The Girl and the Superhero{Peter Parker}

Part 41 (Peter's POV)

          I hardly felt the city crowd as I shoved my way through the masses of New Yorkers. I ran back and forth, circling the store over and over and expanding my perimeter every time. I full on ran into this ridiculously huge dude in a tourist shirt, Liberty hat getup that was getting out of a mini school-bus; however, I bounced off of him (almost literally) and kept running, regardless of the fact that I could sense his eyes on my back long after I hit him.

          I didn't know where I was going, but I knew I needed to find Kenzie. That was the only coherent thought in my scrambled mess of a brain. The bricks of the apartment complexes and the stones of the stores whizzed past me in a whirlwind of colors until they all blended into one. I saw everything, but was only looking for one thing.

          And I wasn't finding her.

          Ducking into an abandoned alleyway, I pulled my mask out of my jacket and yanked it on. Karen's voice flooded into my ears. "Hello, Peter. Oh— your body is exerting energy at a level 300% higher than is suggested. Might I suggest a brief rest or meditation session?"

          "No time, Karen. I need you to find Kenzie, now."

          "I'm going to need more information than that. What was her last recorded location?"

          "Charlie Palmer Steaks, New York City."

         A brief hum sounded as she scanned the recent footage. "It seems as if she was standing next to you as you turned into the restaurant, and then she virtually disappears."

          "What?" I demanded. "Show me the footage!"

          The replay started before my eyes, and just as Karen had said, it told me nothing. I turned to walk into the restaurant, and her beautiful brown hair disappeared into the sea of people on the streets. I rewatched it dozens of times, slowed it down, looked from every angle the camera would allow me to, scrutinizing every single detail I saw— but to no avail. I was no closer to finding her than I had been before, and now I'd wasted thirty minutes. Thirty minutes more that Kenzie was gone, and thirty minutes less that I might have with her if I didn't find her fast.

          "I need more footage, Karen— anything and everything you have from around the restaurant—"

          "Peter, the surrounding stores aren't equipped with outdoor video surveillance footage. And I don't have access to civilian surveillance cameras."

          I shrunk against the wall of the alleyway. "There's got to be something I can do," I choked, my throat constricting painfully.

          "Well, we could take a more careful look around the spot of her disappearance. Maybe there will be something there that could aid us in our search. In the meantime, shall I call Mr. Stark and see if he can access the civilian cameras surrounding the immediate area?"

          I was already running back to Charlie Palmer, but I nodded vigorously. Disregarding the strange looks I got from people as they saw the mask, I slowed down and scanned everything I could the closer I got to the restaurant.

          Tony didn't pick up for a good ten minutes, but I told Karen to keep trying. My eyes lingered on every single sidewalk square and every brick around the store, and I even ran my fingers along the walls just to make sure there wasn't anything I'd miss just because I couldn't see it. But there was nothing.

          I let out a desperately frustrated grunt just as Tony called me back. "Care to explain why my Notification Center is more populated than China?"

          "Mr. Stark, it's Kenzie. She's—she's gone, and I need help. I can't find her by myself, Mr. Stark. Someone screwed with the security tapes or something, because they're not helping me at all, and then the stores next to Charlie Palmer are all run by idiotic people, because there's no cameras on the outsides of their stores, and then—"