Chapter 11: Going Undercover

Peter awoke the next morning to see Felicia sleeping next to him, locks of her immaculate hair in her face and a look of contentment on it as well.

Peter realized that he had greatly, greatly missed this sight.

Moving forward, Peter dared to push some of the white locks away from her face. Felicia whimpered softly as Peter touched her, also stirring. Peter's heart raced at the sound and he moved his body closer to her. Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled upon seeing him so close to her.

"Mmm...hey Spider."

"Peter right now." he said, returning her smile.

"Sorry. Old habits."

"Sleep well?"

"I did, thank you." Felicia said. "...I enjoyed our other activities last night as well. You're every bit as good as I remember."

"Thank you." Peter said with a deliberately over-the-top voice. "I do so aim to please the lady."

"How noble and chivalrous of you." Felicia said laughing. "...oh man I missed this. I really, really did." Then, suddenly Felicia hugged Peter tightly. "Don't ever leave me again."

Peter was all set to assure Felicia that he would never leave her again. That he'd die before he left her again. But then he thought about how he still had some things he needed to work out with her first. Very important things that would determine whether or not they could truly be together again.

"Felicia, I…" Peter breathed in deeply. "Felicia, I want us to get back together again. I do. But for that to work, I need to know something. Something really important…"

"What?"

"Can you love me as I am? As both Spider-Man and Peter Parker? Can you accept both halves of who I am? Because if you can't, then I…"

Felicia put a finger to his lips. "Don't finish, please. I know that's important to you. I know it's always been important to you. And this time…" Felicia smiled. "...this time I can do it. I will do it. I will love you as who you are Peter. I promise."

No sooner did Felicia say this did Peter embrace her and kiss her passionately. "Thank you."

"...on one condition." Felicia said, which caught Peter's attention. "Yes? What?"

Felicia smiled. "Do you remember that black costume I made for you?"

Peter nodded. "I do." After abandoning the Venom Symbiote, Peter had had made for him as a gift by the Black Cat a copy of the black costume that was not a malevolent alien parasite. Peter had been reluctant to wear it at first, his experience with the Venom Symbiote being something he would just as soon forget. But much like how Gwen had liked his first costume so much and gone out of her way to make another copy for him to wear, so too had Felicia loved his black costume (for rather obvious reasons), and as it had been with Gwen, Peter was just unable to refuse his lover's request. After they broke up though, Peter went back to his red and blue costume. He'd still kept the black costume Felicia had made though, despite Mary Jane's insisting that he get rid of it at least once.

In the end, Peter could predict almost exactly what Felicia was going to say before she said it: "You're gonna have to start wearing it again."

Peter couldn't help but burst out laughing at this. "That's it? Done."

Felicia purred happily. "That's my man."

"Can I make one request of my own though?"

"Another one?" Felicia's face became a pouty one. "What is it?"

"...can I still wear the red and blue some of the time? I mean, it is my favorite look, not to mention kind of the one everyone knows me by. I'd be heartbroken if I had to get rid of it."

Felicia smiled. "That's it?" She repeated him, before adding: "Of course Peter. I'm not all that picky. You can still wear the red and blues if you want. You just have to be willing to wear the black costume whenever I want you to."

"And how often will that be?"

"Oh, difficult to say really." Felicia said in a mischievous tone, her facial expression also becoming a remarkably naughty one. "...whenever I'm in the mood for it. Or, more accurately whenever I'm in the mood for something like last night."

"Yeah...somehow I think I may not be wearing the old red and blue for much longer…"

-X-

"Everything is coming into motion." New Goblin noted as he looked over the outline of his master plan once again. "Oh yes, everything is coming into motion." He turned to Hobgoblin: "We will not have to wait much longer. SHIELD will be making a move against Hydra soon that will make them all the more inclined to accept my offer when the time comes for me to make it. All that remains is to ensure that things go well for SHIELD and poorly for Hydra."

"Looks like Chameleon's gathered intel was good then." Hobgoblin noted.

New Goblin nodded. "Indeed it was. And now to give events the push in the right direction that they need."

-X-

After having breakfast with Felicia, Peter was all set to leave when the platinum blonde grabbed his arm.

"Don't go." she said.

