Wings || Peter Parker

30: Statue

I flew over the grassy parkland, and above the occasional tree. I climbed through the air, adrenaline rushing through me. 

Flying over the water, I watched as my shadow got smaller and smaller the more altitude I gained. Soon it was barely big enough to see.

The sun was also rising, just as fast as I was. The bright orange bulb reached above the buildings just as I came to eye level with the statue.

I finally stopped, and just coasted along the wind watching as the state came closer and closer.

I could soon see all the detail in her clothes, and her book. I was getting closer to her crown. I flew closer down until I was just above the first spike. From there, I began flapping vertically, slowing the descent greatly, and landing lightly in the folds of her hair. 

There was not a lot of texture on the top of her head, just large green bumps going in the motion her hair fell. I slid down the scratchy surface and into one of the indents, resting my head in my hood and staring up at the sky.

I woke with a jolt. The sun was high in the air, and I was all itchy from the rusted copper. I could hear voices below, tourists in the statue's crown. I ignored them, but there was tons of chatter and I couldn't.

I got up and stared at the sky. The sun was still rising, but it was nearing the middle of the day.

My face was sunburnt, and I was sweating. I glared at the sun. It burned my eyes, and then all I could see were spots.

I blinked and rubbed my eyes until they went away, then walked to the edge of the crown and looked down. Everything below was small. 

I decided to be cool, and climbed up to the top of one of her crown spikes, looking over the watch and city in front of me. All the lights were on, and horns honking echoed through my head, my super-hearing picking it up from miles away.

I stood on the very tip of the crown, which was just a dull rounded point. My shoes just barely fit on the thin space, the vans pattern on the bottom leaving diamond footprints behind me.

I glanced down once more, before leaning forwards a falling off the crown. I plummeted to the ground, and I could hear everyone's screams and shouts of panic as I dropped. They thought someone fell.

I quickly opened my wings, narrowly avoiding people on the island, then bursting over the treetops and flying over the water. 

I carefully drifted closer to the water, soaring directly above it and skimming my hand across the surface. 

It was very cold and splashed droplets all over me, but I didn't care. I felt like I was in the iconic movie moment, where the main character is on some sort of vehicle, and they skim their hand across the water while beaming. It was awesome.

Once my hand was numb, I flew back up in the air and did a couple of loops, swirling around another ferry. 

I grinned as the people on deck awed in amazement. I waved and continued on my way. Two more boats followed the one I'd passed, so I got close to the water and dodged in between them. I flew back up high, passing over the moor and a small scattering of buildings before gliding above the rooftops. 

I continued gliding for what felt like hours until I found a small grassy park and landed there. There was a school nearby, an elementary school.

I made my way on top of a jungle gym, climbing the triangles and standing on the top rung, breathing in the fresh air. I stood there for a few minutes before climbing down to a sitting position. I dangled my legs over the empty space, staring at the reddish mulch below me.

A bell rang, and a ton of kids ran out of the front of the school. 

"Recess!" One shouted. They were about a hundred feet away, but quickly getting closer.

"Who is that?" Another shouted, pointing at me.

I frowned and waved.

"Woah!" One said. "She has wings!"

I waved again and hopped off the jungle gym.

"Miss lady!" One shouted. "Why do you have wings?"

"Can I touch them?" A little kid asked. He held his hand back before asking. I nodded, and he brushed the feathers lightly. "Cool!"

"Miss!" Another shouted, running up to me. "Your wings are pretty!"

I smiled.

One girl handed me a flower. "Do you want this pretty flower?"

I smiled and took it, before noticing a teacher walking my way.

"Thank you," I said to the girl, before starting to walk away from the teacher.

The teacher quickened her pace.

I took one look at her, then hopped over the rest of the kids and walked away. "Thank you for the flower, but I have to go," I said, before running away. I climbed a slide structure and jumped off, gliding away from the school.

I flew away from the place fast, searching for a subway entrance to find a map. I didn't know where I was, and I couldn't see the tower from where I was.

I slipped the flower in my pocket so I wouldn't fly away and flew over a row of buildings to another wide street. The was a brick area near it, sort of like a pop-up market area. I freaked out a couple people and ran down the path to find a dark metro entrance. People were crowding around me as I slid down the railing to get inside the station.

I located a map on the wall and looked on my tiptoes over a man's shoulder to find the tower. I gave up after a few minutes, grabbing a paper map from a stand on the way out and leaning against the wall, unfolding it to its full size.

People followed me, filming me and shouting. I ignored it, locating the tall building drawn on the map. I'd traveled fifteen miles from it. I folded it back up and stuffed it in my pocket, searching for a way to get off the ground.

The street was full, and the area I was in was full of people. I frowned, before walking closer to the street.

I opened my wings, keeping everyone next to me away. 

I peered through the traffic, location a large truck with a ladder on the end. 

I took off running before the traffic light changed, grabbing onto the bottom rung of the ladder just as everything began moving again. It was a boxy truck, one with a chip commercial on each side.

I continued climbing the ladder, grabbing the roof of the vehicle and dragging myself on top of the truck. We were still moving slowly, thanks to the traffic, but quickly picking up speed.

I braced myself as we began to move faster, leaning forwards against the wind so I wouldn't be pushed off. My shoes gripped the metal roof nicely, so I didn't have to worry about sliding off. 

My hair was stuck in my hood, but when it was blown off my head, I opened my wings and soared high into the sky.

I eventually found the tower again, after flying for over an hour. I landed on the helipad, fluffing my wings, then walking inside. I didn't want to be spotted by cameras, but I couldn't exactly get into my window the same way I'd gotten out. 

I figured since I was already on the helipad, I took the elevator down to my floor.

I glared at the cameras in the hall as I walked to my room. Opening the door, I saw a strange figure sitting in my chair. 

"Where were you?" Mr. Stark asked in an annoyed tone.

"Hanging out with Peter," I replied, grabbing the glass of water from my bedside table and placing the flower in it.

"Wrong." Peter was in the corner, not noticed by me thanks to his new cloaking device.

I jumped, glaring at him.

"So, Max, where were you?" Mr. Stark asked.