Saving Spider-Man // A Fanfiction

Chapter Ten: An Unfortunate State of Affairs

Peggy gave the instructions to Steve just as she had to Peter, but instead of flipping out like the younger superhero, he not only kept his composure, but he also seemed to enjoy the idea of slitting a Nazi general's throat.

Peter felt sick. He was not cut out to be a soldier. He hadn't killed anyone in his entire life and he didn't intend to start now. He thought for a moment that he would just let Steve go on the mission by himself, but he was very wrong in thinking that.

"Ready, kid?"

"Uh, you-you d-don't need me, Captain."

"Maybe not, but I wanna show you how it's done."

Peter's heart sank into the pit of his stomach. He supposed that as Steve's protege he would be getting a front row seat to the show...a.k.a. this guy's murder. So he helplessly followed suit as Cap put his mask on and strapped a parachute to his back.

Then the door was open and Peter felt like he was suffocating again, this time not from the open plane door (he had been prepared for that this time), but from something resembling a mini panic attack. He couldn't do this. He couldn't help kill someone, no matter who they were.

In his mind's eye he saw the faces of everyone he loved in the 21st century giving him grave looks of displeasure as if he had just told them that he had killed someone. MJ looked at him like she was going to be sick and said (not jokingly), "Loser."

Ned bit his lip and said uncomfortably, "Dude..."

Aunt May stared at him quietly through tears and just shook her head.

Happy looked at him for a second then said, "I never thought you would do something like that, but to each his own, I guess."

And finally, there was Mr. Stark. He circled Peter multiple times his face unreadable. Then he cleared his throat and said, "Pete, I'm disappointed. I didn't teach you to be like me. I taught you to be better than me."

Peter Parker screamed out, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" But nothing came out. He was called back to reality by the screaming of cold wind in his lungs. Apparently he had jumped out of the plane while thinking and now he was plummeting toward the earth, toward Germany, not far behind Captain America.

He didn't have time to think now. Instead, he tried to focus on where Steve was landing and steered himself in that direction. When he was perfectly positioned to land right by Steve and had deployed his parachute, a gust of wind blew him far away from his companion.

Then he was freaking again. What would happen if he never made it back? What if he died in 1943? What if...what if...what if? All of these questions were driven out of his mind as the wind suddenly plunged him into the icy cold waters of whatever river ran through Berlin. He couldn't remember what it was called right now.

Peter tried to swim toward shore, but his body shivered violently and he froze up as his heavy parachute landed on him. He felt like he was drowning, suffocating, and freezing to death all at once...

Everything went black.

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When Peter woke up, he thought he was dead, but as it turns out, he wasn't. He was lying on the bank of the river (which he now remembered to be The Spree) gasping for air. His vision was blurry for a second but he blinked a few times and regained full use of his vision.

The first thing he noticed was that his mask was missing, and the second, a man standing over him with a gun pointed at his face. The thought, This couldn't get any worse, came to mind. But a second after he thought it, he wished he hadn't, because it could and did get worse.