"Give it up, Firefly! You belong to me now!"

"Not a chance, Praying Mantis!"

"You will either bow down to me or suffer the consequences!"

"Do you really think you've got me beat? I knew your own ego would be your downfall!"

"Whatcha reading there, McGeek?"

Startled by Tony's voice, Tim rushed to close the internet window. It pained him to do so as he was on the edge of his seat to see how Firefly was going to escape the clutches of Praying Mantis, but he wasn't in the mood to be teased by the older agent, especially not about one of his favorite webcomics.

His actions weren't quick enough. "Reading comic books on the job, Probie?" Tony asked, not even trying to hide the amusement in his voice. "Better not let Gibbs catch you."

"Like you're one to talk, Tony," Kate called out from her desk. "I think you goof off more in one day than McGee and I do in an entire week!"

"I don't remember talking to you, Kate! I was simply offering my young protégé sage advice," he retorted, giving Tim a much-too-friendly pat on his back.

Tim rolled his eyes at Tony's disingenuous actions. "I was just trying to catch up on some reading. I missed the last two installments of Firefly and I figured I could get caught up a bit."

Tim and Tony were so deeply focused on their own conversation—Tony mocking Tim's hobby and Tim slowly stewing as he defended himself—that neither man noticed Kate look up at the name of the comic. The woman looked pointedly surprised.

Tony snatched Tim's mouse and clicked back to the last page. The computer screen lit up with panels of vibrant colors. The protagonist—a very disproportionate women clad in a black leather mid-riff top with FF emblazoning the bust, a gold skirt that was so short it made Abby's look almost matronly, and knee-high black boots which probably weren't so sensible for crime fighting—seemed to be trapped inside some form of an electric force field while a bulgy-eyed maniacal man dressed in green looked on in glee. A quick read through the panels showed that the woman, Firefly, had been captured by the evil Praying Mantis and was now at his mercy—or so he thought.

"Well, this was definitely drawn by a man," Tony said as he drooled over the fictional female superhero. "Look at those…er…at that body!"

As was the norm with comic book women, Firefly had breasts the size of basketballs and a slim, trim waist which could never feasibly remain erect beneath the weight of aforementioned breasts. Her legs and arms were also slender, especially in comparison to her abundant bosom.

"In fact," the older agent said, giving their female teammate a lascivious grin, "I think she kind of looks like Kate."

"Oh, please, Tony! If I had her proportions I wouldn't even be able to walk. Besides, I'm not a redhead."

As Tony digested her comment, his grin grew wider. "And just how do you know she's a redhead, Kate?"

The woman silently cursed herself as she simultaneously tried to think of an excuse. "You mentioned it already," she stammered, knowing how lame it sounded even as she said it.

"No, no, I only referenced her lovely figure," Tony said in a teasing tone. He was sauntering towards Kate's desk and he leaned over it with a smirk. "Is our little Katie Todd a fan of comic books? Do you go to those conventions, dressed in a home sewn costume, and ask stupid questions about fictional characters as though they were real?"

"Tony, I have work to do."

"You're avoiding the question."

"Kate?" Tim called out questioningly. Kate and Tony looked over to the young agent, but he was looking at his computer screen with a mixture of surprise and confusion. "Is this you?"

Tim, seeing that Tony was currently preoccupied with tormenting Kate, had taken the moment to pick up where he'd left off and attempt to finish the installment before Gibbs got in. It was no surprise to him that the installment ended on a cliffhanger—the final panel showed Praying Mantis with his eyes widened in surprise as something, unseen by readers, happened. What did come as a surprise were the two names which appeared in tiny print below the last panel. He had never paid attention to the creators of these webcomics, but Tony's insistence that only a man could be responsible for creating the overly-endowed femme fatale had pushed Tim to see just how accurate Tony's prediction had been.

"It says 'Created by Peaches Montgomery and Caitlin Todd,'" he read aloud. "I know Caitlin is a pretty common first name and Todd is a common last name, but…"

The look on Kate's face was a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance while the look on Tony's face was one of absolute glee as this new information surfaced. "So our little Katie doesn't just read comics; she writes them too!"

"I don't read them and I don't write them," she corrected, "I illustrate them."

"Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe, Kate. You're still just as bad as those fat, hairy guys who live in their parents' basement and make superheroes based on themselves because it's the only way they can feel cool."

Kate's eyes were ablaze as she stood and confronted Tony's comments. "Firefly isn't based on me, Tony! I didn't even create her! I simply brought her to visual life as a favor for a friend! And I don't see what's so wrong with comic books! It's better than spending all of your free time hitting on women who are younger than your college degree, and it involves much more of skill and creativity!"

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. He held his hands up in defense as he stepped back from her desk. "No need to fly off the handlebars! I was just joking."

"No, you were being insulting, and there is a difference," Kate said.

Tim felt his mouth twitch upward at Kate's comment. While she didn't haze him nearly as much as Tony did, she also had a tendency to stand to the side while the older agent picked on him. To see her so adamantly defend something he enjoyed—even if it wasn't something she particularly enjoyed—gave him a sense of satisfaction, as though she were specifically defending him.

