The Cat and The Birdie Next Door

by roman.sulli

After the arrest of her mother, Kate Bishop moves in with her best friend, Felicia Hardy, and together the pair discover that there may be more than meets the eye when it comes to their new neighbor, Peter Parker. And maybe a little Spider can help Kate and Felicia solve Hell's Kitchen's biggest problem. Peter Parker x Felicia Hardy w/ BestFriend!Kate Bishop (Post NWH/Hawkeye)

7. Radar

I don't think you know
I'm checking you're so hot, so hot
Wonder if you know you're on my radar, On my radar
And yep, I notice you
I know it's you I'm choosing
Don't wanna lose you, you're on my radar, On my radar
And when you walk, And when you talk
I get the tingle, I wanna mingle
That's what I want

Hey, listen, baby, turn up the fader
Tryna make you understand you're on my radar, On my radar

On my radar

---

Analysis Complete.

Primary Components:

Eskerone - C22H28O2H2
Concentration: 55%

Solution analysis indicates a high concentration of unrefined Eskerone molecules alongside solutions of organically compounded DNA. Further analysis and centrifusion required for conclusive results.

Testing: Inconclusive

---

The city never slept.

In this city there was always something out there to do. It was always time to do something. No matter the time, no matter the location, there was always something going on - someone out there taking that risk. There was always someone pressing their luck. And that was one of the many things Felicia loved about the city. That was the marvel of being a hero.

That it never stopped.

And that's why the Black Cat was never off the clock.

But that didn't mean it was always fun. That didn't mean it was always interesting. Often times, it was excruciating boring. It was hours of research, or surveillance, or planning. It was bruises, and bandages and scars. It was all-nighters, like tonight.
Behind her, Kate slept, slumped like a rock on their couch, her boots on the floor and her quiver set atop the coffee table. She'd tapped out somewhere around 3:30am, body and mind fried from another run-in with their favorite arachnid super-human.

Last night, they'd broken into arguably the most prestigious uni in the city and this morning, they'd finally looked at their results. The answer's they'd been pining weeks for.

And even though they'd gotten exactly what they'd came for, they felt no where closer than before.

Because this hero thing wasn't always fun.

After hours of research, of extensive Googling, of exhausting every avenue - nothing. There was nothing. They had the analysis, they had the vials and the print-outs. And they had the ingredients.

And yet they had absolutely no idea what any of it meant. All they knew was that it was Eskerone, and it was a lot of it.

Go figure.

Eskerone.

She'd heard it before. The word held the weight of recognition on her lips when she said it, and yet, she couldn't place it. And neither could the internet.

All they knew was one thing. Whatever it was, Kingpin needed it, and he needed it desperately. Enough to kill for it.

And that's what made it so valuable.

The clock on the cable box above the TV read 7:12am. As the sun rose across Manhattan, casting beams of gold down the avenues, the darkness of Felicia's apartment faded around her with the dawn. She sighed, sitting forward, and regardless of how long she stared at it, regardless of how many times she wrote it out and tried to break it down, it didn't make sense. At least, not to her.

No periodic table contained anything called Eskerone. There was no gene or mutation by the name. And for some reason, none of her old Midtown textbooks seemed to list it either. It didn't matter how many times she straightened out the crumpled transcript. It didn't matter how hard she tried to recall everything she'd 'learned' at Midtown. Her and Kate had tried everything. And it lead to pretty much nothing. Zilch. Nada.

It had lead to a dead-end. And a dead-end left only one single option. Felicia's favorite.

The Boy Genius in the red and blue. Her Spider.

She'd made him a deal. And she planned to follow through.

Finally, after what felt like literal hours, Felicia tossed aside the paper, watching as Kate turned, nearly throwing herself off the couch in the process. The brunette sprawled out, arms splayed and drooling in a way that tugged a smile to Felicia's lips.

Sometimes, between all the crime-fighting and bug-boy-bugging, it was easy to forget how complicated this was all getting. Sometimes, it was easy to forget the wins, the victories, the rush of it all. After a night of breaking and entering, of getting the goods and making the get-away, she'd often forget to look back at what they'd done.

All this time, how far they'd come. And out of everyone on Earth, there wasn't a soul Felicia would rather do it with more than Kate - the only girl in their Judo class who ever managed to beat her. The World's Best Archer and The World's Best Best Friend.

They'd gotten what they'd came for, and that at the very least was enough. Even if they didn't understand a lick of it.

They'd still done it. And they'd avoided MJ and Peter in the process. Still a win.

You know what they say about all work and no play.

The clock on the cable box read 7:15am. But Black Cat was never off the clock, even if her Spider was. She had made him a deal, and if she couldn't figure out what the hell 'Eskerone' was, the least she could do was figure out how to fix Spider-man's image problems.

One act of rogue vigilantism at a time.

Felicia grabbed the remote. When she clicked on the TV, what she was looking for was already on the screen. And she figured, he'd thank her later.

---

'Fear. Fear is the price we pay when the word 'Hero' loses all meaning.
I remember when 'Hero' meant something. I remember when the people you could count on to save you were actual people - not some masked super-powered coward! You wanna know what scares me, ladies and gentlemen? What scares me is having my life in the hands of some over-powered Stark-sponsored kid soldier! It's not wormholes and mutants from the sky, or stones from another dimension that should frighten you, ladies and gentlemen. It's masked maniacs with a god complex and a hussy girlfriend! It was true during Stark's era, and it's true now!
From the Daily Bugle to you, If you are one of the many New Yorkers that live in fear, I want to hear from you! So do not delay, we're opening lines right now to the next three callers, all of which live in terror because of this menace The Spider-Man!
It's time we finally speak up and speak out about this Spider-Menace, once and for all.
Caller one, This is the Daily Bugle. Welcome.'

'Hello? I'm on right now?'

'Yes, you're live with none other than J. Jonah Jameson. Please, curb your enthusiasm!'

'Oh my god, I can't believe I'm deadass on the air right now, I didn't think I'd get through! I've been a long-time watcher for while now and I've been trying to get on air forever,'

'Ah, well, we always do love a good fan-'

'I just wanna say, first, that I'm such a huge fan. Like, it's crazy. Your show has been my favorite for like forever. Easily the most reliable resource to get Spider-man info.'

'Yes, yes, we try very hard over here.'

'-But I guess, to answer your question, the thing I think is scary, is the fact that you can say whatever you want about Spider-man, whenever, and no one can do anything about it. Actually, that don't make me scared at all. It just makes me sick to my stomach, if we're being real. The fact that he risks his life for free and you make off like a bandit? Now that's scary.'

'Another Spider-man fangirl? Typical!'

'- "Another?" You're speaking with 'the' fangirl. Like I said J.J, big fan. And I've done the math, considering last year you somehow made a lovely $463k filming a young man in spandex through a telescopic lens. Not how I'd spend my time, but they're nice-ass photos, pun fully intended.'

'Sorry to disappoint you, sweetheart. But despite your hormone-fueled rage, you're little webhead crush is a criminal! And I've had enough out of you. Producers-'

'Oh, your producers will be doing nothing. And because they made the huge oversight to establish your broadcast and telecom systems through Bishop Security of all companies, you'll be getting a lot more out of me. Ouch. Your comms are probably down as we speak, if this laptop in front of me is anything to go off of."'

'Huh! You see, ladies and gentlemen? The so-called 'fans' this maniac inspires? Guerilla 'do-gooder's and rabid, attention-hungry fangirls! Just his type too. The more spectacle, the better! Well, you've come this far with your tirade of entitlement- The floor is yours, why not introduce yourself to the world and show us exactly how delusional you Spider- fans are. Who are you anyway, and what makes you think you have the right to my airtime?!'

'I'd thought you'd never shut up and ask, honestly. Considering I'm the woman that pays your rent, I'd hope you'd recognize my voice, J.J, 'Hussy Girlfriend', ring any bells?'

'The Black Cat?!-'

'Meow. None other than.'

'Of course, another display of wanton narcissism from the woman who desecrates the word 'hero' herself. Laugh it up! What have you to say for yourself? Let me guess, here to read us a lovely haiku declaring your undying love for your fellow terrorist?'

"More like make an attempt at your livelihood, but I'm sure I could freestyle something if I wanted.'

'My livelihood! Well I knew you were a thief but I didn't take you for an air-head as well! I'd surely like to see you try, because unlike you, I'm not a criminal with something to hide! As long as theres maniacs like you and your little boyfriend, they'll be upstanding men like me there to uncover you. But by all means, the floor is yours, .'

'You know J.J, as much as I hate you for being a rat, unlike you, I can admit we agree on some things.'

'Now, is that right?'

'Considering he's saved half the universe and probably half of your fucking family, I can agree that a part of me misses the good old days of being neighborhood and friendly. I mean, with the NYPD being essentially flying pigs with assault rifles, I can't be the only girl with a hero in her pocket, now can I? But that's where I come in.

And everyone listening.

As much as I love watching you until you're blue in the face, J.J, this is for those of us - for people like me, who actually have Spider-man to thank. Everyone watching who has a family member, or a friend, or who saved by him yourself? All of the Spidey-streamers and fan groups listening? This is for you. And I need you to do him a favor. And just trust me here.'

'Don't make me laugh! Trusting a criminal like you, all you do is lie!'

'I'm dropping a QR code on-screen. If you've got something to say about Spider-Man, open the link and drop your pin on this map. You'll be able to see a concentration of other supporters in your area, completely anonymous of course. I need the data for something. More to come soon. So much more.
And more thing:

I'm dropping one more image, made by yours truly. A spider-man symbol with adorable cat-ears.
I wanna see this image, on every wall, every subway, and every fucking billboard you can. Go nuts.
Spray paint it, everywhere. And show our Spider some love.
Love, The Kitty From the City. Ciao!'

