saying that for as long as Annie knew her. But now, halfway through her junior year, she knew it was only a matter of time before Ryan made her dream a reality. She remembered when her friends Reece and Lacy went to college. They swore everything would remain the same between them, and for some time, things did. But Annie knew their relationship was now changing. She wondered how college would effect the bonds of this group. She found herself wishing she could stop time, extending this moment of togetherness.

"Where do you want to study?" Normie asked.

"Paris! I want to cook, what, not sure yet, but I'm thinking pastry chef, possibly chocolatier."

"That's awesome! Paris is beautiful," Normie said, and regaled them with some of the stories of traveling there for business. "Maybe I'll go back," he said. "But for fun, you know? No work, no meetings, just sightseeing. All the touristy stuff."

"Man that sounds nice," Jermaine said. "So what do you do Normie? Are you in college?"

Normie shook his head. "No. I've been in business my entire life." He gave them a brief rundown of his unconventional childhood. And while she could see the questions on their faces, her friends didn't pry, just gave him room to talk. "Its funny though, I kind of miss the board room."

"Would you open up another company?" Ryan asked.

Normie shrugged. "I'm not sure. But maybe I should go to school too. Get my MBA, learn about what other options are out there."

Annie smiled and leaned against him. It looked like things were finally starting to fall into place.

"And we know Annie is going to ESU," Jermaine said.

Annie shrugged. For most of her life, she expected she'd go there. Her father's constant connection to the university made ESU almost a staple in her home life. And, with her dad on the cusp of his PhD, he would likely get a full time position with the school, which would save her thousands on tuition if she were to enroll.

But seeing her friends light up talking about their future goals? The wonder in their voices? Annie wanted to feel that too. ESU was safe, expected, predictable. But was it truly what she wanted? And, to be honest, did she even know what she wanted?

The question was terrifying, and she just wanted to enjoy this moment with her friends and boyfriend before winter break ended. So she shrugged and changed the subject. After their meal, they decided on a slower ride to five their food time to digest.

Her father placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. "You ready?"

Amanda eyed the carnival ahead. She pulled her long coat around her, securing its warmth.

She and her father wore long coats to hide their costumes and dark sunglasses to hide their eyes. They didn't have their helmets, deciding they would draw too much attention, and would prevent them from being able to hide in plain sight.

Amanda nodded, answering her dad's question. She fought the urge to rub her eyes. She got very little sleep the night before, too many dreams. She flashed back to her attack on the school, kids screaming in horror, trying to flee. She pushed the image down. This had to be done. It was the only way to save her family.

"Let's go," she said, forcing her voice steady. She led the way in.

The gondola swayed gently as the ferris wheel turned, bringing Annie and her friends closer to the top.

Ryan held on to the railing fiercely, locking herself into place. "I didn't realize how high we'd get," she said, keeping her gaze on the center of the gondola.

"Ry, I'm sorry," Annie said, feeling guilty for even suggesting this ride.

"I'm good," Ryan began, but Annie didn't hear anything else.

An image of the ferris wheel toppling over flashed through her mind. It was so sudden she almost wondered if it was just a macabre thought invading her headspace. She wished it were.

Annie stood, the gondola lurching with her. Ryan yelled at her in protest, but Annie ignored her friend. She scanned the carnival below, and her eyes searching for the source of the threat.

Then, she saw a large magenta dome shooting their way.

"Hold on!" she yelled as the dome hit the ferris, causing it to tip.

She fired a web, snagging the facade of the funhouse across the way. She pulled, anchoring her feet, trying to yank the ferris wheel back into place. But then fun house front bowed with her force. She stopped pulling, suspending the ferris mid-tip.

"Annie!" Ryan yelled.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Jermaine hanging over the edge, Normie and Ryan pulling him back in. She adjusted her stance, using her weight to keep the gondola steady for them as they pulled him back in. She looked up and saw others dangling precariously over the edge of their gondolas.

She wondered where her parents were. She really needed them at the moment.

There was a scream from above and a body came soaring down.