Peter chuckled. "Hey look, just because you and I just became an item again doesn't mean I don't still have to go to work. Work at what is easily the best job ever made by man I might add."

"Alright fine, if you need to go, go. But before you do I should tell you that I've got another job for SHIELD coming up, and according to the brief it's a risky one. Probably the riskiest one I've done so far actually."

"And I take it you want some help from your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?"

Felicia nodded and formed a slight, sultry smile. "If it's not too much to ask, yeah."

Peter nodded. "I'll meet you here after work. Will you still be around by then?"

Felicia nodded. "Yes. I don't start the mission until tomorrow."

"Okay then. It's a date."

-X-

In-between his many other projects done by him at Horizon Labs, Peter's secret pet-project while there was working on a very…"special" suit.

The idea had first come to Peter after his last run-in with the Sinister Six. As had been the case before, Peter had come out of that fight more than a little worse for wear, and it was likely only because some friends came in to bail him out when they did that he lived to fight another day. But of course, what would happen if another Sinister Six appeared and he had no friends to call upon?

And thus the idea for a suit that would make life easier for him in a variety of ways was conceived. But it was only now at Horizon Labs that Peter actually had the resources to make his dream suit a reality.

First and foremost, the suit was lightweight body armor, rather than his normal costumes. Generally, Peter didn't need to worry about keeping his body protected, as he could take most punishment he couldn't just avoid. But when six supervillains are hammering away at him, it tends to demand a greater level of protection. And that wasn't the armor's only purpose either.

The armor was insulated, in the event of another run-in with Electro. As Spider-Man already had an insulated variant of his normal costume, it was easy to use it's design as a base template before then adding the armored parts. From there, Peter began working on the helmet. While he doubted he'd created any kind of Iron Man helm, Peter nevertheless still based it's design in part off of Iron Man's, having seen it enough times to get a general understanding of it's composition. But much like the armor, the helmet's functions went beyond just protecting him from injury.

"Gotta remember to talk to DD again. Ask him how his heart-beat reading works and this time remember to take notes." Peter remarked as he continued to tinker with both the comm-link and also a visor designed to see past any illusions Mysterio would think to conjure, the Master of Illusion having earlier developed a means of negating Spider-Man's Spider-Sense from his many run-ins with him. That in conjunction with the other's attacks had been what had very nearly killed him.

"Well, that's done at least." Peter noted as he finished the comm-link and inserted it into the helmet. The visor was of course the tougher one, especially since Peter lacked a means of testing it. And his Hearing Acuity Device was still a disassembled mess strewn about his table. Peter's plan was to base it off of Daredevil's means of reading heartbeats. In theory, this would allow him to see past the disguises of Chameleon or Mysterio, or the Brotherhood Mutant Mystique by virtue of being able to pick up their distinct heartbeats. But thus far, Peter had failed to get the design right. He would need Daredevil's direct input if he were to have any chance of making a successful device.

"Still, I think I've made some progress at least." Peter said as he took to admiring the armor and helmet as they were. The helmet was based off of his distinctive red mask, complete with black-rimmed silver-white eyeholes. The rest of the armor was similarly inspired by the color scheme and patterns of his classic and long-standing costume, but with some differences, not the least of which was it being black and red instead of blue and red and also the large black spider logo on the front of the red chest plate.

"And just to go through the check-list: insulation, check. Helmet, check. Armor plating, check. Comm-Link in helmet, check. Anti-Illusion visor, started. 'Pink Hippo' App, not started. Hearing Acuity Device, not even close. So four and a half out of seven. Not too bad...still need to remember to talk to DD though. Just one more thing on my to-do list."

-X-

After his day at Horizon Labs was over, Peter decided to spend some of his earnings on a nice big bouquet of flowers. Not his thing of course. Rather it was for another special someone, and also the kind of gift he had not usually been able to give to any of the women in his life before, not even the one who had raised him since early childhood.

Yet another perk to my job. Peter thought happily. His not wanting to ruin the flowers ensured that Peter was willing to take a cab for once in his life, and from there made his way to Felicia's penthouse. After finding an isolated area where he could change, Peter got into his Spider-Man costume and made the long climb up to her penthouse.