---

The Peter Pan Bakery was located on 45th and 11th ave.

The place opened 5-9. It paid $16.35 an hour, and it was the place Michelle Jones had worked for worked 8 years - if you counted the years she hadn't been working or living much at all.

Between the bustling of 42nd St. and the rush of Hell's Kitchen, despite the morning mad-dash of regulars and the mid-day storm of traffic, on most days the bakery managed to be the epicenter of bland in a city full of anything but. Most days, the place was a rare haven of quiet in the chaos, and that was the only reason she could stand to work there.

MJ didn't particularly find cream colored walls and seasonal decorations a thrilling environment. Caffeine-deprived regulars and pissy business men didn't exactly make good company on weekday mornings. And on any other day, at any other moment, she'd rather be anywhere but here. On any other day, she'd rather be anywhere other than behind the granite counter, looking out the frosted front window in her mint-green uniform, hands sticky from the first batch of glaze.

Michelle Jones-Watson worked at The Peter Pan Bakery on 45th and 11th ave. But today, for once, she was on Cloud 9. And it had to do with Peter Parker.

MJ:

Yesterday:

9:01 pm

'Fe. ur never gonna believe what just happened.'

MJ:

Yesterday:

9:02 pm

'Peter wants me to tutor him.'

If anyone ever asked, MJ would say she had a bad history with optimism.

She had a bad history with expecting more and getting a lot less.

She had learned the hard way one too many times that unless you expected disappointment, you were only setting yourself up for exactly that. It was the beauty of the first rule of life: the tried and true nature of Murphy's Law. That if anything could go wrong, it would - often in spectacularly humorous fashion.

Ned called her a cynic. She called it being deathly realistic.

But sometimes, too many times than she'd like to admit, MJ would try to prove herself wrong. Sometimes, she couldn't help but try. Because people like Peter Parker had that affect. The affect that could make her knees go to jelly, and make her hands go all sweaty and tingly.

Peter Parker was simply one of those people.

The clock on the wall by the door read 8:27. And yet, even as the morning shone beams of sun across the decorated storefront, rare warmth cutting through the January chill, the feeling from last night still hadn't faded. MJ had gone her whole shift at the Pym-Van-Dyne Center floating on air, and now, 10 hours later the headrush still lingered just a bit. The sound of his voice still rung in her head, still fresh with the fact that her and Peter Parker, of all people, were going on a date.

A study date. Not a date-date.

A study-date-thing.

Today, the city seemed hyper-active. Patrons poured through the doors and the more she thought about it, the more MJ couldn't help but get her hopes up. Because Peter had that affect.

And as the bell above the door chimed more times than she could count, the bakery around her seemed to surge with an atypical energy - a same hope, a same anticipation that brought her back to that moment last night. As the early-morning commuters filtered in, brushing and stomping fresh snow from the bottoms of their boots, the first batch of donuts came out of the fryers and the first pots of coffee started their brew, their steam fending off the early morning chill and filling the place with the scent of dough and dark roast. And still all she thought about was him.

She wasn't usually this optimistic, but this morning was different. For everyone. She could feel it in the air.

MJ lingered behind the counter, and as she counted the bills from yesterday's shift, she couldn't help but play the scene over and over in her head - being there, lingering by the back door of the Van-Dyne Center. Looking up to see Peter standing there, disheveled and blushing. In her head she could see the smile on Peter's face, the stutter in his voice as he accepted her offer, and she'd lose her place in the bills, and have to start again.

But reality always snapped her back eventually.

Quite literally.

"Michellllleee!"

Felicia Hardy was the only person to ever call MJ by her government name. She was the loudest introvert that MJ had ever met, and she was the only person as close to their best friend as she was.

Felicia and Kate traveled like a unit, two halves of a well-greased wheel way off the rails. The two of them were simultaneous the flashiest and the most down-to-earth people she knew. When they walked in, you just noticed. And at the sound of them calling her name, the door chime ringing behind them and a chill blowing in their wake, MJ snapped from her morning haze.

"Michelle, girl! I got your text from last night. Ring me up that regular, sis, we have so much to catch on." Felicia grinned, tapping her nails against the polished counter as beside her Kate leaned over her shoulder to squint at the menu. Felicia reached over and moved her aviators to the top of her head.

"Heeeey, MJ." Kate greeted. "You guys sell pizza bagels here, right? For.. you know," she asked, thrusting her chin towards her feet, and as if on cue, Lucky propped his front paws up on the counter happily.

"You know most dogs are lactose intolerant, right?" MJ asked. Lucky barked in disagreement.

"Yeah, well, not this one." Kate shrugged. "He's like a pescetarian or something."

Felicia snorted. "And as long as he doesn't ruin my security deposit for my apartment, I do not care what he eats. One pizza bagel, two Spidey Specials." she said.

"Ooo! And two coffees. Americano. No! Make it red-eye." Kate said. "With coconut milk."

"Yes please, extra heavy on the espresso." Felicia groaned, and in her leather purse, enough to cost MJ's paycheck, she fished for her wallet.

MJ forced back a grin, wondering why the hell the two of them would need a deathly dose of coffee and espresso so early in the morning. An hour and a half ago MJ had struggled to roll out of bed.

Like every morning, she'd gotten her siblings ready for school, wrangled her natural curls into something that resembled a bun, and participated in the slog of the morning subway commute. MJ was only 18, but she'd been working since she was 15, in Honors since 14, and tired as fuck since as long as she could remember. And even she didn't need that much coffee.

Somehow, she managed to make it work, without the need for a coffee IV or a wicked Juul addiction. She and Ned had made it through, all the way to senior year. Even if she couldn't necessarily remember how.

But then again, Kate and Felicia were a whole different ballpark.

Like Peter, they were simply one of those people. Like Peter, they had that effect.

"That'll be 13.56," she told them. "And you're gonna have to wait on the Spidey specials, they're like..going like crazy today." MJ said, shaking her head.

Kate pursed her lips, brunette curls falling over her shoulders as she tilted her head. "Seriously-?"she asked.

"Hm. I wonder why." Felicia said pointedly. And for once, she was thankful that Kate never watched the news. Felicia pulled a twenty from her wallet, and when she handed the crisp bill to MJ, Kate said "Do you know how long it'll be? We're kinda in a rush,"

"I don't know," MJ shrugged, setting the cash in her hand in the register. "Not my fault everyone decide to love Spider-man today, take it up with your friendly neighborhood hero, I guess." She said, closing the register.

She handed Felicia back the change, and as she turned away to grab the coffee, the darker girl stuffed a hundred in her tip jar.

"Oh- No, you don't have to-"

Felicia stopped her, a manicured finger raised. "I don't do anything I don't want to." she told MJ. "You think I carry 'round all this cash for nothing?" Felicia asked, waving her thick wallet in her direction.

"Well," MJ said, grabbing the cups as the pair grabbed seats at the counter. "I kinda figured you carried cash cause you were a bank robber or something."

Kate burst out laughing, and as MJ put in the pizza bagel she smiled, wondering if Kate knew she was only half-joking.

"Well,"Felicia grinned, smile mischievous. "I guess the cats out the bag." And sometimes she wondered if Michelle's big MIT brain was too smart for her own good. "But seriously, I'm capping*. It's a joke, don't go around saying that. I'm not trying to go to jail." she winked.

"Hey!"

MJ jumped, fingertips momentarily singed by the hot toaster.

She hissed in pain.

"Can you chicks cut the fucking small talk? Or whatever the hell you need to do for you to start doing your job? It's 8:30am, you'd think you could move a bit faster than that, for fucks sake."

Kate and Felicia went silent. MJ watched as the two of them turned, slowly, to face the trio of men who'd been standing behind them in line. They were college aged no doubt, the tallest of them no older than Kate at most. And the looks on their faces were more than enough invitation or incitement for the both of them.

Felicia made sure to take her time as she look the one in front of her up and down.

"I don't know," Kate said, "Can you find a quicker way to get on my nerves? It's 8:30am, you'd think you'd be less of an asshole before noon, but here we are."

MJ snorted, even as she cradled her hand. She grabbed the bagel, plating it and setting it on the counter with a fork and knife.

"We're the assholes here?" One of the men asked her. "Now if I were to call you a bitch, I'd be in the wrong right?" he snorted, and at Kate's feet, Lucky began to snarl.

"If you were to call her a bitch, you'd get your teeth knocked down your throat. That's what would happen." Felicia told him pointedly.

"Is that a threat?" he asked.

"It's a motherfucking promise if you don't stand in that line and mind your damn business."

"-Hey!" MJ said, hands raised to both parties and she was both impressed at the duo's boldness, and teetering on the edge of a headache. "Hey, everybody down. It's fine." she said, looking Kate and Felicia in the eyes. "It's fine." And to MJ, it was fine. MJ had been working since 15. And since day one, she'd dealt with bullshit, and mean, rude customers. To her it was fine. But maybe not to them.

Kate sighed, sinking into one of the barstools at the counter, and she leaned down to scratch the patch of fur between Lucky's ears. As the tension melted from the pup's brow, still, Felicia's eyes lingered on the men. Kate tugged her into a seat.

"Sorry about that," MJ said softly, clearing her throat as she returned to the men at the register.

"No street-fights." Kate said, half-teasing. "We stay out of jail, we're free to fight another night." she said.

Felicia's leg bounced under the counter, her nails clicking against it, and tongue pressed to her cheek, she finally tore her eyes away from the men. She turned away, eyes falling to the TV behind the counter as around them, the cafe seemed to surge with life and the morning rush, even despite the disturbance.

The newscaster prattled about something or the other, and as the morning weather transitioned into the Breaking News of the morning, patrons around them seemed to migrate to the counter, eyes glued to the screen. As the words 'The Daily Bugle' left the presenter's lips, just to get Kate's attention, Felicia said "Talking about free, any news on your mom? It's been weeks now."

