Make Way for the Spiders

Twenty Two

-_-_-_-Peter's POV-_-_-_-

I slammed my fists on the door repeatedly, but to no avail. 

"Her blood's on your hands, Peter Dear!" I heard Tempest shout, and I panicked. With a new wave of determination, I rammed my shoulder against the door a couple of times before it finally opened. 

I looked around, but saw nothing but an open window. I cursed, before yanking on my mask, kicking off my sweat pants, and pulling off my hoodie. Then, without wasting another minute, I dived out of the window, just in time to see a cluster of dark clouds disappear over a building. 

The screams below me made me panic, and I swung as fast as I could to catch up with Tempest. 

I was terrified for Rayne, and hated myself for taking so long to get to her. 

Lightning struck beside me, and I yelped as I tried to dodge. For a second, I was free falling, and scrambled to get another web out. When I got back into rhythm, I had new determination in my eyes. 

Why wasn't Rayne doing anything to protect herself? I had trained her for that specific reason, so that she could defend herself - so why wasn't she doing anything? 

The sky rumbled, and I risked a glance up to see dark, murky clouds hovering above me. A small piece of hail nicked my shoulder, and I growled. That woman was asking for an early grave. I finally caught sight of Tempest, and a lump caught in my throat when I saw Rayne lying helpless in the air. I glared, and sent a web directly at Rayne, attaching it to her back, and yanking her back. The wind struggled against me, but I didn't let up, and soon I had her in one arm, and landed on top of a building. 

"Rayne, are you alright?" I asked, but didn't dare take off her mask. Too many civilians had taken notice of what was happening. "What did she do to you?" 

"I... I was poisoned," she said softly, but didn't make any movement. "She poisoned me, when we went to dinner the other night. That's why I've been seeing things. She... she gave me an antidote, but it temporarily paralyzed me." 

I cursed, and cupped her cheek. "I'll kill her," I muttered, and she giggled. "Are you hurt?" 

"No." She sighed, and I saw her fingers twitch. "I'm starting to get some feeling back, though." 

I nodded, and glanced up, looking for Tempest. Where is she? She wouldn't give up that easily. 

I helped Rayne sit up, and she leaned against an old crate. 

"Why did you let her in?" I asked, crouching down. 

"I didn't let her in..." she sighed. "I didn't look to see who was there. I just opened the door, and I didn't get a chance to stop her." 

I gave a soft chuckle, and shook my head. "Not a smart move," I told her. 

Rayne laughed, and I noticed that she was starting to move around a bit more. "Why haven't we been attacked yet?" she asked, craning her neck to look at the sky. 

"Don't jinx it," I scolded, but looked up worriedly. A piece of hail, the size of a football landed a few feet away, and I gulped. "Too late." 

A cluster of clouds gathered, and when they disappeared, Tempest was there, her eyes sparking, and her hair whipping around wildly. 

"Peter, I presume," she spat. "I should've known." 

"Get out of here," I warned. 

She cackled, and my ears popped. Even with her mask on, I saw Rayne cringe. "You think you can defeat me? I'd like to see you try." 

"It didn't take long for Connors to get behind bars," I growled, tensing. 

"Dr. Connors was in over his head," she spat. "He tried too much, too fast. I, on the other had, have a plan that is foolproof!" 

She had a proud look on her face, and her stance was casual. She really believed that she clould do this on her own. 

With a grunt, I launched myself at her. The wind picked up, and it was moving against me, making it hard to concentrate. Lightning crackled, and thunder rolled, but aside from those distractions, Tempest wasn't the best fighter. She relied too much on her powers, and flinched at every move I made. 

It was a few minutes before I realized that Rayne was swinging around the building, and slamming her feet into Tempest's side, knocking her off her feet and nearly off the building itself. Down in the streets, people were yelling, and I could hear police sirens.