"Hey Cat, I'm here. So before we begin I…"

Spider-Man stopped mid-sentence when he saw who was with Black Cat. She was a woman who seemed to be in her thirties, and wore all of her years well. Long, thick black hair complemented the almost dark beauty she possessed, and some of the hair hung over one side of her face, obscuring one of her eyes. She wore green lip-stick and dark eye-shadow, and dressed in a forest green catsuit with a belt with two holstered guns worn over it. Long opera gloves the color of her catsuit covered her arms, and over her feet were combat boots of a lighter green in color.

Spider-Man had never met her in person but he knew who this was. Most superheroes knew her by reputation at least, for it was a fearsome reputation with few equals.

"Cat, get away from her!" Spider-Man shouted, as he did shooting out a strand of webbing in the direction of the green clad woman. To his frustration she avoided the webbing easily, but to his surprise both she and Black Cat held up their hands.

"Take it easy Spider. She's on our side."

"What? Cat are you insane? That's Madame Viper. High-ranking member of Hydra, cold-blooded nihilist, terrorist, sociopath. Any of this ringing a bell?"

It was then that Madame Viper spoke: "Calm yourself. I'm not here to fight you. Yes, I am Madame Viper, but there's more to me than just what you see in front of you."

"I know that. It's exactly why I know you're bad news."

Madame Viper shook her head. "I know your Spider-Sense warns you when danger is nearby. Tell me: is it going off right now?"

"No." Spider-Man admitted before adding quickly: "...but for all I know you could have found a way to block it. There is no way in hell that I'm trusting y-"

"Spider, she's on our side!" Black Cat said, intervening. "Madame Viper is just a front. She's really with SHIELD, same as me."

"What?"

I have many names" Madame Viper said matter-of-factly. "You know me as Madame Viper. Officially my real name is Ophelia Sarkissian. But that is no more real an alias than Madame Viper. No, my real name is Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine."

"Real mouthful." Spider-Man noted.

"It comes from being from old money." Madame Viper noted matter-of-factly before continuing: "As both myself and your friend here have been trying to tell you, the woman you think you know is not who I truly am. What I truly am is a spy, hence why I've been working undercover for years as Hydra's Madame Viper. All in the name of gathering information on Hydra for SHIELD so as to better predict their actions and stop them before they do more damage."

"So let me get this straight: you've only been pretending to be a sadistic and evil femme fatale but actually work for the good guys?" Spider-Man asked skeptically.

"If you want to phrase it like that, yes. I am a mole, and my intel has foiled more Hydra plans then anyone else, even the Black Widow."

"And...why wasn't Widow approached for this job? You know, being a sexy femme fatale in a black skintight suit with Russian accent...she just seems to fit the bill to me."

"Hydra knows who Black Widow is, so sending her in would be risky. Besides, she's not as affiliated with us now and was mostly working with the Avengers when she was. So they used me instead."

"Well that's convenient. And I suppose all of those people in Symkaria that you killed with your germ bombs didn't actually die?"

"Actually, they didn't. That was staged using a compound that mimics the symptoms of some illnesses without being fatal to the body. The Symkarians were then moved to different parts of the world, given new names and identities, and continued on with their lives, all of them under oaths of secrecy so as not to expose me."

"So...you pretended to commit genocide?"

"I needed to sell the deception somehow." Madame Viper pointed out. "We felt that that was the best way to do it. And it worked. No one in Hydra has ever questioned my loyalty ever again."

"And what about your fights with Wolverine and Captain America? Those were staged too?"

"Logan was not aware of my true loyalties at the time and I could not afford to blow my cover. As for the Captain, he knew. And he also knew that my cover needed to be maintained, and thus played his part. We both knew I'd never be good enough to actually kill him. I didn't need to be. All I had to do was appear his sincere, hated enemy and all was well. I was his lover for a time you know."

"Wait...you and Cap were…" Spider-Man shook his head. "Excuse me I think I need to throw up now."

Madame Viper sighed and turned to Black Cat: "Is your friend here always this dense?"

"It's okay Spider. You can trust her."

"Not on your life Cat. There is no way I'm trusting anyone that high up on Hydra's ladder."

"Then trust your friend if nothing else." Madame Viper said before turning to look at the flowers Spider-Man had instinctively dropped when he shot the web-line at her. "...or whatever it is you are."

