Light & Shadow

Chapter 6

My body aches as I clench teeth and ball my trembling hands into fists. "Maybe I won't, but I wasn't raised to quit. It's not over until you stop breathing." I repeat it to myself as I push on despite the panic tightening around my heart. Nat always used to say that to me when I wanted to give up, and it's exactly what I have to tell myself now that she's gone.

I try not to think about all the time I lost because of my panic attack. Right now, I need to find a way to make it to Peter without using up all my energy and use any real form of transport. "ARTI? I know you're mad at me right now, but I need a car—fast." It's quiet for a second, and I feel my heart drop. My voice cracks as it drops to a pleading whisper, "Please."

It's quiet, and I start running towards the tracking beacon in a desperate attempt to get to him. The chances of me making it before he gets too hurt are slim if absolutely nothing, but it's Peter. There's no way I can stand back as it happens and know I didn't try everything.

A car practically hits me as I run across a street, and I almost keep going before I notice there's no one in the driver seat. "Get in. I'll drive." ARTI says as the door swings open. I hop in, hands balled into fists as the car goes from zero to sixty under his control. "I know how much he means to you. I promise I'll get you there in time."

"Thank you." I reply softly as I look around for any sign of Peter and Beck. The car comes to a screeching halt in what looks like an office building that's being renovated, and my feet hit the pavement the second we do. "I need an exact location, ARTI."

"It looks like he's down the alleyway around the—" His voice goes quiet as I push my body into a full sprint around the corner, where Peter looks around frantically, completely unaware that he's surrounded by drones.

I have to force myself to stay back for a moment until I can alter the light around me until I have no reflection, no visibility to cameras or people, with the only exception being Peter. In the split second it takes for me to do that, the drones circle him, projecting an illusion that keeps him in place.

My hands shake and heart drops to subterranean levels as I weave through the drones to get to him. All the while Beck's voice rings from each of them. "I mean, look at yourself." Peter moves to touch what looks like a mirror when the drones close in on him. It looks like he's being attacked by a hundred Spidermen, dressed in Peter's normal suit, and I push to reach him without alerting any of the drones and killing both of us.

"You are just a scared little kid." Beck calls, "in a sweat suit." The illusion shifts so it looks like Peter's back in the suit that he wore before Dad and I designed him a new one, the one he was wearing when our alter egos first met.

"Don't listen to him, Pete." I call just loud enough for him to hear since I can't reach him just yet.

"I created Mysterio to give the world someone to believe in." Beck continues, sounding more delusion than ever. "I control the truth. Mysterio is the truth."

Okay, yeah, he's definitely lost the few marbles he had left.

The illusion shifts again, and the drones swarm until I'm pushed farther and farther away from Peter until I can only watch in horror. He doesn't know what he's doing. Everything Beck's created too strong for Peter to see what's around him.

He shoots a web at Beck, and unknowingly pulls a crane down towards him. My reflex takes over and uses my shadows to push him out of the way in time to avoid being crushed. After that, he seems to find a bit of momentum as he skillfully dodges the Mysterio illusion.

There's a break in the drones as the giant illusion fist comes tumbling down on Peter and turning into the same ugly green fog projected all around. When it dissipates, Peter is back in his real suit with a stone projected in front of him. "If you were good enough, maybe Tony would still be alive."