Kate watched as Lucky devoured the pizza bagel she'd given him. And even though Kate was the extrovert of the two of them, if there was something she never wanted to talk about, it was her mom. That's the way it had always been.

Kate shook her head, and when no answer came, Felicia said "You know I'm like the only person you know who knows what it's like to have a both a dead parent and an incarcerated one, so if you need to talk about it.."

Kate chuckled, throwing her head back with a groan. "Oh, the last thing I want to do is talk about it. I mean, last week Jack said he thinks the two of us should go to family counseling. He's not even my step-dad!" she grinned in disbelief.

"Well, he might as well be considering he's still living in your mom's penthouse. And personally, I think the two of us should be living there." Felicia said, matching her expression. "Using that as our base of operations.."

"God, no!" Kate said. "I'm so happy to be out of that house. Honestly, Fe. You don't know what it's like. Sleeping on that air mattress on your floor is the first time I've felt like an actual adult in like, forever." Kate said. "For once in my life I don't have to worry about galas and holiday parties and charity events."

"And you can make change in a way that actual matters?" Felicia asked.

"Exactly." Kate said. "Exactly."

And just as she spoke, behind her at the counter, Felicia watched as the trio of men at the counter tossed down their cash, change clattering as MJ was forced to pick up each coin. The tallest of them smirked, watching impatiently as she collected the cash and quarters back in the register and got their change.

Felicia bit her tongue so hard she wouldn't have been surprised to taste blood.

"Fe," Kate warned.

The TV above them went from the morning run-down of traffic and weather to the top stories and breaking news, the cherry weatherman passing it off to a polished and stern looking Newswoman.

'Top News for this morning: Network Wide Vulnerability - How corporate corruption could be leading to massive weak spots in data; And Bishop Security Bankroll - New reports tell of how Monroe Deere Bank allowed Bishop Security and other large conglomerates to slip under the IRS radar with embezzlement, and money laundering schemes.'

The newscaster said, as Kate popped the plastic lid on her coffee cup, dumping in a sugar packet or two before leaning forward to take a sip.

'But first: The Daily Bugle's bold confrontation with infamous street-level vigilante, The Black Cat. Earlier this morning esteemed talk show and podcast host Jameson experienced compromised coms at the hands of the budding crime-fighter. The Spider-man's newest companion, the debutant minx is targeting The Daily Bugle, speaking out against one-sided slander and hero exploitation with what police are calling 'guerilla hype tactics'. Hear what she has to say, the hijacked segment, and more after this.'

And Kate promptly burned the hell out of her mouth. Kate recoiled, the TV cutting to commercial as she nearly jumped out of her seat.

"Oh, Shit! Ow!" she hissed, and if it wasn't for her reflexes, she might've dropped the cup all together. "Felicia, what the f-"

"Two Spidey Specials?" MJ asked, and she set the donuts on the counter, eyeing Kate as she bit back a smile. "Sorry, about the wait. It seems like everyone decided to love Spider-man today." she said with half a shrug, and as Kate sunk back into her bar stool, blue eyes equipped with a glare like an arrowhead, she said,

"Yeah, I wonder why."

"-I don't." Felicia said pointedly, and she happily took the donut with a smile. "He's the perfect man." she shrugged, and as she bit into the confection, she watched as the TV behind the counter slip from one commercial to the next, it came to the one that seemed to be plastered everywhere. The hit of the holiday season that extended into the Broadway spring releases.

Rogers the Musical.

"Speaking of heroes," Kate said, grinning in delight as a pseudo-Clint danced across the screen.

Felicia matched the expression. "I can't wait for them to make a play about Spider-man, Hawkeye and Black Cat, or hell, maybe they'll even make one about the Daredevil."

Kate shook her head, going for her coffee once more despite her scorched tongue. "I highly doubt that. The writers already said they're doing The Tony Stark story next." she said.

And as MJ leaned on the counter, finally ready for her break, she raised an eyebrow.

"'Rogers' is doing that well?" she asked.

Kate looked at MJ as if she'd sprouted a second head. "Yeah!" she said. "It made 2 million, which is like a lot for a Broadway play. I mean.. My Uncle didn't like it much, but then again he doesn't like much of anything." Kate said, and beside her Felicia snorted, because she had never heard Kate refer to Clint as 'her uncle' before.

Kate went on. "Personally, I loved it. Especially Peggy's dance number in the beginning about punching that soldier. Ugh, it's so good. You and Peter are gonna love it."

Peter.

The name alone was like ringing a bell in MJ's brain, and it never mattered who was the one saying it, the feeling was always the same. Something sweeter than deja vu, something rarer and fresher and ten times harder to explain.

Like walking home on auto-pilot and realizing you'd walked to your childhood house by mistake. Like those seconds when you thought you were in your own bed, when you woke up in one far, far from home.

"Peter?" she said. "You guys are gonna go see it?"

At just the name, MJ could see the change in Felicia's expression. She could see the way her gaze slid from the TV to MJ's face, brown eyes alight with excitement. If there was one way to get Felicia's attention, other than superheroes, it was Peter.

MJ's stomach dropped a bit.

Expect disappointment.

"Yeah," Felicia said. "Aisle seats for tomorrow night, 8pm. I asked him out like a week ago. I was pretty damn sure he was going to say 'no', but considering he's getting a free ticket out of it, I'm not surprised he said 'yes'."

And you'll never be disappointed.

Why was she disappointed?

"No," MJ said, and for a moment she could feel Felicia's gaze on her as MJ picked at her fingernails. "He said 'yes' cause he's really into you. I mean, I've seen you guys walking around together. He likes you, it shows." And the more she thought about it, the more it made sense to her, and the dumber MJ felt.

Peter and Felicia just gravitated towards each other. It was rare that she ever saw one without the other. It was almost bizarre to see Felicia without Kate, or without Peter. Even the first time they'd met, that's how they'd been: Felicia, her arm linked with Peter's and a smile on their faces.

MJ didn't know how she could've figured anything different. And yet, all she felt was disappointment.

Still, Felicia looked stunned at her words. "Is it that obvious?" she asked.

MJ looked up at her, eyes narrowed and just as stunned.

"I'd figure he's more into your type." Felicia said. "I mean, sis, you're goregous and literally a fucking genius."

"I'm not," MJ said.

"Uh, yeah you are," Kate countered. "You're doing like 4 things at once, plus you're going to MIT. On Scholarship. I just had to pay my college for a belltower, and I'm still gonna be on academic probation." she said.

"Plus you look like a supermodel, girl." Felicia punctuated, solidifying Kate's argument. MJ, you can be pretty and smart, but tuh, do not be humble."

MJ didn't even get a chance to ask if Kate was serious about the belltower thing. She didn't get a chance to ask if that's what Felicia really thought of her. And a part of her couldn't believe someone the total opposite from her could look at her and see a genius, or a model, or anything but just 'plain ol' MJ' - as Ned described it.

Felicia was a diva. She was the most high maintenance, down to earth person she knew, in the best way possible. And even though her and MJ were night and day, they got on better than most people MJ had ever met. Two sides of the same coin.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," MJ said, and she couldn't name the feeling in her stomach. She couldn't help but be happy for her, actually happy for her.

But she couldn't help but be disappointed too.

"Talking about you being a genius, Peter asked you about his tutoring, right? You know he's going for his GED? I told him to ask you about it." Felicia said, taking another bite of her donut as the morning commercials droned on. "Shit," Felicia said. "There might not be no hope for me academically, but that doesn't mean there's no hope for him."

And despite the disappointment, the nerves; Despite the faux deja vu in the back of her mind, MJ bit back a smile. Peter had mentioned it'd been her idea.

"Yeah, actually," she said, studying the countertop that never seemed to change, the scene still on replay in her head. "He..actually came by my job last night. My other job, at MIT. We're doing like a study-pizza-thing at his place." MJ shrugged. "Nothing big. Pepperoni and Trigonometry. Hardly as exciting as watching the traumatic attack on New York get replayed to trashy show-tunes, no doubt."

Felicia snickered. "But still fun." she said. "At least to two brainiacs like you. You didn't tell me you were working last night. What's your schedule? If you're not too busy tomorrow, you should come by the penthouse. You and Kate can help me get ready for the date."

MJ grinned, and as dry as always, she asked "You seriously need a two person make-up team to get ready for a date?"

Felicia winked at her over the rim of her coffeecup. "Girl, for this one," she said. "Yes."

"And," Kate said, "you can keep me company while those two wild cats are having a night out on the town," And she leaned forward in excitement, resting her elbows on the polished counter. "Whatdy'say? Could watch some old horror reruns. Carrie, The Craft, y'know, the good stuff."

How could MJ resist?

"Sure," MJ said, caving under their excited gazes, and nearly bouncing in their seats, MJ watched as the two shared an elaborate handshake. "I just have to check my schedule with MIT. Dr. C said I could have tomorrow off, but we're down a staff member so-" MJ went on, and just like that, it was as if a light had gone off in Kate's magical super-hero brain.

MIT.

The place they'd been just last night.

Arguably the best science department in the world.

Felicia turned, and she knew that look on Kate's face anywhere. She was thinking up a strategy - a superhero one. "What is it?" Felicia asked her and it was clear her Hawk Senses were tingling.

Kate grabbed a napkin from the metal dispenser.

"So you work at MIT, right?" Kate asked, a question she already knew the answer to, and before MJ could even formulate a futile answer, Kate was looking around, frantically on the hunt for a pen.

"Y-yeah?" MJ said, as the other girl leaned over the counter, snatching a pen from her uniform pocket.