"Aw, you got me flowers?" Black Cat chuckled. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Spider-Man said in an unamused tone before adding: "I take it your 'risky mission' involves snake lady here?"

"It does." Madame Viper said. "Miss Hardy is to infiltrate a Hydra facility and steal an artifact called 'The Serpent's Crown', a piece that Hydra has coveted ever since the organization's inception during the second World War."

"And now that they finally got it, you want to steal it from them?"

Madame Viper nodded. "Yes. I've seen the crown myself and I can tell you that it's not just an old relic. There's some kind of power contained within it, and not one I'm keen on letting Hydra bring out to do with as they see fit. Ergo, Miss Hardy here is to steal it and give it to SHIELD."

"Can't you just take it? I mean, if you really are with SHIELD."

"As I'm one of the few people who has access to the crown, if it were to disappear all of a sudden, it would arouse suspicions. But if Miss Hardy steals it they will never think to connect me to the theft and I can continue to spy on and monitor Hydra unmolested."

"So Felicia's the fall-girl then?" Spider-Man asked with barely contained disgust.

"It's okay Spider, I want to do this. Stealing's my specialty remember? And I don't think anyone will mind if I steal from neo-nazi terrorists."

"It's not that Cat. I'm just worried about you. And now that I know exactly what you plan to do there's no way I'm not signing up." he turned to Madame Viper. "If she goes, I go. End of story."

Madame Viper shrugged. "That's no issue with me. If you want to tag along, then so be it. So long as you don't get in the way."

"Relax. I can keep up. How long will this mission take?"

"Difficult to say really. The plan was for Miss Hardy to infiltrate Hydra disguised as a mercenary that I had recruited. The only change to the plan now is your inclusion. Now once you are inside Hydra's stronghold, I will direct you to the Serpent Crown's location via radio communication. If all goes well you will be able to steal it out from under them. You will then deliver it to a contact I have waiting a few hundred miles from where the Hydra base is. And in fact now that I think about it it will be better with you coming. While Miss Hardy takes the crown and then delivers it to my contact, you can stay behind to keep the Barons from getting suspicious."

"And we're doing all of this in disguise huh?" Spider-Man couldn't help but smile behind his mask. "Very 'A New Hope'."

"Which means you'll be getting another new costume." Black Cat teased. "And I already have some ideas for it too."

"Great…"

-X-

"Yes, hello? Who is this?" May Parker asked as she put the phone to her ear.

"It's me Aunt May." came Peter's voice on the other end. "Just calling to let you know I'm going to be going out of town for a few days. Work reasons."

May nodded. She knew of course what Peter really meant when he said 'work reasons'. She still didn't love seeing him risk his life every day, but she also knew that it was important he continue. That he not stop fighting the good fight and making his late uncle proud.

"I appreciate you telling me Peter." May said earnestly. "You didn't need to though. You are a grown man now. I'm not really looking after you anymore."

Peter chuckled on the other end of the phone. "Ah come on Aunt May, let's not kid ourselves. You've always been looking after me." He paused, before saying: "It's just to be safe." he said. "In case something happens while I'm away."

"I'm sure you'll do just fine dear." May said encouragingly. She did her best to support him in spite of her misgivings. And he appreciated it quite a bit.

"Thanks Aunt May."

May smiled. "Of course. Now you go and save the world again. Don't let your old aunt hold you up." And with that, May hung up.

-X-

Following his deciding to accompany Felicia on her infiltration mission, Peter found himself on the SHIELD heli-carrier along with her. As Felicia set about working on her disguise in the adjacent room, Peter was putting on the costume his recently resumed love had gone out of her way to make for him.

The suit was a skin-tight/form-fitting costume in the vein of his Spider-Man costumes, but blue and white, with blue thigh-high boots and a white "R" on the front of the mostly blue shirt-piece. A white mask similar to his Spider-Man mask covered his whole face with the exception of his hair, over which he wore a white wig. Worn over the costume was a black leather jacket that Peter strongly suspected to be the single most expensive part of the outfit given how nice it looked, especially with the gold clasps decorating the sleeves.

"Ricochet" was what he was to call himself. Peter assumed it had to do with his agility and how he could bounce around from place to place.

"Well…" he noted as he looked at himself in the mirror. "It's definitely different."

