Toss Up (Danny Rand)

Double Shift (Part 3)

"You need to rest." He says, careful of my injuries.

"How can I when my best friend's dad is threatening to wreck Manhattan?" I know he's right, but I have to keep going—I can't afford to be left behind!

He places a firm hand on my shoulder as he leans me against the wall. "You and the other pushed yourselves today to save us. Let us return the favor," he says as an explosion rocks the ship. He shields me from some falling debris, giving me one last look before joining the others.

I steady myself as the ship shakes. If I had been more careful... if I had just finished that battle with the snake mutant fast enough... I watch as Connor uses his powers to rip out any glass around him, trying to encase The Goblin, but he easily breaks out of it. A blue light shines through the cracks above us then, Fury's face appearing on the giant screen right behind The Goblin.

"Osborn you are in violation of every law in the book! Prepare to be boarded!" his face blinks out and the ship lurches to the side as it catches the Hellcarrier up in the Tri-carrer's tractor beam. I can see from the corner of my eye that The Goblin is exchanging a few words with Spider-Man, but I'm unable to hear them with the ship trying to crack itself in half.

"Let's show him how a team works!" Spider-Man hollers, landing a solid punch on The Goblin's chin as the others back him up. He shakes them all off, going over to his screens to activate something.

With everything I have, I try to use my tails to do what I did before, to bind The Goblin with the shadows, but he breaks out of my hold. Spider-Man tries to web his hands to keep from pressing a sketchy looking button, but he tears them away like tissue paper and presses it anyway.

Another explosion knocks me to the floor as I avoid another chunk of ceiling that almost crushes me. I can see the visible crack in the floors widen as I scramble to my feet, hissing as a shooting pain runs up my right side.

"All of you get ready to abandon ship! The Goblin is trying to send the rest of the gas onboard along with the Hellcarrier down onto the city below!" Fury's voice booms as the Tri-carrier looms above. They throw ropes down from Coulson's ship that hovers over the gaping hole above us as Nova flies over to me.

"Need a lift, pretty lady?"

I smile, shaking my head but glad to have him back to his dorky self. "Glad to have you back, Bucket Head." I take his hand as he carefully lifts me up, flying me up to the ship and looking down below, I see Spider-Man and White Tiger stay behind.

Nova sets me down as gently as he can and as soon as my feet touch the floors of the ship, I see Tracey, his face is coated in a thin sheen of sweat as he concentrates on the Hellcarrier, his arms out. I take another look outside, and I see a giant paper crane holding up half of the ship that was trying to collapse. Had he been holding it up for that long?!

"What's Spider-Man doing?!" Connor shouts over the roaring engines of the ship and I watch in horror as he and White Tiger dangle from a jagged metal beam of the Hellcarrier by his webs. I nearly jump out when I see his webs snap, Iron Fist being the one to hold me back as I watch Spider-Man web The Goblin's hover vehicle, hitching a ride on it before the Hellcarrier explodes. I turn away, the heat from the blast traveling up to us, and lean against Iron Fist's embrace.

"Nova, get White Tiger!" Spider-Man shouts as Nova shoots off without another word. She joins us safely on the ship a moment later as it stabilizes itself from the blast, everyone holding on tight to whatever they can grab.

"Tracey, let go of the ship!" Coulson says as he releases his hold of the paper. The crane folds in on itself before bursting into bits and pieces. For a second it looks like confetti before what's left of the Hellcarrier descends into the Hudson.