"Which would make you really really good at like elements and molecules and stuff, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are you going with this?" Felicia asked, watching as beside her, Kate began to furiously scribble along the paper cloth. She drew small hexagonal boxes, connecting them by short straight lines, dotting them with the occasional ball here and there. And as she wrote, Felicia could see the solution became more and more clear.

Eskerone.

They'd been pulling their hair about it all night, searching every resource they could find. Kate and Felicia had probably read that MIT print out a thousand times over, screaming at themselves: What were in those vials?

What was Eskerone? And why the hell did Kingpin need it so badly?

And maybe the solution was really that simple. If they could steal MJ's keycard, why couldn't they just asked her what it all meant?

What was Eskerone?

Kate help up the napkin for MJ to see: the sketch of haphazard molecules collected into a coherent, illusive bunch; The compositional makeup of Eskerone. Whatever the hell that was.

"Do you know what this is?" Kate said pointedly.

MJ took the napkin. Whatever it was, Kate had drawn it upside-down. She rotated the napkin, turning her head to get a better look at it, squinting to make sense of the jumbled mess.

"Well, Badly drawn for one?" she said, but MJ managed to make sense of it, even if she couldn't name the molecule right away. "I can tell you one thing, you're not gonna find this in a textbook."

And almost in unison, both Felicia and Kate said "We know. We tried."

MJ looked down at it again. "It looks like some kind of hormone.. Most likely a steroid. Like testosterone or something but..wrong. Whatever it is, it was made in a lab. I don't imagine anything with that in it is actually natural or, y'know, stable. It looks like an anabolic steroid gone completely wrong."

And just like that, MJ had solved their problem - mostly. And right then and there Felicia wondered exactly how helpful MJ could be if they weren't doing this whole 'secret double-life thing'. Felicia looked to Kate.

Eskerone. An synthetic, unstable pseudo-steroid. One Kingpin direly needed. Now they just needed to know why, and what it could do.
Kate sat forward, blue eyes twinkling with the vigor of a detective. "Do you know anything else about it?" she asked, taking the notebook from MJ's uniform pocket to jot this down.

MJ narrowed her eyes, brows furrowed and lips quirked in a smirk as she watched Kate skeptically. Since when was Kate Bishop interested in Biometric Chemistry?

MJ looked at the napkin again, concentrating on the sketch in front of her as she looked deeper at the details. She took the pen back from Kate, etching notes onto the napkin in blue ink. Across from her Kate watched her work her magic, half in awe and half in anxiety, as beside her, Felicia felt her own eyes wonder.

Just as MJ might've hit a break through, Felicia said "Kate."

"These two parts here seemed to be additives, or modified-" MJ went on.

"Kate," Felicia warned.

The brunette tuned her out - a shush leaving her lips as she listened.

Beside her, Felicia's eyes watched the asshole trio at the counter, the way their body language stiffened and huddled. She watched the tallest - and the rudest - of the three and the way he moved closer to the counter, as if they wouldn't notice. And just as he dipped his hand into MJ's tip jar, his fingers wrapped around the hundred dollar bill and the rest of her cash, Felicia jumped from her seat, barking a sharp "Hey!"

It was loud enough to turn heads and eyes. MJ dropped her pen. And as soon as they heard it, the three of them tried to make a break for it.

MJ's heart sank. She didn't even have time to process what was happening, other than the feeling of her stomach hitting her feet. She hadn't known what was going on in the moment, but the one thing she knew, was that Kate and Felicia reacted at the exact same time.

Felicia didn't hesitate, grabbing the steak knife from the counter. She hurdled the blade at the tallest, and just as it landed square in his shoulder, Kate pulled a quarter from her pocket. Admittedly, Felicia had never seen the infamous 'Clint Coin Trick' in action, not until that exact moment.

With a snap of her fingers, Kate launched the coin at the second one.

The aim was impeccable.

Kate had barely glanced in his direction, but in half a second MJ watched as she set her sights, and with a snap and an arcing curve, nailed her target with pinpoint accuracy - right in the back of the head.

Both men hit the floor at the same time. One out cold, and the tallest one hissing in pain. At Kate's feet, Lucky charged at the door, chasing the third man out and into the street.

"Holy shit." MJ said.

Around them, the New York patrons casted their side-ways glances, but said nothing, even as the two girls approached the perpetrators.

"Holy shit is right!" Kate said, scoffing, amazement written all along her face. "I didn't know that would work so well! I mean, I've never actually tried that on someone." For once, taking tips from Clint did have its payoffs. She approached the unconscious dude, nudging him with a worn Doc Marten as beside her, Felicia pulled the other man to his feet. Felicia and MJ stood the same height, but even at 5'10 the man had a few inches on the both of them. And yet, Felicia lifted him to his feet with little trouble, pinning him against the wooden doorframe of the shop, an arm twisted behind his back.

Kate hissed behind her. "Ouch." she said, eyes squinted in a grimace as Felicia inspected the wound, and the knife sticking out of the man's shoulder.

Nothing lethal, but definitely painful.

She put her hand on the hilt of the blade, and the man fought against her grip, even as she pulled the knife out with a jerk.

"God, fuck!" He hissed.

"You lucky I'm a shit aim." Felicia told him. "At most you gon' need a bandage, and something to fix your fucking attitude." And it was her bad aim and his winter jacket that had saved the both of them a lot of trouble.

Still, the man hissed in pain at the removal, spitting profanities futilely their way.

Kate squatted, picking up the money the man had dropped.

"But," Kate said, "You were a still a major shit-head to our friend so-" And without thinking, she reached into the man's back pocket, pulling out his wallet. From it she pulled a $20 bill. "Shit-head tax." Kate grinned, taking the bill and putting his wallet right back where she found it, before she stuffed the cash in MJ's jar.

And then, Felicia let him go.

This time, the guy actually made it through the door when he ran, the door chime ringing behind him.

Felicia set the knife down on the counter. "You should clean that." she said. "And we should get the hell up out of here. I'm ready to go."

"What the hell?" MJ said, and until that moment, Kate hadn't noticed that people were staring.

Around them New Yorkers watched with silent engagement, eyes entertained, or judging, or both. In their metropolitan fashion no one moved to intervene, but their eyes stared with nosiness none-the-less, skeptical glances over newspaper pages and paper cups.

Felicia didn't seem to notice, but Kate did. Kate wasn't really use to people staring. That is, not unless she was with Clint.

Not that she was opposed to it.

No one said anything, but their eyes said it all. Heroes got looks.

"Don't mention it," she said as she held open the door, collecting Lucky's leash and giving the guard-pup a good scratch between the ears. "Unless you're up for a pizza bagel on the house, for this very good boy right here. Then please, do mention." Kate said, praising the tail-wagging dog, and Michelle scoffed, out of amazement or something else, she wasn't sure.

For a moment, MJ was speechless.

She could ask how Felicia knew how to throw a knife like that. And she could ask how Kate just did - well, whatever the hell she'd just did. But then again, she could've asked Peter how he'd learned to pick - or rather bust - locks. And yet, she hadn't.

MJ narrowed her eyes at Kate, picking up the steak knife and lazily pointing it her way. "I'll do you one better." she said. "I'll give you donuts on the house for life if you tell me where you learned that trick." MJ said.

A grin grew on Kate's face, and beside her, Felicia stepped over the body on the floor. "Deal," Kate said, without thinking - only caring about the sweet reward of donuts. Felicia returned to the counter grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. "Tomorrow at my place. I'll give you the whole rundown." Kate promised.

Still, MJ's narrowed gaze lingered, if only for a beat more.

"Where do you live again?" MJ asked. "Like..your old place. Not Fe's."

"1267 . It's the Bishop Plaza building uptown with the green awning - tall, old, ya can't miss it." Kate told her. And like most things the Bishop's owned, the building bared their name.

Something clicked in MJ's head. "Wait." she said, "Kate Bishop."

Kate's heart skipped a beat. There was always that moment of terror before she had to explain that yes, she was that Bishop. Yes, those Bishops; The landlord Bishops, the security Bishops, the daughter of a potential felon Bishop.

Hearing the name 'Bishop' in New York City was like hearing the last name 'Rothchild'.

"Bishop Security, Kate Bishop?" she asked, and now that MJ had something to go off of, her mind worked in futile to dig deeper.

Kate laughed nervously, and beside her, Felicia's eyes fell to the TV once more. Kate always hated having the 'heiress talk'. But before she could answer, Felicia pressed her bag into Kate shoulder and she pointed to the screen behind the counter. The commercials had transitioned back into the Morning News.

"Kate?" Felicia said. "Like that Bishop Security?"

'Welcome back to the Channel 11 Morning News. Top story this morning - Deeper investigation of the Bishop Security case reveals new reports telling of how Monroe Deere Bank allegedly participated in wide scale fraud on behalf of Bishop Security and their CEO Elanor Bishop. Investigators have found evidence of up to a quarter of a billion dollars in money laundering and embezzlement on Bishop Securities behalf. However at this point, solidifying evidence against Monroe Deere bank has not been found.

Kate's heart nearly stopped. "Uh-huh." she said. "That one." The reporter went on.

Prosecutors are requesting warrants to subpoena Monroe Deere Bank documents, however without further evidence the case will likely remain pending.'

Felicia looked at Kate. Already, she had heard more than enough. Tonight, they'd really have their work cut out for them.

"MJ, Can we get a raincheck on the pizza bagel?" Kate asked, tugging on her wool coat, and as she slung her bag over her shoulder, Felicia was already half way out the door. "Tomorrow, Michelle! I'll text you," Felicia hollered over her shoulder, and MJ leaned over the counter, craning her neck to see the unconscious guy still laying on the linoleum floor of the bakery.

"Sorry for the trouble," Kate said, and Lucky barked in parting.

"Is that dude gonna wake up anytime soon?" MJ called, the door chiming ringing behind them as the January chill swept in with the open door.