Then Peter saw the extent to which Felicia had been disguised: her skin had been made to look tanned and her eyes changed from emerald green to crystal blue via special contacts. The outfit she wore was a skin-tight suit that was a chrome-silver with a white trim that went well with her hair and was also the complete opposite of her Black Cat identity. Her hands and legs were covered with gloves and tall boots of a white leather, and the costume was also outfitted with an impressive arsenal, namely several holstered firearms in the form of an SMG, a Desert Eagle, and a Beretta, and also an assault rifle of some kind slung over her back. Last but not least was a steel gray rod that when activated in full was a staff that crackled with electricity, which reminded Spider-Man of the electro-staff he had once seen the X-Man Cable use.

"Damn..." Peter thought for more reasons than one. Felicia could see him staring in awe, and she smiled. "What do you think Spider? Do I look the part?"

"If by "part" you mean "hot badass mercenary chick" yeah I suppose."

Felicia laughed at that. "Thanks. You're not too bad yourself Ricochet. I especially like the white hair."

"I figured you would. Don't get used to it though. White's not my color. You on the other hand...wow. Never thought you'd look good in something so far from black."

"Neither did I. But I surprise even myself sometimes. It's not all just for show either. This catsuit's made of a synthetic fabric, and lined with Kevlar to boot."

Peter nodded approvingly. "Very nice. So what are you gonna call yourself?"

"I was thinking 'Silver Sable' sounded kind of cool."

Peter nodded. "Yeah, I'd say that does sound like a pretty cool name. Fits too."

"Well, I can see you two have taken to your alternate identities pretty well." came Phil Coulson's matter-of-fact voice. "Ricochet" and "Silver Sable" turned to face him as he walked up to them. He took out a pair of communicators and gave one to each of them. "Use those to keep in contact with each-other and Agent Fontaine."

"You mean Madame Viper right?"

Phil Coulson nodded wordlessly before continuing: "You're to go to the hangar. Agent Fontaine is waiting for you and will take you to the Hydra cell that is currently in possession of the Serpent's Crown."

"Currently?"

"According to Agent Fontaine's intel, the crown goes from cell to cell on a regular basis, for security reasons. Makes it harder to track it down. And we can't just bomb whatever cell has it at present because that would risk blowing Agent Fontaine's cover within the organization. Thus why we're trying the more subtle approach."

Ricochet nodded. "Alright then. Let's get moving. Wouldn't want to keep the femme fatale waiting after all."

-X-

The trip to the Hydra Cell was an uneventful one, save for the speed at which Madame Viper, Ricochet, and Silver Sable reached their destination. It was one of those super-fast jets after all. The Avengers had had one just like it, but it had been destroyed several times over at this point and with the state of the Avengers still uncertain, it seemed that it had not yet been repaired again.

"So just to go over everything again…" Ricochet started. "Felicia and I are mercenaries you've hired, and while your bosses decide whether or not we can make the team, Felicia will be infiltrating the Hydra Cell's vault and nabbing the Serpent's Crown, while meanwhile I stick around to keep everyone from getting suspicious?"

Madame Viper nodded. "That is the plan, yes. And don't worry: I've had SHIELD conjure up some resumes for you both. Everything's there, right down to your list of completed contracts. All to make you both look the part of professional mercenaries."

"Because obviously our wonderful costumes don't do that on their own." Silver Sable quipped.

"I was just about to say that myself." Ricochet noted. "I can't believe someone actually beat me to a quip."

Silver Sable chuckled at that, while Madame Viper rolled her eyes. "Do try to take this mission seriously please. I don't need to remind you both that you're about to cross the single most dangerous, powerful, and wide-spread terrorist organization to ever exist. Not really something to laugh about it."

"Lady, we live in a world where super-powered people, aliens, Norse Gods, Atlantis, vampires, werewolves, Doctor Strange, and demons all exist...and you don't see the humor in it?"

Madame Viper sighed and rolled her eyes. "Why did I have to be partnered with the one who treats everything like a joke?"

"Oh lighten up boss." Silver Sable said with a smile. "He grows on you, I promise."

Madame Viper said nothing in response to this. Eventually, the jet arrived at the place where the Hydra cell was located. It was a fairly remote area to be sure, deep within dense jungle area that surrounded an town in India on all sides. Odd place to put a secret hideout for evil terrorists but Ricochet reasoned that that was exactly why they'd chosen it. Did no good to be in a place everyone expected you to set up camp."