"There's nothing wrong with enjoying comics," she said huffily as she plopped back down into her seat. "Now can we just drop the whole thing?"

"I second that," Gibbs said as he strode in, morning coffee in hand.

"Hey, boss!" Tony greeted. "We were just talking about—"

"Don't care," the man said, cutting him off mid-sentence. "We've got a dead Petty Officer. Grab your gear!"

The three of them did as they were told with no mention of the conversation that had just ended. Tim shot Kate a grin as he passed by, though it was a grin that wasn't returned.

It wasn't until much later in the day that Tim found himself alone with Kate. The day had been filled with investigating a murder, only to have the culprit confess—claiming self-defense, of course—leaving them little choice but to announce the case closed. Tony and Gibbs had stuck around for quite a bit after that, each immersed in work, but they had left almost simultaneously soon after. Tim and Kate stayed behind to finish paperwork, and neither had spoken since the departure of their teammates. He had spent the better part of the day sneaking glances at her, still shocked to find out that she was the illustrator of his favorite webcomic. Who knew they had something in common? Though he couldn't help but feel slightly responsible for her getting upset that morning.

"I'm sorry," Tim said eventually. He was nearly done and he didn't want to leave before making sure everything was okay with Kate.

She looked up, not a clue as to why Tim was apologizing. "Sorry for what?"

"Earlier this morning," he explained. "I'm sorry for spilling your secret about the webcomic."

She took in his apology, a slight smile playing on her lips. "It's okay, McGee," she assured him. "I'm not ashamed of it."

"So you are a comic book fan, then?"

Kate shrugged. "Not really. I mean, when I was a kid I liked to imagine I was Wonder Woman." Tim smiled, not only as he imagined Kate dressed in the Wonder Woman garb, but because he too had often imagined himself as a comic book superhero. "But I outgrew that years ago," she added. "The webcomic is my cousin's. I was just helping her out."

"Peaches Montgomery?" he asked, recalling the other name which appeared at the end of the comic.

Kate nodded. "She's a big comic book fan and she needed someone to draw them. So I volunteered."

"Well that was nice of you."

"Julie—that's her real name—she was there for me a lot when we were growing up. I figured it was the least I could do in return."

"It's a really good comic," he complimented. "I've got it saved on my favorites and I read it every week. Well, when I'm not swamped with work," he corrected. "I think Firefly is one of the strongest and best developed female superheroes around these days."

Kate smiled. It wasn't often that her smile was directed to Tim. "Thank you, McGee. I'll be sure to tell Julie that the next time we talk."

She returned to her desk and Tim struggled with a question which had been on his mind since that morning. "Kate? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Well…I mean Tony had a point about Firefly being so…um…well-endowed. I mean, I don't have a problem with it," he said, red-faced, "but I figured you'd be against an inaccurate depiction of the female form."

She sighed uncomfortably, obviously well aware of Firefly's anatomical problems. "Do you know who runs those sites, McGee?"

He furrowed his brow, not sure what her point was. "Um, not off the top of my head, but I could look and—"

"No," she interrupted, "I mean do you know the kind of person who runs those sites."

"I guess…well, probably kind of like me…" he theorized with a tinge of embarrassment.

"The people who run those webcomics sites are men," she said. "They are horny men who live their sexual fantasies out through the comics."

Tim blushed at the assessment, realizing Kate could easily be describing him.

"Therefore," she continued, "our comics must adhere to their standards. That means big boobs and tiny waist or no go."

"Oh," he commented abashedly. He felt a tiny bit ashamed at how his gender tended to idealize female comic book characters.

"So we grin and bear it, giving them the comics they want," she said. "I mean, she's happy just to have her work out there, and I'm happy that she's happy." Kate's slight frown indicated that, despite what she said, all was not happy in their current situation. Her frustration made Tim want to do something.

"I could maybe help you guys," he said uncertainly.

"Yeah? And how is that?" she asked with an amused smile. Despite the crap that she and Tony sometimes put him through, Kate liked Tim. In fact, it was kind of hard not to like Tim. He was so innocent and naïve, it was like disliking a puppy or something. When he tried to be chivalrous, it always made her grin.

"Well, I have some knowledge of the internet…"

"Yes, I'm aware."

"…and I can put together a website for you and your cousin to post your comics the way you want to," he volunteered. "It won't be as popular as the one you're on right now and you may not get as many readers, but I can do it if you want."

Kate's eyes softened at Tim's offer. "That would be nice, McGee," she told him sincerely. "Let me talk with Julie about it, but I think she'd love to be onboard."

"Really?" Tim had expected a polite 'no' from Kate; he was pleased that he had done something considered right by the woman.

"Really, McGee," Kate assured him with a smile. "And thank you."

Tim blushed. "You're welcome."

They didn't discuss the webcomic for the rest of the night—though that was mostly because Tim left soon after—but both felt that in those few minutes they had grown closer as friends.

AN: This is already finished (seven chapters). As per usual, one chapter per day!