Annie let go of the web with one hand and fired another, snagging the falling person. The ferris wheel dropped another few feet when she did, causing more people to fall. With one hand, she shot out more weblines, catching people as they fell, wondering if she were doing the right thing. Her dad was very much against stopping falls this way, but what choice did she have? If she let go of the webbing and swung out to catch the falling people, the ferris wheel would crash to the ground.

Jermaine was safely back in the gondola, holding on to Normie and Ryan.

Normie locked eyes with her. "Your mask." he said.

"My Pack," she said. But her backpack had tumbled out of the ferris wheel when it was hit.

"My God," Jermaine said. "Annie, you're…"

"Come on," Ryan said, standing on wobbly legs. "Let's block the view of her. Keep people from seeing."

The three of them stood despite their fear and circled Annie, doing their best to obstruct a clear view of her.

"Up top," Jermaine said, and Annie followed his gaze to where a gondola swayed dangerously close to a dangling soul. Annie shot up a web, preventing it from smacking into the person. Ryan and Normie gave her additional cues.

"You need to fire at another building. That one is going to collapse," Normie whispered. The structure buckled more, and creaked horribly. Annie adjusted her grip, fighting the fear that she had made a grave error and endangered the souls in the funhouse. Her grip change caused the wheel to drop a few more feet, and everyone let out a collective scream. She fired a few more weblines, trying to better balance the force.

She thought about lowering the ferris wheel down gently onto its side to give people the chance to escape, but the risk of it crushing one of the dangling people was too great, so she pulled it back to a standing position.

Thankfully, she recognized the red and blue blur of her father, swinging out of the funhouse. So that's were he was. The time spent in there told her that her catching that building had caused some sort of damage, delaying her dad. He swung up past her, and dropped her Pack back in the gondola as he made his way to help evacuate the ferris wheel.

Her friends did their best to block her as fished for her mask. Then she grabbed her friends and swung them off the wheel. Once safely on the ground, she saw the white and scarlet figure of her mother leave the fun house, shepherding a crowd of people out and away. The funhouse then collapsed on itself.

"Crap," Annie said as the flimsy building went down. But she trusted her parents were able to get everyone out.

"Not your fault," Normie said. "Come on guys!" He grabbed her hand and pulled into a spot that was fairly secluded.

Her friends huddled around her one more time, and she pulled her street clothes off, exposing her costume.

"You guys gotta go," she said, before firing a web strand, ready to take on Triple Threat.

This was the second time one them attacked her friends. Annie was going to make sure this would be the last.

What the hell is going on?"

"Ryan," Normie began. "We have to go, now! Spiderling's got this."

"We are not leaving my mom here!" Jermaine yelled.

"Okay. But she was with Annie's parents, so I am sure she is safe."

"I'm going to find her," he said. "Ry, if you want to leave, go with Normie, I'll catch up with you guys."

Ryan wiped at her eyes. "I lost my glasses," she said numbly. She took a breath. "Let's stick together. We'll help you find your mom."

Normie nodded his agreement. He knew Ms. Grant was safe, Peter and MJ wouldn't let anything happen to her. But he could also understand how Jermaine felt.

"Anyone got their phone? I lost mine on the ferris wheel."

Normie unlocked his and handed it over.

As Jermaine dialed, the bright afternoon light dimmed to a magenta glow.

"What the hell?" Ryan cried again.

Normie looked up and saw they were trapped inside a large dome. He jogged deeper inside as Jermaine and Ryan huddled by the perimeter.

"Normie?" Jermaine called.

"Hold on," he whispered. "Spiderling!" He had to get her attention. If she knew they were trapped, she would get them out.

"Spiderling!" He yelled again.

Then there was a light, strange noise, and the air seemed to shimmer.

"Get down!" Jermaine yelped, but Normie was knocked off of his feet, slamming onto the ground.

It felt like a wall had smashed into him. He tried move, but felt so dizzy. The world seemed to swim beneath him, and he struggled to orient himself in space.

"Normie!" His name sounded so far away, and it felt like he could've placed the voice if he could just keep his thoughts together.

"Normie, you okay?" someone choked. He felt a hand shake his shoulder and realized Jermaine was next to him, lying on his belly. "You gotta stay awake, okay?" He sounded terrified. But the image started to blur.