The jet landed in the middle of the jungle. The ramp lowered, and Madame Viper stepped out, with Ricochet and Silver Sable bringing up the rear. "Follow me." she said simply. The two false mercenaries acquiesced and Madame Viper led them through the thick undergrowth and foliage, all three of them trudging on in silence for only a brief while. Then Ricochet started up again.

"Man, I wish this costume was short-sleeved. It's blistering out here. Personally, I blame Global Warming."

"Shut up." Madame Viper said bluntly. "We're getting close to the Hydra Cell. I don't want you blowing our cover with your babbling."

Ricochet nodded wordlessly. He did understand and appreciate the value of maintaining a cover. And so he managed to bite his tongue and kept walking in silence. As he did he periodically glimpsed over to look at Silver Sable, finding as he did that he really did like her new costume.

It's just as distracting as her other costumes. He realized pleasantly. For indeed, it was not a distraction he minded.

The trio went only so much farther before Ricochet's Spider-Sense began going off, pounding fiercely in his head. It wasn't long after it started doing that that a voice called out: "Don't move! We've got you surrounded!"

And then, out of the brush came several of the green-suited men that represented the rank-and-file grunts of Hydra. This then was likely another reason they had chosen this location for their cell: their green uniforms blended into the jungle quite nicely.

Ricochet counted well over a dozen Hydra goons aiming assault rifles at them. Madame Viper turned to him. "Both of you keep silent and let me do the talking. It's only because I'm here that they didn't fill you with holes on the spot."

Madame Viper turned to one of the Hydra agents as he walked up to her. "Madame Viper. You're back. And with company."

"Very observant of you dolt." Madame Viper replied harshly. "Now step aside and let me pass. The mercenaries are with me. I'm taking them to Baron Strucker."

"Yes Madame." the Hydra agent said with a salute before stepping to the side and allowing Madame Viper to pass. She strode confidently forward, with Ricochet and Silver Sable following right behind. Up ahead, they saw a modest-looking bunker that upon entering saw was only a lift, one that took them down to the real Hydra station.

Departing from the lift and moving forward, Madame Viper, Ricochet, and Silver Sable came upon a massive interior complex that was mostly a dull gray metal. But banners that proudly displayed the logo of Hydra could be seen, long black tapestries that bore on them a large crimson skull inside a circle that had many snakes jutting out of it in all directions, the symbol a nod to Hydra's infamous founder.

The trio didn't get far before coming face-to-face with one of Hydra's two current leaders, the equally infamous Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. Honestly the name alone tended to give away his nature pretty readily, but his being a Nazi war criminal turned terrorist leader with a scarred bald head and a monocle also helped in this respect.

"So...Viper, I see you've come with friends. Most intriguing if I do say so myself, you usually work only with basic Hydra soldiers."

"I agree." said the woman Strucker was with. She was shorter than Madame Viper and Silver Sable but no less lean. She wore a dark green dress that was parted to expose one of her legs. Covering said legs were thigh-high black boots that seemed almost armored. She also wore black opera gloves and on the front of her dress was a long, muscular, winding serpent that was a lighter green than the rest of it. Her light red, almost blonde hair was long, and her green eyes narrowed with disapproval.

"...Its not like you to work with other costumed types Viper. Is the best of us getting soft all of a sudden?"

"Mind your tongue Chimera" Madame Viper retorted icily. "You and Gorgon's new Leviathan division may have fallen in favor with the Barons, but I am still your superior in every sense of the word."

"Silence" Baron Strucker ordered. "I vill not allow my two loveliest operatives to gut vone another and leave me vithout a pleasant sight. I am certain that Madame Viper has an explanation go give"

"While it is true that I prefer to work alone this is a special case Baron Strucker" Madame Viper explained. "The alliance we are pursuing with the Yashida clan is important and I don't want to leave anything to chance, especially when there are multiple costumed do-gooders as well as SHIELD with a vested interest in the area. I see nothing wrong with having some additional security in the form of these mercenaries"

"And...who vould these mercenaries be?" Baron Strucker asked, gaze falling first on "Ricochet". The disguised web-head assumed a more sinister-sounding voice than his usual one as he said: "The name's Ricochet. I'll break as many Yakuza and Ninjas as you want if you pay me and my sister enough."