"Yeah!" Kate called back, door swinging close behind them. "Yeah, I think so!"

MJ sighed, returning to the counter as she watched her friends go, leaving her to the morning rush and the curse of sticky-glaze hands. She gathered the silverware and the plate from their bagel, and as she went to toss them, her eyes landed back on the napkin, and the drawing. MJ took the it, lifting the napkin in her hands. Whatever it was, whatever molecule it could be - they were definitely curious about it. And MJ was curious about them.

She pocketed it, tucking it in her mint uniform for safe-keeping, and just as she trashed the rest, she passed a young boy who'd been sitting next to them at the barstools. And he sat, hunched over, head down - scribbling on the counter with a marker.

"Hey, kid." MJ said. "Don't you know graffitis a crime?"

The kid looked up a her, a grin on his round face. He had to be no older than 13, and in front of him sat a Spidey Special. "Oh, come on lady." he said, as MJ leaned forward to see what he'd been drawing. "Don't you like Spider-man?" he asked.

And on the faded counter was a new addition in red and blue sharpie.

A spider-man symbol with cat ears. Punctuated with one word.

'Meow!'

---

For a while, Peter Parker had thought he'd lost everything.

And that was almost the truth. He'd lost a lot. That, he'd give himself. He'd lost May, he'd lost Happy, and Ned, and his amazing girlfriend, MJ. He'd lost his home, his school, nearly his sanity - and everything else that had slipped through the cracks.

But even if he'd lost all that, even if he'd gone to hell and back with the scars to prove it, there was one place in the world that his bad luck couldn't take from him. If there was one place on Earth he still had, if there was one place that he could still go when he needed it the most, that place was F.E.A.S.T.

F.E.A.S.T was what May had fought for. F.E.A.S.T was the legacy she'd left behind.

Located in upper-Manhattan, sitting right on the border of Harlem and the Upper West Side, F.E.A.S.T was the city's largest, and most well-funded shelter. On average, they fed thousands of hungry New Yorkers a week, and their beds were open to hundreds of people, all just looking for a chance to get back up on their feet.

And it was, arguably, the only place still left in Upper Manhattan where someone could get a breakfast, warm and free, for nothing in return. Someone down on their luck, or just looking for a community. Someone, like Peter Parker. And F.E.A.S.T saved his ass at least three or four times a week.

Aunt May hadn't started the organization, but for as long as Peter could remember, even since he was a little boy, she'd had been the coordinator for them, organizing and driving the fundraising and events. He practically grown up there, playing action figures with the toys in her back office.

And these days, the food pantry was one of the only ways Peter didn't spend his weekends eating ramen and stealing pizza out of Felicia's fridge. On a good week he went once or twice, mostly to stock up with the food pantry May had started with Stark funding, backed by their neo-gardening technology and stocked with fresh, scientist-grown produce. On the nights were the silence in his place killed him, he'd go there to crash. He'd people-watch in the dining hall, and as Stark robots like Dum-E dished out meals alongside volunteer chefs, he sat in the corner under a banner of Spider-man that hung for all to see.

Peter's walk home from F.E.A.S.T were probably his favorite parts of the week.

The morning sun above him slid higher overhead into noon, the sidewalks swamped with people and the streets a dizzying mob of cars and trucks, always zipping somewhere. As Peter headed down the wide boulevard, heading home downtown, the chatter and traffic was alive around him, alive with life in the way only NY could be.

Peter took a deep breath, letting it and the January chill press against the inside of his lungs. And for the first time in a really long time, for the first time in what felt like forever, Peter Parker was in a great mood.

And today, the city seemed to be on 10 too.

Walking through the city with an armful of brown grocery bags was one of the rare times where he didn't have to worry about anything. It was a moment he was alone with his thoughts, taking care of himself instead of saving a life, or unraveling some conspiracy. And as the city unfolded around him, the late morning slipping into the chaotic surge of the afternoon rush, he breathed in the rare moment of peace to himself.

He watched the people go by, like dogs on walks with their owners, couples holding hands and laughing as they passed. Crossing along 56th near Balsley Park, as Peter lingered at the crosswalk waiting for the light to change, in the playground he could hear a kid called out for their Auntie, playing a game of hide & seek.

'Where'd you go?' the little boy cried out, from the top of the plastic play palace. 'Auntie? I'm done playing now! I give up!'

The woman laughed, dipping from her hiding place, looking up at the boy from the ground. 'I'm here, I didn't go anywhere.' she told him, stifling her laughter. 'You know I wouldn't leave you like that. I'm always right here.'

From his spot at the crosswalk Peter watches as the boy grinned, relief washing over his round face as he slid down the slide and ran to his aunt. He threw his arms around her, burying his tiny face in her jeans.

'Even if you can't see me,' she said, 'I'm right here.'

Even without May here, he was starting to be okay. He was going to be okay.

'I love you, Auntie M.' the boy said.

Peter's phone buzzed in his pocket.

As the walk signal turned white, the flow of pedestrian traffic surging around him, Peter retrieved his cracked phone from his worn jeans. He shifted the groceries from one arm to the other as his screen lit up with a text, and his heart jumped in anticipation. Considering the fact that hardly anyone knew him - and the fact he technically wasn't a legal 'person' - Peter Parker getting a text was always a rarity.

As he started walking again, unlocking his phone with one hand, his mind went to MJ first. It always did. Out of habit, or out of longing, or maybe both. Maybe a text from a slow morning shift or boring class, or maybe a sarcastic comment about something that she'd seen. MJ was always the first thing he thought of.

But then he thought of Felicia.

Peter had known he'd liked MJ because of the flutter. That's what he'd called it. And unlike the Peter tingle, the flutter felt good. He felt the tingle all the time, not everyday, but damn–near. But only MJ could give him the flutter, the feeling of his heart sputtering in his chest. The feeling like he could take off flying at any second.

That's how he had known. Back then, when his cheeks got hot whenever she looked in his general direction. Thinking about MJ was like that, like getting butterflies, or his hands going all numb and electric.

And thinking about Felicia, was something else.

Something else entirely. Something new.

Because thinking about Felicia made his stomach tighten in the best way possible. Thinking about a text from her made the hairs on his arms go into goosebumps, and a lump form in his throat. He was more than embarrassed to admit that the thought of her put dirty images in his mind, and the sight of her in leather made him want to do things he might regret.

Thinking about the Black Cat had that affect, and it made thinking about Felicia, the sweetest, meanest, most brave woman he knew, all the more difficult.

He knew he liked Felicia because looking at her made him feel like the first time he'd ever stood on a ledge and considered jumping. Falling for her was like the first time he'd ever tried web-swinging, knowing there was a chance he might fall - or he might go flying.

He hadn't stopped thinking about her. The vials she'd given him sat back at home with his suit, safe and sound, and at 8:30 tomorrow night, the lights would go up on their showing of Roger's the Musical. And for once they'd could send a night together that didn't involve criminal activities or webbing.

But instead, when he looked down at the text, continuing his walk, he realized it wasn't from either of them. Instead, it was from a number unsaved in his phone.

Peter's brow furrowed in confusion. Now that was even more of a rarity.

'Unknown'

'Now:'

10:19am

'Is this Peter Parker?'

'This is Joe Santonio from Joe's.

Are you open for an interview the day after tomorrow?'

Peter's heart skipped a beat.

Joe's Pizza Place. They'd taken his application, his shitty resumé with barely anything on it other than some volunteer work. He'd applied for every position they had: Delivery Boy, Cashier, and the long-shot of the group: a Dough Boy. It was a pipe dream, but one he'd run after: a comfortable $18/hr, enough to make rent and then the weeks since he'd moved in alongside Kate and Felicia, Peter had sent out over a hundred applications. He'd gone for seemingly every job in the 5 boroughs, but of them all, Joe's was the place he wanted to be. And now they wanted an interview.

"Holy shi-!" Peter said, staring down at the text as he crossed the street. And just as the words left his lips, he felt the tingle, a split second of danger, creep up on him.

Peter jumped out of the bike lane of the steet, just as 4 college students on bikes barreled by him, trailing laughter and hollering in their wake. He threw his groceries up, jumping back onto the sidewalk before reaching out to catch the bags, each landing back in his arms effortlessly. Peter panted for air.

"Hey!" A deep voice called after them, and as the kids looked back their laughter echoed across the busy intersection. And behind them, trailed two police officers chasing after them, futilely on foot. "Stop them!" One of them called, uselessly. And as Peter turned to see, the pair of officers gave up their pursuit, turning back to exactly what it was they'd been chasing the kids from.

"Damn Spider-freak," One of the officers scoffed, shaking his head as he faced the brick wall, dripping with fresh spray-paint. The wall had already been covered with graffiti, and now it bore a new, bold addition. At the center was a red, white and black face - a Spider with cat ears. Punctuated by a single word:

'Meow!'

Peter texted back right away.

'You'

'Now:'

10:19am

'Absolutely

But I have to tell you, I cant do nightshifts.'

Handling Felicia Hardy was a job in and of itself.

It was a full-time, round-the-clock job. It was a job that only he could do. The same way Felicia was the only person who could simultaneously make his heart race in a very bad, and very good way.

And no matter how much he didn't want to admit, no matter how much he'd deny it, It was her. Her and Kate were the only ones he had both in here and 'out there'. They were the only people he could rely on to have his back in the suit and out of it, even if they didn't know it. Even if they had no clue, and that's what made being close to Felicia both utterly terrifying and absolutely exhilarating.

Was the feeling a bit addicting? Maybe.

Had he already been hooked?

Without a doubt.

Now all he could think about was her.

Peter bounded up the steps of their apartment building two at a time. He made a rush for the stairs, and as he headed up to their apartment he passed 's office, turning up the stairs just as the older man ducked out.

