Both still wrapped up in the ecstasy of the kiss, neither knows what to do to keep the conversation and the date going. They hail a taxi to take themselves to Kate's apartment, where Kate's bow and arrows are stored. She hopes to prove Peter wrong.
Peter hopes to prove himself wrong, too, for two reasons. First, he wants to see if last night was not a fluke, showing that Kate is actually a good fighter, should the situation ever arise. Second, he wants to prove himself wrong that he belongs with MJ. He wants to be with Kate, and he wants to want to be with Kate. Who doesn't like Kate? He likes her and wants to hang out with her; all people like being with their friends. But he wants to like her as someone else, someone more.
The taxi they get is driven by none other than Stan Lee. Neither having said anything to each other since slumping on the bench, they get in the taxi, hoping that something will happen to allow them to continue conversation naturally.
Fortunately, Stan takes the pressure off, asking, "So, where are you two lovebirds headed?"
Peter and Kate repeat at the same time, "Lovebirds?!"
Stan explains, "Well, a guy and a girl looking…" He squints at them, "Ehhh, about the same age, give or take a few years. You don't look like brother and sister, so you're either dating or you're cousins. I just guessed. Was I correct?"
Kate says, "Okay, you're correct there, we are dating."
Stan goes on, "So, if you're dating, then I'm guessing you'll either make out in the backseat—"
Peter and Kate glance nervously at each other.
Stan continues, "or you're going to tell me where to take this taxi."
Peter and Kate breathe a sigh of relief. They like each other, but they're not sure if they LIKE each other THAT much yet. Yet.
Kate gives Stan the directions to the apartment, and off they go.
After Stan's comment about them making out, Peter and Kate feel awkward next to each other. At this point, they hardly know each other. Well, yes, they are dating, but they are not even sure they are close enough to kiss in the first place. Both thinks that the spontaneous kiss, while dreamy, might have been too fast, too soon. However, they DID enjoy it, and that goes for something.
Before long, they are at Kate's apartment. As they get out and tip the driver, Stan says to Peter, "Hey kid, hold up a second."
Peter responds, "Um, okay." He goes to the driver's door.
Kate stands by the door to her building, waiting and not paying attention to Peter.
Stan tells Peter, "I know who you are."
Peter becomes scared about his identity and Kate's safety. Could this be a new villain? Nervously, he says back to Stan, "You do?"
"I do," Stan nods. "You're just a kid. You're both kids. Don't do anything you're not supposed to, okay?"
"Uh, yeah," Peter says, relieved. "Yeah, I got it. Thank you, sir."
"You trust each other, clearly," Stan continues. "Trust is an important thing. It's a real superpower. Better than any power Spider-Man might have, better than any power Iron Man might have. You have this power to make her life special, and she has it to make YOUR life special. Don't misuse it. Remember, kid. With great power comes great responsibility."
Peter remembers hearing May say those words very similarly to him before she died. His heart becomes heavy and he feels like crying, all of a sudden. Then, he remembers how Ben told that to Peters 2 and 3 before he died in their universes. Now, Peter, wondering if he is extrapolating too much, wonders if Stan is going to die, or if his name is Ben. He asks Stan, "Your name wouldn't happen to be Ben, would it?"
"No, sir," Stan replies, holding his hand out the window for a handshake. "Call me Stan."
Peter shakes Stan's hand heartily as Stan puts his other hand over Peter's. Stan winks at Peter and lets him go, then drives off through the city to find his next customers.
Peter catches up with Kate as they go inside.
Kate asks Peter as they head up the elevator, "What was that all about?"
"Nothing," Peter says. "He just wanted to talk."
"What about?" Kate asks curiously.
"Nothing important," Peter says. Putting a spin on the truth, he adds, "Just being safe."
"Well, forget that," Kate says as the elevator doors open. Peter tailing her, she walks through the halls to her door. "We're gonna be screwing around with a bow and arrows, safety's a thing of the past. At least for right now."
They reach the door, and Kate gets the keys out of a pocket and opens up. "Shut the door behind you," she tells Peter, walking in.
Peter walks in behind Kate, shutting the door behind him. He looks around and nods to himself, then saying out loud, "I like the '50s diner aesthetic."
Kate runs upstairs. "Yeah, everybody does," she calls as she ascends. "I'll be down in like five seconds."
Peter, being the child that he is, counts five seconds.
Kate, being the child that she is, makes sure to be exactly five seconds. She comes downstairs with her bow and a bunch of arrows in a quiver slung over her shoulder. "Aight, we good to go?" She asks, running down the stairs a breakneck speed.
Peter thinks he can feel his right arm move up to shoot a web to catch Kate running down the stairs so fast. He looks down and sees he did not move at all. He whispers to himself, "It's the Peter-tingle."
"Okay," Kate says, "follow me and I'll show you I'm the best archer in the world. Shut the door behind you." She walks out of the apartment.
Peter follows Kate out and shuts the door behind him. He follows her to the elevator, where Kate presses the button to go to the top floor.
Peter reacts, "Uh, Kate?"