"And your sister is...?" Chimera asked skeptically.

"Silver Sable" the platinum blonde haired mercenary replied in her own fake accent, this one sounding european and exotic. "And while my brother put it a bit...violently, he is correct. So long as we get what Madame Viper has promised us you will have no problems during this meeting with the Yashida Clan."

Where with Ricochet Baron Strucker's face had been cold and unimpressed, his demeanor brightened up quite a bit when he turned to look at Silver Sable. To both her disgust and Ricochet's he didn't even try to hide or be subtle about his eyes hungrily and lecherously devouring her form.

Sized up by a Nazi. Definitely going to need a shower after this.

Finally, Baron Strucker gave his answer: "Hm. Well, you two certainly seem eager to vork for Hydra. I vill consider it. Perhaps if either of you have credentials with which to recommend yourselves…"

"Already have those Baron." Madame Viper said, producing a dossier that contained Ricochet and Silver Sable's written up and printed out files. "Read them over if you want. I think you'll find their contents to be quite satisfactory in proving the mercenaries' worth."

Madame Viper handed Baron Strucker the dossier and he took it. He looked at it for a moment before nodding and saying: "I vill look this over. In the meantime find a place for our 'guests' to stay. If I do like vhat I see, then I vill hire you. If not, well…" he chuckled. "Ve'll find out von't ve?"

Ricochet glared at Baron Strucker behind his mask. In all honesty there was probably nothing he would want less than a Nazi war criminal and terrorist leader's approval, but then it's not like he and Felicia would be waiting to see if they got it or not.

Baron Strucker turned heel and walked off with Chimera still at his side. Some Hydra agents advanced towards Ricochet and Silver Sable but Madame Viper held up her hand. "No need. I will escort them myself. You louts stay at your posts."

The Hydra agents saluted and wordlessly moved off. Madame Viper led Ricochet and Silver Sable through several winding hallways until they at last came upon a room that to Ricochet looked more like a prison cell. But then maybe that was the point. Once Madame Viper made sure to shut the door behind her, she turned to face the two disguised heroes.

"Alright, now that we're here, it is imperative that you both do exactly what I tell you, exactly how I tell you it. Otherwise you'll both end up dead, and likely me as well. Clear?"

Ricochet and Silver Sable nodded. Both turned on their communicators and also trackers. "Alright then. I'm going to go to my quarters. I'll monitor and direct you from there. Do not do anything until I reach my quarters and give you your first instructions."

"How do I know you won't just gas us while we're in here?"

Madame Viper frowned. "With your strength, I'd imagine you could break down this door. But I see you still do not trust me."

"Now that we're in the middle of a Hydra cell and you're leaving us in here? No, I'm not trusting you actually."

Madame Viper sighed and put a gloved hand to her face. "I really hope you prove to be an asset on this mission for all the grief you've given me."

Ricochet allowed a slight smile behind his white mask. "I'm chatty and love to grate on the bad guy's nerves. Part of my charm."

"You still believe me to be one of the bad guys?" Madame Viper asked.

"Prove me wrong." Ricochet challenged.

"I intend to." Madame Viper said coldly before then turning heel and leaving the room. As she did, Silver Sable turned to him: "You were a little hard on her Spider."

"Ricochet right now and I can't believe you're taking her side."

"Well, she does work for the same guys I do, and also kind of outranks me, so...yeah, I kind of am taking her side. Sorry Spi-Ricochet."

Ricochet sighed. "Me wearing a white wig and you working for a member of Hydra who's really with SHIELD. What is the world coming to?"

No sooner had Ricochet asked this rhetorical question did Madame Viper's voice ring in their communicators. "Alright, I'm in my quarters, and you're both showing up on my computer monitor. Now the theft truly begins. I hope you're both up to the task."

Silver Sable smiled. "You're talking to the best thief there ever was. I was born ready."

Author's Note: I normally hate dialects. As in, when a character's unique way of speaking is written out. There were some particularly extreme cases of it in Dracula that were so bad I couldn't even finish those portions of the book, I just skipped over them. Call me unsophisticated or a Philistine if you want, but for me it drags everything down immensely and makes reading a part of a story take twice as long at least. If a character's speaking in a dialect, just say that they are. Because otherwise it makes everything a pain in the ass to read through.