"Hey, you." said, voice gruff as always, and Peter looked back just as he hit the landing. Peter had been walking on Cloud 9 all morning, better than he'd been in weeks, but in that moment, the man's words were enough to plant Peter's feet firmly on the ground once more. Fuck. His rent.

The one thing F.E.A.S.T couldn't save him from.

"Hey, Mr. Ditkovich, sir." Peter said, ever polite, with the hidden tremble of anxiety in his voice. He shifted his groceries from one arm to the other and said "Good to see you, sir. Look, I know I said I'd pay on the 17th-"

Mr. Ditkovich waved him off. "Yes, yes. I know. You paid on the 11th instead." he hummed. "I got your rent from the girl, the one with the attitude."

Peter paused. His brow furrowed in confusion, expression calculating, brown eyes unable to hide their skepticism and confusion. "Excuse me? Sir, I-"

The landlord corrected himself, bracing his arm against the aging doorframe as he looked up at Peter. "The woman in 3B, I mean. Felicia's her name. Yesterday, she came in and gave me the envelope with the money, you're fine until April."

Peter swallowed the lump in his throat.

Just moments ago, all he could think about was her. Felicia, what she was up to, what she could be planning, what she was going to do next. And what that graffiti was. Whether it was in the suit or out of it, she was on his mind, crossing his path in a way that turned him head over heals. And now, the symbol that seemed to be popping up more and more. On billboards and city walls and subways. The talk of the town.

The Spider and the Cat.

Now, his mind went blank. All he could feel was that familiar tightening in his stomach.

He blinked himself from his haze, grip tightening on his groceries as he seemingly came back to his body.

"Yeah," Peter said, recovering. "Yeah, exactly. Just wanted to make sure.. that it got to you." And now he remembered, yesterday as he was coming down the stairs. Nearly running into her. Seeing her come out the office with that smile on her face. And Peter's stomach tightened in the way only she could make it. "Thanks for telling me." he said, turning back towards the stairs, and now he headed up faster, a bounce in his step.

"Seeya around, Mr.D. Have a good day, sir!" he called behind him. And grumbled in response.

So Felicia got around. Somehow she'd managed to not only analyze the vials, but terrorize the and pay his rent, all in 24 hours. Peter couldn't imagine what she could be planning next, regardless of how hard and how often he tried, whether it was for him, or her Spider.

"Felicia?" Peter said, headed up the stairs to the third floor, calling her name as he hit the landing. "Hey Felicia, You home?"

No response. "Kate? Fe?"

Felicia wasn't exactly an extrovert. She was warm, and loud, and confident, and encouraging, but she was far from friendly. Exactly like a cat. But on the days that allowed it, and on most days that Kate demanded it, their door stayed wide open.

Because it's wasn't like either of them had much to fear about the common intruder.

Whenever she was there, Kate would prop a boot in the door, leaving it open to the hall, and the first time she'd ever met him she'd told him so: the two of them were always there to hang. Not necessarily always, but most days. Most days, he could walk right in.

Like right now. As Peter got up to the third floor he could see their door was open, not just cracked but wide ajar, and yet it was quiet. And still no response.

None of Kate's chipper laughter, or Felicia's endless playlist of Rn'B. None of Lucky's happy barking or their blaring TV. As Peter craned his head in the doorway, setting down his groceries next to his own door, he could see that inside was empty, the TV and lights off.

All that was in there was a mess of electrical parts on the coffee table, and a confused Lucky sitting on the loveseat. The dog whined when he caught sight of Peter.

Peter's stomach sank a bit. "Felicia?" he called, panic settling in his chest. He stepped inside the empty apartment, the usually cheerful pup watching him all the while, and it was just then that Peter realized that the window was open, a breeze whistling through. The window to the fire escape. Lucky came to stand by Peter's side.

Peter's heart rate spiked.

"Felicia?! Kate? Hello?" Peter called, more urgent now, and although his tingle was absent, his mind searched for the danger he could be missing. What if something had happened to her? What if the Tracksuits had gotten to them? What if-

"Oh God, if something happened," Peter said as he went for his phone, and one more time, seemingly useless, he called "Fe?!"

"Boy! Why are you in my place hollering?"

Peter turned to the window.

And there she was.

In the window.

Felicia hung upside-down from the upstairs fire escape, and even with her entire body inverted, he could tell she was smiling at him.

Peter blinked at her. Beside him Lucky barked in relief.

"Licia?What are you- " Peter said, brows furrowed in confusion. "What are you doing up there?"

""Licia'?" Felicia repeated with a snicker. "That's a new one." Although, if it was one coming from him, she wasn't entirely opposed to it.

From his place next to Lucky, Peter watched as one-handedly, Felicia slowly flipped herself right-side over, landing on her fire-escape with the grace of a gilded gymnast, or a professional pole dancer. He'd seen her maneuvers in person many times before, he could watch them on repeat on the evening news, but even out of the leather suit, even if she wasn't trying to show off, the motion still had the same affect on him.

Peter's stomach tightened again. He had to look away, and it wasn't until that moment that he considered 'flexible girls' might be something he was into.

"Funny thing is, I was just about to call you." Felicia said, perched on the fire escape. "You busy? Me and K are on the roof, Come." And reaching through the window without waiting for an answer, Felicia took his arm, pulling him out onto the escape with her. "I need your help with something."

Peter climbed out after her, the fire escape rusted and crusted with layers of paint, and below them the New York avenue bustled with noisey mid-day traffic. It was one of the marginally warmer days of Winter, and although he had managed to survive with only a thrifted windbreaker, Felicia wore a vinyl puffer jacket, the collared lined in platinum white fur to match her hair.

So entirely her.

He wondered what she'd wear tomorrow, on the night they could spend together as themselves, on the nights she spent with Peter and not 'Spider'.

"So you busy?" Felicia asked, eyes searching the gentle expression on Peter's face. She bit back a smile, hand still lingering on Peter's sleeve. When she had first met Peter, she had told Kate that he always looked so sad. Sad and alone. But these days, he seemed to be better. He seemed to be happier. And she couldn't help but to smile at the thought.

Peter looked back in through the apartment and at Lucky, who had returned to his place on the loveseat. He thought about his bags and the groceries in the hall. And then, turning back to her he said, "Nah, I'm not busy. What do you need?"

Felicia's grin grew. She turned, heading up the creaking fire escape. She passed the fourth floor, leading him by the hand as they climbed higher and higher above the city streets. The wind whistling against the neckline of her fur, and as they climbed the last flight to the roof, Peter heard the signature sound of Kate Bishop: an arrow hitting it's target.

"Hooolly Shit!"

Felicia started climbing faster.

"Fe! Holy shit," Kate called. "It worked!"

"Girl, I told you not to try without me!" Felicia climbed back onto the roof, running to Kate and catching the older girl in a hug. "No fucking way!" Felicia hollered, as Peter watched the two of them bouncing excitedly in each other's arms. He couldn't fight back a grin, and as he approached, hands pocketed, he craned his neck to see exactly what it is they were screaming about.

Situated on the edge of the ledge was a homemade spray-paint bullseye and directly in the center there were two arrows, one impaling the other. Right down the middle, splitting it in two.

"I told you it was possible." Kate winked, and laughing with excitement, Felicia got closer to the wooden board to see the damage up close.

Kate never ceased to amaze her.

"That's- That's really impressive." Peter said, and before that moment, he hadn't even been sure it was possible. But if anyone could do it, it would be Kate Bishop. Peter had met Clint only a handful of times - once on the tarmac and another at the funeral - and he'd seen more than once why Clint didn't call her Hawkeye for nothing. Whether Peter liked it or not, and whether Kate knew it or not, the both of them were officiando-Avengers.

"Almost as impressive as that Coin Trick earlier." Felicia said.

Peter's grin grew, a tint of playful skepticism coming to his brown eyes. "What's the 'Nickel Trick'?" he asked, and Felicia gave him a look of teasing warning. "Don't get her started-" she said, and the look of mischief on Kate's face was enough. "Now you're just giving her an excuse to start breaking stuff." Felicia said, and behind her, Kate laughed.

"Remind me to show you the Coin Trick later," Kate told him.

Felicia rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, save that for a time and place where my shit isn't available for breaking," Felicia told her, and she began to circle exactly what she'd brought Peter up there for. "Been working on this for weeks, and this ain't a belltower you can buy."

"Are you ever gonna get over that?" Kate scoffed, pulling, the arrows from the makeshift board she'd stuck on the side of the building's ledge.

"Am I ever going to get over the fact your mama wrote you a 500,000 dollar check for a belltower you and your little friends destroyed as a prank? No, no, I am never getting over it." Felicia laughed.

"Wait, you what-?" Peter asked, snickering.

Kate had been notching another arrow, setting her sights on the target board again, but at Felicia's words she jumped to her own defense, waving around the sharpened arrow without realizing. "Hey," Kate said. "The belltower was an accident."

"No, you meant to hit the bell, you just didn't mean to break it." Felicia said, and for a moment there was a beat of silence, and a look of smugness on her face.

"Touché, bitch." Kate said under her breath.

And as he listened to them, watched them go back and forth, Peter couldn't help but be reminded that Kate and Felicia were Not Normal.

For so long, Peter had died to be 'Normal'. To go back to 'Normal'. To being the same old, boring, nobody Peter Parker. Accepting that he was Not Normal - that he would never be normal again - was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. That bite had changed every single thing about his life, for better, or for worse. But no matter how much he hated it, a part of Peter was still digesting that fact that even if tomorrow could be brighter, even if tomorrow he could be better, tomorrow he could never be 'normal'.

He didn't know if he'd ever get around to it.

