Walking the Wire | PETER PARKER [1]

| 24 |

Eloise hits the floor with a thud. Bouncing slightly against the wooden boards, a small shock of pain shoots through her body. She just lies there for a few seconds before she looks up and blows a strand of hair out of her face.

Peter is no longer on the fire escape, leaving Ned to stand alone outside her window. At the sound of Eloise's body hitting the floor, Ned peers into her bedroom and smiles when he sees her through the glass. He waves.

Eloise pushes herself up onto her feet and, stretching out her back, pads over to the window. She opens it and leans out.

"You made it back in one piece," Eloise breathes, relieved and surprised. She looks around the fire escape in search of the other boy. "Where'd Peter go?"

Ned motions downwards at the street with a wave of his hand. "He's coming up from the lobby and walking in the front door so May sees him. He had to change out of his Spider-Man suit and grab a backpack to make it look like he just came back from another Stark retreat, though."

Eloise nods. Her eyes trail over Ned's face, analyzing every worry line in his forehead and the bags under his eyes. "So what happened down south?" She finally asks the question burning in the back of her head. "I didn't hear about any warehouses full of nuclear weapons being exploited and a guy named Antonio Russo getting thrown in prison."

Ned tugs on the straps of his backpack and glances around. "I think it'd be better if you came over and Peter helped me explain everything." He takes a deep breath and exhales. "A lot happened."

🕸

When Peter walks into his bedroom, he doesn't notice his neighbor right away. He flings his backpack against his dresser and jumps against the wall, doing an intricate flip and lands into his desk chair.

And then he sees her.

As his eyes trail over Eloise, she tries to keep her face expressionless. She doesn't want him to know that he hurt her and she doesn't want to distract him from the issue at hand that could, quite possibly, be an issue concerning the entire country. Ned said it could affect the entire world if it goes according to Russo's plan. Eloise doesn't need to get in Ned and Peter's way more than she already has.

Peter can't seem to get anything out as he awkwardly stares at Eloise, so she decides to be the one to ease the tension.

"I know that you don't think you need me," Eloise says with a level voice. "But maybe I can help just a little. But if I am more of a burden and not helping at all, just say so and I'll leave you two to figure all of this out without me."

Guilt flashes in Peter's eyes. "About that, I didn't mean it that way. I was just—"

"I don't care," Eloise lies through her teeth. She does care, obviously, but ... bygones, right? "Let's just focus on saving the world."

Peter swallows and turns to his laptop. He starts typing. It's like he flips a switch and he's on super-hero mode.

"So, basically, Russo has been stealing money and robbing banks and such so he can pay for the advanced weapons, for which Felix Smith, whom lives on the seventh floor, is his supplier. Felix is a former marine and is now a mechanic at some body shop around the block, and he went to college and got a degree in mechanics and engineering. Anyways, Felix used to work for Oscorp, got fired, got employed at Stark Industries, and got fired again, so that's how he knows so much about all the weapons and advanced machinery." Peter shoots his arm out, webs a bottle of water sitting next to Ned's backpack, and catches it. He takes a long drink before setting it aside and continuing to work. "So we got to New Orleans—"