But all of that being said, with a man who would undoubtedly have a thick German accent, I figured I could swap out the Ws with Vs and that would be alright. It's not too pronounced a dialect I feel, and thus is the exception to my general anti-dialect policy.

And now for an extra-large amount of trivia:

1. Viper/Madame Viper/Madame Hydra (notice a pattern?) are all names that have been used by one very, very evil woman known as Ophelia Sarkissian. She's your classic femme fatale archetype and a high-ranking member of Hydra that first appeared in Captain America issue 110. She is also right up there with fellow Hydra leaders Red Skull and Baron Strucker as the absolute worst of the worst. In my Marvel Universe however, I fused her character with that of Contessa Valentina de Fontaine (mouthful I know), a character who first appeared in Strange Tales Issue 159 and has also occupied the Madame Hydra role. The difference is that she's also been affiliated with SHIELD and in fact is Nick Fury's love interest (yes, Nick Fury has a love interest). I figured fusing the two Madame Hydras into one character could give me an excuse to make her a SHIELD spy, which when you think about it is a role that someone should be occupying. I mean, Hydra's had spies in SHIELD before. Why can't we see the reverse? Especially considering that espionage and deception are two of SHIELD's strong points.

2. The suit Peter is working on, along with it's various bells and whistles, is based off of the armor he wore in the "Ends of the Earth" story by Dan Slott, and being made for pretty much the exact same reason. I may not have liked that story all that much, but I do still think that the Spider-Armor was a good idea as far as showing how much fun someone like Peter could have with the right kind of resources backing him up.

3. Symkaria is the homeland of the anti-hero mercenary Silver Sable in 616. The mainstream version of Madame Viper really did commit atrocities against it's people, for which she was tried in absentia and sentenced to death. And speaking of Silver Sable…

4. The Serpent's Crown is an actual item coveted by Hydra in 616. Figured it would make sense to include it here.

5. Yes, I made Black Cat and Silver Sable the same person. I had two main reasons for doing this: the first is just because what are the odds that Spider-Man personally knows two different morally ambiguous hotties with platinum blonde hair and skintight suits that are completely unrelated to each-other? Just saying. Reason number 2 is because I want my version of Black Cat to be a more credible and skilled hand-to-hand fighter without making her seem too overpowered. I figured if I fused her with Silver Sable (someone able to fight Black Widow to a stand-still) it would help as far as making her a better fighter goes. So...yeah.

6. Ricochet is an actual identity held by Peter Parker in the comics, at a time when he was unable to operate as Spider-Man due to their being pretty much a bounty on his head. So while he was trying to clear his name and thus get the bounty on him called off, Peter operated under four other aliases, one of which was Ricochet. Out of all of them, Ricochet was the one who embodied Spider-Man's "smart-ass" side the most and had no respect for authority. Later on, Spider-Man's various alternate identities came to be used by a group of four teen heroes collectively known as the Slingers. Their comic series didn't exactly last long, but the characters themselves still got in a few other appearances here and there. Mostly minor bit-roles though, and it's clear from the way Marvel tends to treat them that they're not exactly treasured members of the ever-growing Marvel family. Still, the idea was different if nothing else, and I figured this was a good excuse to use one of Spider-Man's alternate identities. I went for the one that made the most sense in this context and honestly just the best of Spider-Man's four alternate identities overall, at least in my "humble" opinion.

7. Chimera is an interdimensional pirate who in 616 is affiliated with the Sisterhood of Mutants. But between her green outfit, snake on the front, and being named after a Greek Mythology monster, her Hydra affiliation should also be obvious. Figured I could include her in my Marvel Universe without too much trouble.

8. Similarly, the character Gorgon mentioned in this story is another member of Hydra, and also a high-ranking member of the Hand to boot. He tends to kick Wolverine's butt pretty good in their fights and even brainwashed him into a Hydra stooge once. He also later impersonated him on the second iteration of the Dark Avengers. The group Leviathan is a part of Hydra he is affiliated with in 616, one that Nick Fury fought against in Secret Warriors.