But for Kate and Felicia, being Not Normal was something they wore like a badge. It was something they loved. For them, it didn't come from a spider-bite or a millionaire mentor. For them, being Not Normal was entirely, completely natural.

Practicing impossible feats were a passtime to them. The wall of gold medals in their apartment wasn't from a tingle in their chest or a freak-accident, it was years of practice, of bruises and hundreds of tournaments between the two of them.

Before his bite, Peter would have never dreamed of doing what Kate and Felicia did for fun. He could never imagine risking his life the way they did, not because they had to, but because they wanted to. Not because they had a responsibility, but because they could.

And even if he didn't understand it, he loved them for it.

Even if it kind of made them a pain in the ass, at least for Spider-man.

"You two," Peter chuckled, watching as Felicia approached the towering satellite antenna that stood on the building's edge. "-are crazy." he grinned. "So what is it you've been working on?" And at his question, the look in Felicia's eyes was one only The Cat could manage.

It was a look of mischief, one he recognized, and one that made him tingle for a reason other than danger. And just as quick as the expression had materialized, it was gone.

The antenna was welded to the ledge, standing about 10 feet tall, and Peter recognized it as the one that channeled all of the building's signals - all of it's internet, tv, radio, and whatever else polluted Manhattan's airways. It was standard issue. There were dozens, if not hundreds across the island of Manhattan, and thousands more across the five boroughs. They sat on apartment rooftops, towering skyscrapers, and tops of streetlights, and now as Felicia got closer to the one of their building, Peter could see exactly what she was getting her hands into.

"Peter," Felicia said. "Come over here?"

She had slid the front panel down, revealing the central processor inside. Peter came closer, pulling his jacket tighter around himself as he leaned over Felicia's shoulder, examining the exposed wiring in her hands and the green and black chip situated inside the metal shell of the pole.

And then he remembered the graffiti.

What the hell was she getting herself into? What the hell was she getting them into? "Am I about to get electrocuted?" Peter asked, only half-joking.

"Why," Felicia snickered, turning her eyes to him. "You into that, Pete?" she asked, grinning, and it was enough to earn a laugh from him too. Felicia continued. "This ain't nothing scary. It's just a transmitter, ain't any real processing power here so don't worry, I'm not setting your ass up here. This thing is basically just a huge data collector. It's what service providers use to-"

"Distinguish ranges of signals to stop interference across channels." Peter finished for her, the words coming almost automatically, an amused smile coming to his lips. "Basically just sorts all the data in the airwaves, reflects it back out in a connected area. I'm not entirely in the dark about these things, you know." he said. Peter was no stranger to programming and data. He had customized the interfacing to most of his Stark suits to his own liking, and at the very least, cracking the police radar had only been a twenty-minute project on a Tuesday night.

At her feet were dozens of scattered electrical parts - chips and wires and circuit boards scattered amongst hard drives and SD cards. He squatted down and as he picked some up, turning them over in his hands, some components Peter could even recognize. Tiny chips of RAM smaller than his fingernail, micro-modules that cost more than his rent. Stuff not for the inexperienced, or the faint of heart.

Peter's smile grew.

The fact that Felicia was messing with something like this was a surprise to him on its own. But the more he thought about, the more it made sense - She did work at a mechanic's. And despite the Bishop legacy of cybersecurity, it had been Black Cat - Felicia, not Kate, who had been going after the flash-drive. It had been Black Cat, who had figured out how to decipher the vials at the lab.

She was selling herself short.

"Exactly." she said. "So I don't need to explain the-"

"Raspberry Pi."

When Felicia turned to him, the grin on Peter's face was wide. He was holding a Raspberry Pi: a single-board computer, flatter than an iPhone and no larger than the palm of his hand.

The Raspberry Pi was a marvel in the tech-world, an open-source modular computer thinner than a packet of gum. One that to be could be programmed into nearly anything, with the right hardware, and the right programmer.

Coming in at nearly $200 a pop for the latest model, Peter had spent countless nights drooling over it on his late night online window-shopping binges - something he could never afford.

Peter held it up to the light, and in the afternoon sun he could see the specs etched onto the back. 8GB of RAM, USB-C connector, a pre-installed Wi-fi and Bluetooth enabler. He'd never seen one in person, but he'd heard the raving reviews from any tech nerd he'd ever known. And now, his morbid curiosity only grew.

"What's on it?" he asked, brain buzzing with possibilities.

Felicia shrugged, a mischievous grin on her lips.

Peter watched Felicia stick an arm inside the antenna spike, stretching to reach the back components. "I thought you said you weren't good with all this 'nerdy stuff'." he said, and as he stepped closer to her, Kate resuming her unauthorized archery practice behind him.

"My exact words were 'numbers shit', and it wasn't a lie." Felicia corrected him. Math had always eluded her. It had been that way forever, even back at Midtown, and it was a wonder she'd even passed the entrance examine with math scores like she had. "Computer Hardware and Calculus are nowhere near the same thing. If you're looking for a genius, look at MJ."

"I just know how to make a system do what I want when I want, how I want it. Simple as that." she said, shrugging again. As if it were nothing. And Peter didn't know if she was playing modest, playing the double life like he knew more than anyone else, or if she genuinely just couldn't see herself the way he did.

"Does know you're up here?"

"No." Felicia said, smile devious as she swiped the Raspberry Pi from him. "And you love me enough to keep this between us, right Pete?"

Peter hesitated, just to mess with her.

"Just like you love me enough to pay my rent?"

Peter didn't think he'd ever seen Felicia look so caught off guard. Behind him, he could've sworn he heard Kate snicker.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Felicia said. And she had no idea why her first reaction was denial, and Peter hadn't know what he'd been expecting, but it wasn't that. He laughed, cheeks round with the expression, and the sound alone was enough to make Felicia crack a smile.

"Mr.D told me a girl with an attitude gave him an envelope yesterday. Said I'm set til April. You don't have to say anything but, thanks 'Licia. I mean it. You didn't have to do that. I-"

Felicia shook her head, turning the motherboard in her hands, and she lifted a finger to silence him. "I don't have to do anything I don't want to," she reminded him. "I did it because I wanted to. And you don't have to thank me. It's just until you get back on your feet and all that. One less thing for you to worry about."

And sometimes, it felt like all Peter did was worry. About Felicia, and Kate, and keeping them safe. About MJ, and Ned, how they were doing at school without him. He worried about food. And rent, and Jonah, and a job. He worried about everything.

And even though he had no one to tell, it was terrifying being alone, for the first time in his entire life. It was terrifying being an adult. But it had been terrifying going to space too, and he'd done that.

Now, he just had one less thing to worry about. Thanks to her.

Peter's eyes softened, and his gaze slipped to his feet. "I know, I just- It means a lot to me, Fe. More than I can even explain. I just wanted you to know. Thank you, seriously. If everything goes good I can start paying you back aro-"

"Pete." Felicia shushed him. She stepped forward, lacing her brown fingers between his, and she ran her fingertips along the back of his hand. "It's cool, deadass. And you don't have to worry about paying me back. What you do have to worry about though," she said, pulling him closer to her and the satellite, "is how you're gonna help me with this motherboard, and what you're gonna wear to our date tomorrow."

Peter's grin returned. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, leaning closer to inspect her work, and as Felicia attached another component to the Raspberry Pi motherboard he said "What is it you're trying to do?"

Felicia brushed a stray loc from her face, clipping the adapter into place on the motherboard. "You see that port inside the antenna In the back?" she asked, as Peter peered inside to get a better look.

"You mean the extra ethernet one?" he asked, and next to him Felicia hummed in confirmation.

"I'm trying to fit that into this." She said. "I've been trying to retrofit that shit to the motherboard all day and it's not working. It's driving me up the fucking wall, if I'm being real." Felicia sighed, and Peter watched as she rubbed the tension from her brow, chewing her lip as she mulled it over once more. " I need you to hold this while I try it again. Don't touch anything, just hold the components back while I try to connect the port."
And Peter looked down at the it. Then back at the antenna, then the motherboard again.

He could see the problem. There was hardly any clearance, and not enough room.

It was a simple problem with an complex solution, and for a moment the wheels in his head turned as the solution materialized. The words came second nature when he said "Have you tried mounting these extra components over the RAM and putting the USB input in on an indent?"

"What?" Felicia asked, turning to look at him. "Are you fucking with me?" she said, in disbelief.

Shit, for a second, Peter was terrified he's somehow offended her.

"No, no- I just mean, if you stack these two amplifier chips and relocate the USB port you should have enough clearance to connect it to the ethernet output. You'll still have the reception be okay and everything," Peter said, and with every word Felicia found herself more amazed and even more confused. She hadn't even known that was possible. A part of her didn't even believe him. She'd never even seen it done before.

"Show me." she said, shoving the board into his hand.

Because no matter how she twisted it in her head, no matter how much she tried to imagine it, it wouldn't materialize, not until she saw it for herself. Peter slipped the motherboard from her fingers, and with his, he went to work.

It took him less than two minutes. If he wanted to, she was sure he could have done it one handed. And Felicia watched as Peter disconnected the chips, rerouted them with ease, and pushed the pieces right back in place, with the perfect amount of pressure. They clicked right in. Just like he said they would, just like an expert.

"See?" Peter said softly, brown eyes scanning her face. And now she did.

"Kate, girl." Felicia said, and she took the board back, holding it up to the light. "Come see this," And her voice was light, breathless.

Another arrow hit the bullseye, and setting her bow aside, Kate slipped off her quiver, approaching the two. Felicia held the board up to her.

Kate wasn't exactly hardware savvy. Her and Felicia were two working parts of a unit. More often than not, it was Felicia who handled the hardware, the soldering and wiring. She just got the mechanics, the engineering, and the DIYing of it all - something she'd gotten from her Uncle. But the software was all Kate. Kate could understand programs, and even better, she could break them, especially if they happened to be her mother's.
But even with her untrained eye, Kate could see the difference. Kate could see the motherboard working.