"Oh my God, there's so much blood." A voice, female. "Normie? Jermaine, is he going to be okay?"

Normie tried to focus on their words but struggled to understand. He blinked to clear his vision, which swam from blurry to darkness.

"I don't know. We gotta get him out of here."

"How?"

"Stay down!"

Normie's vision cleared for a moment, and above him flew a sheet of glass like shapes. It was mesmerizing. But then then image began to fade. As one image washed away, another figure appeared to solidify in the darkness. The figure reach out, touched Normie's cheek, his touch cool, and so familiar. His clear form seemed to glow against the darkness.

"Dad?" He whispered as the darkness melted away.

Stop!" Annie screamed, as Glass fired off another round.

Guardian contracted the dome, lessening the space, making it easier for Glass to fill the area with her shard-like daggers.

There were so many flying in every direction, Annie couldn't do anything but twist and turn, just barely dodging each piece.

"Stop!" She screamed again, as more glass flew. She let her Spider-Sense guide her movements, while it tortured her with images of her friends. Pictures of Normie, lying on the ground in a pool of blood flashed through her mind. She had thought that was related to the Hobgoblin attack. But now she was terrified it was connected to this one.

And then there were flashes of Jermaine and Ryan, lying flat on the ground next to him.

"Please! Stop! I'll do whatever you want, just let me help my friends. Please," tears streamed down her face, and she felt her knees go weak. Her body fought the urge to dodge the danger, but she felt so exhausted as she dropped to her knees.

But then the instinct to twist and turn subsided. She looked up, and saw the shivers of glass suspended in the air, frozen in place. The light, filtered through the magenta dome, caught the glass, causing it to sparkle and shine. It could've been beautiful.

"Please, let me help them," she begged.

"Glass, she's lying," Guardian said.

"Take us to them. We'll let them go, if you cooperate. But we need you and your parents to come with us."

"Fine," Annie sobbed. She'd do whatever it took to get her friends to safety. And Normie? She needed to get him to a hospital.

Glass nodded to her, telling her to get up. She didn't drop the pieces of glass, but instead held them in place.

Annie rushed through them, letting them slice at her limbs, her costume. She didn't care.

Please, she begged anyone, anything. Please don't let me be too late.

There was a pounding from up above. Her parents beat down on the perimeter of the dome, trying to get inside, but Annie ignored them.

She saw her friends her friends lying on the ground, Ryan and Jermaine, trying to rouse Normie. She saw blood. So much blood, she froze, her heart pounding in her ears. Normie was so still.

She was too late.

Glass gasped and the dagger-like shards fell to the ground. Ryan yelped, the sound snapping Annie out of her shock. She rushed over to her friends, and huddled over them, protecting them from the onslaught raining down.

"Oh my God," Glass choked. "Is he…"

"I don't know."

"He is you monster!" Jermaine seethed, pushing against Annie's form. Annie didn't budge. With her eyes locked on Normie, she couldn't.

"Dad what do I do?"

Annie's eyes stung when the dome disappeared, the light bright and clear; a stark contrast to the horror before her.

She heard her parents land behind her, and her mom screamed.

Annie became aware of the audience surrounding them, people gawking, crying, panicking, and others standing frozen in their silence.

She heard her father's breathing, could feel his anger.

"Manda," Guardian said. "I need you to run!"

And she could hear her father's attack. But she couldn't take her eyes off of Normie.

"Get up," she said, shaking him. "Normie, please, get up!"

"Is that guy dead?" someone asked.

No, she wanted to say. No he can't be. Then she saw someone pull their phone out, aiming it at her. Normie wouldn't want that. Not at all.

Seething with rage, Annie fired a web and snagged the phone slamming it to the ground. The crowd let out a collective gasp. Over a phone.

"What the hell?" The guy yelled.

Annie fought the urge to pound the guy's face into the pavement. But she knew Normie would hate having this crowd of people gawking at him, like he was some sort of science experiment. She remembered how tired he looked after a long day of addressing the press over some sort of Oscorp business.

So instead, she scooped him up, his weight heavier in his stillness. Her eyes stung.

She fired web after web, higher and higher. "I'll get you out of there," she whispered to him. "I promise."