Iron Lightning [ I ] P. PARKER

XXII. WASHINGTON MONUMENT

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
"washington monument"

"Our friends are up there!" Michelle said looking at Spider-Man.

"What?!— I mean.. Uh, don't worry ma'am. Everything's gonna be okay," and then he started running towards the building.

"Jade, go do something!" Michelle said.

"What?!"

"I know you have the suit! Get changed and go help our friends!" She said pushing Jade towards the building.

"Okay, okay," she said and looked around quickly to see if anyone was watching and stripped off her outer clothes and put on her mask. She ran into the building and took the stairs, ignoring the securities orders of not going up there.

She made it to the top in two seconds and told everyone to move away from the area. She opened the not-so-much-anymore glass doors and looked up at the ceiling to see a huge purple ring. She looked back down to see an officer lady opening the hatch.

"Just hold on, I've got you guys!" Jade shouted and slowly climbed down the cable to help them. She knelt down beside the hole, some people were shocked to see Iron Lightning while others couldn't help but stay terrified.

"Okay, c'mon now," Jade said and held her hand out for someone to grab it. She lifted them with ease and looked up at the security guards.

"I'm going to toss them up and you better catch them," she said staring at the guards.

They look at her in disbelief, but Jade grabbed Abe by the waist and tossed him up and they grabbed ahold of him by the arms. She did the same with a few more students and then the security lady.

"Who's next?" Jade asked.

"Me, I'm next!" Flash said still holding the trophy.

"Don't worry about the trophy," one said.

"Stop moving so fast! It's making the elevator fall!" Jade exclaimed as she grabbed Flash and looked at the security guards and threw him up.

"C'mon Mr. Harrington! Liz!" She was about to pull them up when the elevator cord broke and made Jade fall through the hole, hitting the back of her head while landing on the floor. Everything then became blurry and everyone was screaming.

Then the elevator stopped for a moment and then it started falling again, Spider-Man landed beside Jade this time. He shot a web up, sticking it to the roof and holding the elevator up.

"Ahem, hey, how you doing? Don't worry about it. I got you," Spider-Man said and started pulling them up.

"Yes! Yes!" Ned started jumping around excitedly, making the elevator move more.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, big guy, quit moving around," Spider-Man said to Ned.

"So sorry, sir,"

"Oh my god, she's bleeding!" Liz shouted looking at Iron Lightning.

"The medics will get her once we get to the top, don't move around yet," Mr. Harrington said with caution.

Once they made it to the top, everyone got out, "Go, go, go. Everybody out! Move it, people. Move it, move it!" Spider-Man said.

Jade's vision was getting more bury by the second and she was losing a lot of blood from her head. She slurred around some in the elevator trying to get up but couldn't find the power to do it. The guards were about to grab her until Spider-Man's webs broke and the elevator started falling again.

"No!" Spider-Man said and dove down to catch her. He shot a web at her body and then at the ceiling, they were dangling at this point.

"Gwen! Gwen?! Are you all alright? Are you alive?" Peter shouted looking at her, but she looked very familiar. Her mask was off!

"J-Jade?" Peter asked softly.

Her eyes kept rolling back and she continued blinking to try and stay awake but it was becoming too much.

"Oh my god! Jade! You're gonna be okay! I'm going to get you to a medic," he said frantically and pulled them up to the top.

"Someone grab her!" Peter said. The security guards helped grab her and the medics rolled in with a bed stroller. "Cover her face, please," Peter asked them and they did what he said.

"Uh— Karen! Call her dad! Call Mr. Stark!" Peter told Karen as he was running out of the building.

"C'mon, c'mon, pick up Mr. Stark," Peter mumbled to himself, trying to hold back his emotions. Jade is Iron Lightning? Why didn't she tell him? She knew his secret, why couldn't he know hers?

When the call almost ran out of rings, Tony answered. "Mr. Parker. It's nice of you to call, but aren't you supposed to be calling Happy?"

"Mr. Stark?!" Peter asked loudly, his voice still almost uneasy, his heart was beating out of his chest.

"Kid? What's wrong?" Tony asked worriedly.

"It's, Uh, Iron Lightning! She— she is being taken to the hospital right now! She busted her head and, and— she passed out" Peter said fast, tears falling down his face when the images of her flashed through his head.

"What?!" Tony exclaimed. "Where are you at, Peter? I'm on my way!"

"Washington D.C.," Peter said and then Tony hung up.

Peter quickly changed back into his clothes and found his classmates all outside the monument and Jade getting put into an ambulance.

"Peter!" Ned's voice shouted.

"Ned?" Peter said looking in the direction of the voice.

The two hugged, "That was so cool, dude! You saved us and... Why are you crying? What happened?" Ned asked noticing Peter's eyes.

"Is.. is she okay?" Peter asked, worry all over his face.

"Lightning? We— uh, we don't really know. They're taking her to the hospital and having everyone checked for injuries," Ned explained.

"Ned... Iron Lightning is Jade," Peter whispered. "Her mask fell off and I saw her face. It was Jade's face. Ned, I can't feel my hands, and... I think I'm having a panic attack."

"Wait, what?" Ned asked, all types of confused. "Jade is Iron Lightning?"

"Yes! But, she lost a lot of blood— what do you think will happen?"

"I think she'll be fine, Peter," Ned tried to assure him. "She's a superhero after all."

"But what if she isn't?" Peter asked, his eyes starting to go red. "What if it's my fault— the reason she's even in this mess? Just because she's a super doesn't mean she wouldn't die from blood loss! If— if I would have just told Flash and Liz no to Spider-Man then she wouldn't have had to show up to the party and find out all the stuff I've been looking for. If something is wrong, I'll never be able to forgive myself for it, Ned."

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