"No way," she said, her voice just as breathless.

"He just did that," Felicia said, her eyes searching Kate's face.

"No fucking way," A grin stretched across Kate's face. "No way."

Weeks of work, and this could be it. Weeks of work, and a two minute fix, thanks to Pete. Kate took the board and reached into the antenna, archer arms stretching to get to the mainframe. Felicia held her breath, watching as Kate rummaged inside, and she hadn't even realized that once again, she was hanging on Pete's sleeve.

And for a second, nothing happened. Peter's stomach tightened, and he wasn't sure if it was because of Felicia and how close she was, or if it was the fact that a small part of him wanted it to work. A part of him wanted to know what it was, what she was doing, what rabbit hole they'd inevitably lead him down, if he just stayed one step ahead.

Because even he'd admit. They'd done so much work getting close to Kingpin.

Like natural-born heroes.

For a second, nothing happened, and he might of doubted that he'd done it.

Then the chip clicked into place. And Kate's face lit up.

For a moment the light panel on the side of the antenna died, lights sputtering and flickering off as the power reset itself. The controls went completely dark and only a second later they blinked back to life, the tell-tale sign of a successful system reboot.

Felicia went for her phone.

She checked the app.

And the coded app told her exactly what they needed to know: the chip was live, and it was working. Felicia nearly dropped her phone. "Bitch!" she said, so loud that it almost made Peter jump. "This is shit is running, girl! I can't believe it,"

Kate ran at them, snatching the phone from Felicia's hand, and as soon as she did, Felicia flung her arms around him, squeezing.

"Oh my god! Oh my god, you're right!" Kate squealed, bouncing in excitement. "I have to go check the PC. I need to see how wide the network range is." she said, already going for her bow and quiver. "You two kids keep it PG!" Kate called, already heading down the fire escape.

Felicia hugged him, and for a moment, Peter had tensed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had someone to hug. It almost took him a second to register. But as Felicia bounced excitedly in his arms, he relaxed into her, taking in her scent of vanilla and Chanel No.5.

"Oh my god, P! You don't know how much work you just saved me!" Felicia squealed, pulling away. "You're fucking perfect, I love yo' ass. You're so real for this." she said, and Peter couldn't help but smile every time her accent got thicker.
"Not even saving the L-bombs for the first date?" He grinned, and Felicia laughed, shoving his shoulder. "It's the least I can do, considering you just did me the biggest solid ever." Peter told her.

"Well paying your rent is the least I could do, considering how much of a gentleman you're going to be on our date tomorrow, right Peter?" Felicia asked, and she bit her lip, lacing her fingers in his. "Know what you're gonna wear yet?"

Not that Peter had much to wear, but she didn't know that. "No, I was more thinking about what you were planning to wear," Peter said, in the spirit of being honest, and for a second the look on Felicia's face was devious.

"Well I wasn't planning on wearing much, if that's what you were thinking." she winked. And once he realized what she meant, Peter's ears went red.

"N-no, I was just- You know, thinking about-"

Felicia laughed. "Boy, you're too cute for your own good." She told him. "Now how's about we get the hell up out of here before finds a reason to evict me."

Besides, Peter had already seen enough.

And to would be an understatement to say the curiosity was killing him.

Felicia guided Peter back to the fire escape, ready to follow Kate down. Felicia got one foot on the rusted metal ladder, before she looked up at Peter.

And he was still looking at the antenna. "So you ever gonna tell me what that thing does?" he asked, folding his arms.

Felicia shrugged. "What you wanna know for?" she asked, only half-joking. And in response, Peter shrugged right back at her. Felicia's smile settled into a smirk. She started to climb down. "Maybe one day. Besides, you're like a genius or something. Maybe you'll figure it out for yourself."
Peter didn't seemed swayed, and for a moment their eyes searched each other's faces, standing on the ledge high above the Manhattan street. Peter hummed. He turned back to the antenna, eyes narrowed. He tried to remember the layout of the motherboard, and he could see it in his mind. The amplifier chips, the additional software components. Weeks of hard work, in her words.

Something she was keeping from her Spider. Something she'd led him right to. Peter sighed.

From down below, Felicia popped her head back up, watching as Peter lost himself in thought. And she narrowed her eyes. "You coming, P?" she called, snapping him out of his thoughts, and finally she headed back down for good.

"You know what they say about curiosity and cats." she called.

"Yeah" he said, as he finally started to follow her down. Peter knew all too well.

Curiosity killed that Cat, but satisfaction brought him back.

Time and time again.

Because like every night, he found himself following her trail. And maybe it was the curiosity of getting inside Felicia's mind, or maybe it was the satisfaction of being one step ahead of her, that Peter couldn't get her out of his head. Whether in the suit, or out of it.

He couldn't stop thinking about the Cat, the vials in his nightstand. When he wasn't thinking about rent, or his debit account, or dinner, he thought about her. He thought about the Hawk, and he business with Kingpin. And tonight, he thought about that goddamn antenna.

And for the first time in his life, Peter had met a woman that could spin him into a web seven ways to Sunday, that could lead him down a rabbithole into a the world's most convoluted game of cat and mouse. That could have his wrapped up in her threads seven days a week, her own personal ball of silk and twine.

Night had fallen over Manhattan, the January chill slipping back into an icy freeze, as the horizon came alive with the lights of the city. The windows of his apartment had started to fog, Peter's radiators sizzling and clanging with heat.

Focusing was useless.

Without Ned or MJ to fill the silence, studying was torture. The progress on the vials - and their origin - was there, but slow, and without the updated Stark tech, finding a shipment - an illegal shipment - in the sea of New York databases was like finding a needle in a Texas-sized haystack.

But he couldn't afford to stop trying. Not when they were all so close. 'They'. Peter couldn't remember when Hawkeye and Black Cat had went from 'the two of them' to 'the three of them'.

Probably when she'd kissed him. And robbed him.

Peter groaned, tossing his laptop on his bed. He slumped back in his shitty office chair, brown curls flopping as he threw his head back to stare at the ceiling.

The quiet was bizarre. It was the thing that bugged him the most.

35 minutes ago he'd heard Kate and Felicia's apartment door shut, their laughter and jokes trailing down the hall as they went who-knows-where. He was still getting use to the quiet, to the stillness, to the whole 'living alone' part. Before, he'd always have May and her soap operas, Ned when he slept over on the weekends. There was never a time Peter had been alone, really alone. Most days Kate and Felicia's muffled voices next door - and knowing that they were safe - gave life to his empty apartment.

And now it was just him and his thoughts.

Him, and that antenna. He had to find out what was in that antenna.

Curiosity killed the Cat.

But her Spider always brought her back.

Peter took the short way up. That is, scaling the side of the building the spider way rather than risking it on the rusty fire escape. Below him, as he climbed his way up, the avenue surged with thick traffic and the sounds of the city - a symphony of cars and chatter and life. Peter landed on the edge of the roof, and without hesitation he headed to the metal spire, it's control panel blinking with green lights and power indicators. Whatever it was Felicia had done, it was operating, and live. Whatever she was up to, it was working, even if The Cat might've taken the night off.

Peter pulled off his mask, tucking it between his teeth as he pried the panel down once more. Inside the thin structure was dark, the Raspberry Pi board tucked in by the back motherboard amongst thick wires and zipties. Connected to the secondary ethernet port, whatever it was could've been diverting and logging all of the antenna's signals without even a trace - an effective ghost tracker. But for what?

"God, I wish spiders could see in the dark." He cursed. Peter tried to reach for it, his arm outstretched in the metal shell, a gloved hand fishing in the dark. He fished in his suit for his phone, turning on the flashlight to try and get a look.

He could see the edge of it. Peter craned his neck, standing on tip-toe and he leaned in to get closer, finger grazing the edge of the board.

And then his phone rang.

"Shit!" Peter hissed. The phone fell from his hand, and in a second of pure reflex he webbed the device before it could hit the ground, his heart pounding in his chest. He could not afford a new one of those.

Peter gasped for air, his heartbeat finding it's rhythm once more, and without thinking he answered the call, without even glancing at the ID.

"Hmlleo?" He said, voice muffled by the mask. He snatched it from his mouth.

"Hello?" He said.

'Dude, Holy shit!' That's how most of his calls from Ned started.

"Ned? Hey dude, what's going on?"
'Dude, where are you right now? Are you busy? Bro you need to come over here.' Ned said, and in the background, Peter could hear the sound of a blasting TV. Down in the street below, car horns blared in traffic.

'Yeah, I'm kinda tied up right now." Peter grunted, still reaching for the Raspberry Pi. "What's up, is it like important?"

'Man, you need to get to a TV right now, you have to see this. I'm so serious.' Ned pressed, and faintly Peter could make out the words 'Is that Peter?'. MJ's voice, he could never miss it.

'Send him the live-stream.' she said.

"The livestream of what?"

For a moment, Ned said nothing. The TV in the background roared through the mic, the sound of a news caster and commotion. Peter's brow furrowed. "Ned?" he asked, as he watched down below, four police cars race down the boulevard. He braced himself.

'Yo,' Ned said, 'Black Cat's robbing a bank!'

---

Interesting sense of style, Ten million dollar smile
Think I can handle that
I'm a animal in the sack
His eyes see right to my soul
I surrender self-control
Catch me looking again, Falling right into my plan
I don't think you know
I'm checking you're so hot, so hot

Wonder if you know you're on my radar, On my radar

And yep, I notice you
I know it's you I'm choosing
Don't wanna lose you, you're on my radar, On my radar

On my radar

-Radar, Britney Spears

---

A.N: If you've made it this far, thanks again! I mean it :)