"Yeah?" Kate responds.
"Shouldn't we be going DOWN?" Peter asks.
"Nope," Kate says. "We're doing this from the roof. If I mess up, which I won't, it'll be harder to track us. Besides, it's more fun to hit targets from higher up. It makes you feel like you're in a video game. Like you're a sniper in COD."
"You play 'Call of Duty?'" Peter asks.
"Once in a while," Kate says.
"I thought you said you don't play video games," Peter responds.
"I don't," Kate replies. "I used to, though. I played COD a lot when I was younger. I guess as I got used to bows and arrows and karate, I needed a new outlet for my rage. I was pretty angry. My dad died because of the Battle of New York."
"I'm sorry," Peter says, not knowing what else to say.
"It's okay," Kate says. "I've made my peace with it. I can't control everything, but I'll control what I can. I figured I could control my own life, so I took up the arrow after seeing Hawkeye outside our penthouse during the Battle."
"Hold up," Peter says. "You 'got used to bows and arrows,' so you practiced them for a while?"
"Since I was nine-and-a-half," Kate answers.
"Because of Hawkeye?" Peter asks.
"He was my main inspiration," Kate states proudly.
"Okay, then," Peter says. "So, if you saw the Hulk smashing up aliens, then you would've tried to become a bodybuilder?"
"Huh?" Kate reacts.
"And if you saw Captain America," Peter goes on, "you would've tried to become a shield… girl? Shield-wielder? Shieldsman?"
"Come on," Kate laughs. "Don't be ridiculous."
Peter raises an eyebrow.
Kate says, "Okay, but probably nine-year-old me would've gone in a different direction, I'll admit."
The elevator stops.
Peter comments, "Slow elevator."
The doors open and Kate walks out. "Old building," she says. Peter follows her out.
Under the cloudy sky, colder than ground-level because of the height, the two stand on the roof of Kate's apartment building. It is basically a large slab of concrete with a few weird thingamajigs protruding here and there on the "ground." The walls on the perimeter are about four feet high. It is thirty stories high (could be more, could be less, I don't remember from Hawkeye, but it's high).
Peter says, "It's high." He goes over to the edge and leans over, looking down.
"Careful," Kate warns, coming up behind him and next to him. "It's a long way down and a short-ish wall, given the scenario."
"I could never fall," Peter says. "I'd catch myself."
"Oh, I'd like to see you try," Kate jokes, dropping the quiver on the ground. She grabs an arrow and readies it in her bow, going over to the edge next to Peter. "Name your target," she says. "Preferably within a range of a football field."
Peter looks around. He sees a small "We Believe Mysterio" poster hanging outside a window on a building about seventy yards away, across the street to the right. It is about forty yards across the street and 58 yards to the right, and five stories down. He points at the poster, which is 1.5 meters by 1 meter in length. "There," he says. "Shoot that."
"The 'We Believe Mysterio' sign?" Kate responds. "He was the greatest superhero of all time, besides Hawkeye and myself. Then Spider-Man killed him."
"Maybe," Peter says, "but Spider-Man was acquitted of all charges. There wasn't any proof, other than what Mysterio said."
"True, true," Kate agrees. "Can't believe anything anyone says, I guess. So, Mysterio, here's your punishment for lying."
Kate lets the arrow loose. Confident, she literally turns her back to her target as a way of gasconading her skill.
Peter watches in amazement as the arrow flies across the street and strikes the building, the arrow ripping through the center of the poster and sticking inside the wall. He turns to see Kate, who is loading another arrow. "That…" Peter marvels, going over to Kate, "that was amazing."
"No biggie," Kate says, throwing her head back to clear her vision of any hair in front of her and to try to look cool. "Give me another target, a further one."
"Okay…" Peter says as they walk over to the edge again. He looks for another target. He leans way over the edge and finds an advertisement for "Rogers: The Musical" in the window of a shop on the lowest floor on the same street as he and Kate. It is on the ground floor and about 120 meters away. "There," he grunts, keeping himself from going over the edge. He points. "See that sign for the Cap musical?"
"I know the one," Kate says. "I pass it almost every day." She leans over the edge a little and closes one eye, putting her tongue out a little as she aims the arrow at such a small target. She holds for a moment then says, "This is no good." She climbs onto the edge, sitting on it, her legs dangling over the street far below.
"Whoawhoawhoa," Peter reacts, instinctually putting his hands on Kate's waist. "Don't fall over."
Kate looks at Peter.
"Okay," Peter says, "I'm sorry for touching you if you didn't wanna be touched, but sitting on the edge is too far, even for me."
"I trust myself," Kate says, leaning over the edge from her seated position just a little further.
"Careful," Peter says firmly.
"I am," Kate responds. She closes her right eye and aims. She fires, the arrow hitting the advertisement and knocking it down as the arrows clatters harmlessly to the ground. However, the slight movement of her shooting the arrow, mixed with her sitting on the edge and leaning forward, makes her slip a little, regardless of Peter holding her.
She slips out of Peter's grip and begins to fall forward.