Volume II: To See More, To Know More

Saved: Part 1

(A/N) Fun fact: Mathematically, it would take a person 8.8 seconds to reach the ground from the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building.

I smiled, looking around in awe as we entered the Empire State Building. The tour guide droned on about facts we had already studied in class, but I was more interested in the architecture. It was amazingly built and beautifully designed, even on the inside.

"Earth to Katelyn," someone said, waving a hand in front of my face. I looked over to find Peter smiling. "You okay?"

"Yeah, this place is just amazing," I replied.

"Stay close, class. I have to talk to reception," called out our teacher. "Buddy up, groups of two or three."

Peter held my hand gently as we stood in the lobby, waiting for our teacher. The guide looked bored, as if he'd given a million tours already. I walked up to him with Peter, letting go of Peter's hand to shake his. "Hi!" I said happily. "I'm Kate, but I just wanted to tell you that you're doing such a great job. Thank you so much for giving us a tour."

The man immediately perked up a bit. "Oh, thank you, miss. I hope you enjoy it."

"Thank you!" I replied, taking Peter's hand and moving back toward our class group.

"What was that for?" Peter asked.

"Did you see how he looked earlier? Forlorn, empty, not excited. Now look at him."

Peter looked back at the man, who was now smiling and seemed chipper. "Wow," he said. "Did you use magic on him?"

"Not the kind you would think," I replied.

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!!!" A man screamed from the doors, shooting a gun at the ceiling. Peter and I hit the floor with the rest of the students. We looked at one another, then to the man, who locked eyes with me. He moved straight for me, picking me up by my shirt and holding the gun to my temple. "Nobody move, nobody leave, nobody follow, or she gets it."

The room was silent in response, so the man dragged me away and into the elevator, pressing the button to the top floor. The doors closed, in which I began talking. "Why me?"

"Pretty, young girl."

"There's another reason."

"Strange."

"Look, why does everyone have a beef with my father?" I growled with frustration.

"Because he's done terrible things as sorcerer supreme. It's time he was de-throned."

"Is that what this is about?" I sighed. "Petty."

"Careful of your mouth, young one," he replied, pushing the gun harder against my temple.

"You're not gonna shoot me yet," I replied. "Only when you get dad's attention."

"Smart. Doesn't mean I can't injure you, though."

"Well I can," I replied, elbowing his stomach and knocking his gun out of his hand, pressing a button on the elevator to stop it on a nearby floor. It opened on the 86th floor, one of the observation decks. I ran out, blurring my face and changing my voice for the civilians. My clothes shifted into my robes, my cloak shifting from a sweatshirt to its original form. The man grabbed his gun and took out the guards, much to my dismay. He shot at me, but my cloak closed around me, making the bullets stop and fall to the floor as they hit it, as if they lost all kinetic energy on contact.

The man looked dumbfounded as he ran out of bullets. I walked toward him, but he used sorcery to push me back. I growled, moving out the door to the stairwell. He followed, in which I used my cloak to float up a few floors at a time. The man ran up the stairs as fast as he could. Soon, I reached the 102nd floor, which was closed to civilians. I opened the door easily, seeing that the man was still catching up. I took my sling ring off my belt, opening a portal to the sanctum, addressing my cloak. "Go find my father, get him here to help."

It moved trough the portal at super speed, allowing me to close it quickly as the man reached the 102nd floor. He laughed. "Nowhere to run now, darling. Just you and me."

"Fine," I replied, conjuring a weapon.

"Weakling!" He shouted as he lunged at me. We fought for a moment, in which he put me on the defensive almost immediately. I held him off for a moment before he struck me.

I yelped as he made contact with my side, knocking me down. My weapon disintegrated, allowing him clear shots at me. I got up just as he hit me again, throwing me across the room. That's when he summoned a long space shard, standing me up and stabbing me through the abdomen with it.

I cried out in pain, the man looking toward one of the large windows. He broke the glass with sorcery, then walked me over to it, the space shard still piercing my abdomen. The man put me on the edge, pulling out the space shard, then grabbing me by the throat before I could fall. He held me out over the city. I felt sick as I gripped to his arm, tears running down my face both from pain and panic.

"Do you know how high up you are right now?" He asked mockingly.

"Over 1,00 feet," I managed. "Please... please!"

"What injuries would you have if I were to drop you?"

"I'm not a doctor!"

"Tell me!" He growled, shaking me.

"I'd die!"

"You will if you don't give me some sort of answer."

"If I landed on my head, the impact would shatter my skull. If I landed on my feet, the impact would crush my legs and spine and I'd probably die!"

"Good. You better hope you land on your skull."

"What?!"

He let go of me, in which everything moved in slow motion as I fell from him. I saw my father rush in just as I slipped from his grip. I grabbed the small disk off my belt that Tony had given me, throwing it at him. It electrocuted him just as intended.

I fell for what seemed like hours, though it was only a few seconds. A million thoughts raced through my head, though none of them were coherent enough to remember. All I remember next was something catching me. It felt as if I was still flying through the air. I groaned, looking up to find Mr. Stark in his Iron Man suit, carrying me. "Need a lift, kid?"