Rollercoaster - Peter Parker

23. Rollercoaster

The first day of spring didn't bring much ease to the chill that seemed to be permanently hung over the city during the winter months.

The insistent chill didn't stop crimes from happening in spurts, though. Ned called Peter earlier in the day as they both looked over police scanners in the area. It was then that Peter decided to drag out his patrol throughout most of the day.

Despite the cold, Peter was sweating in his suit as he stood on a decorated rooftop in the middle of Queens. While looking across the horizon of the city, he could see blocks away. It was a pretty amazing sight, even better considering the strings of leftover Christmas lights around the roof.

"Doesn't the city look so nice today, Karen?" he spoke aloud to the suit, smiling a bit.

The robotic voice let out a hum of agreement. "It definitely looks picture perfect. Would you like a picture of this moment, Peter?"

Peter gasped, his smile widening. "You can do that?! Yes, snap a picture, Karen!"

He heard a click echo through his mask. Soon, a high quality photo of the skyline was spit out through a compartment in which his web fluid would usually shoot out of. He admired the sleekness of the photo, wondering how he never knew Karen was a camera. Then again, he never knew of Karen's existence until months before.

"Is that satisfactory, Peter, or would you like another one?" Karen asked, the robotic voice speaking throughout the suit.

"Oh, no, it's awesome! I was just thinking about how I never knew you could even take pictures; that's amazing!" Peter exclaimed, a smile taking over his face. "Thank you, Karen."

"I've always been a camera of sorts. Remember that Thor impression you did? I can play it now if you'd like," Karen told him, starting a whirring sound as the video was brought up as a hologram of sorts through Peter's web shooter. 

"Nope! We do not have to relive that... again..." Peter told her, flailing his arms around in an attempt to get rid of the video.

"I record everything because it's what I see. And, you're welcome, Peter." The way Karen's voice hit Peter's ears made him think that there was a huge possibility that robots could speak with some emphasis or laughter in their voices. Soon, he shrugged the thought away, shoving the picture into a pair of lightweight shorts he had underneath his suit.

For a few hours, the crimes Peter ran into were simple ones that he would've done while patrolling after just discovering his powers. He helped an old woman who had gotten her purse stolen, he tracked down a stolen car, he even had to write old fashioned notes of bikes again.

But, Peter was not expecting to run into Flash on the roof of a building who was accompanied by four other kids. Peter had gotten lost in convincing himself that he would never have to face the people that harassed him on a day-to-day basis for years, that seeing them rendered him speechless for a few seconds. All he could hear was the pounding of his heart, and his breathing became shaky.

"-his heart's beating mad fast," a boy Peter recognized as Sean finished telling Flash.

Peter blinked, finally able to take more steps closer to the group. Funnily enough, the five boys noticeably took a step back as Peter approached them, and the smirk on Flash's face was gone for a second.

"Flash, are you sure about this, dude? I mean, we're not even in suits like you are!" One of the twins yelled to the leader of the group. Flash rolled his eyes, shooting him a look.

"Don't say names, idiot," Flash spit out at the boy, his teeth clenched. He shook his head at the group of boys before looking to Peter once again.