A/N: Thanks everyone for the amazing reviews. We love you all - hope you enjoy the next installment.

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The Devil You Don't Know

Chapter 3: Three's A Crowd

The following night, Cat and Crusader patrolled the city streets as if they had been working together for months, or even years. This is definitely something that I could get used to, Black Cat thought. Several minutes into their patrol, they heard a deafening BOOM.

"What the hell was that?" Black Cat asked.

"Some type of explosion…over there!" the Dark Crusader exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the blast.

Off in the distance, they could see smoke and flame rising into the air. Within moments, the two heroes were on a rooftop across from the smoldering ruins of a bank.

"I haven't seen anything like this in a long time," Cat observed dryly as she surveyed the scene.

"Me neither. I wonder what's so special about this particular bank?"

"Let's find out, shall we?" Black Cat purred, motioning for him to follow her as she slid down to the street.

Far in the distance, they could hear sirens from both the NYFD and the NYPD. But New York's finest were much too far away to be of help.

At the newly created entrance, Cat felt the intense heat left over from the explosion. She stepped inside carefully. Suddenly, she realized that Crusader was no longer next to her. Turning around, she saw him standing just on the other side of the entrance. After a look of intense puzzlement, he quickly pushed through. He seemed to… recoil… at the heat, and stumbled to the debris-strewn floor.

"Hey, are you all right?" Black Cat asked with concern as she helped him up.

Shaking off whatever had affected him, the Crusader replied, "I'm fine, kitty cat. Let's go get the thieves before they get out of here."

They carefully searched through the mess the robbers had made. The two of them picked their way over to where the vault was, or rather, what was left of it. Fortunately though, luck was on their side. Cat peered cautiously around a devastated pillar. She could see six men, all wearing ski masks. Two stood guard, guns strapped on, while the others emptied drawers full of loot into their bags.

"How are we going to handle this, Cat?" the Dark Crusader asked in a quiet voice.

She began, "I was thinking that we could…" but the Black Cat quickly went silent when she saw one of the robbers pull a couple of the guys off to the side. She motioned for her partner to stay quiet.

"Jack, Taylor," the one who seemed to be in charge said in a business-like manner, "I want the two of you to go get the truck ready. We're almost done in here. We got the old man's diamonds out of the safety deposit box, and a lot more besides." He laughed triumphantly. "Take what you can out with ya, and we'll get the rest so that we can get out of here ASAP."

"Sure thing, boss." Taylor and Jack picked up a couple of bags each, and left the vault.

The two heroes moved away from the vault as quickly as they could, to avoid discovery. The Dark Crusader signaled to the Black Cat – she would take the two leaving and he would take care of the others still in the vault. With a nod of her head, Cat followed the two guys outside and overheard them talking.

"You know, Taylor, this is like stealing candy from a baby… but a lot more rewarding," Jack said, as he put his 'share' of the loot into the back of a truck.

"Ya got that right," Taylor replied, adding his load.

They got into the truck and started the engine. Felicia, using her cat-like agility, got on the roof of the truck – much to the surprise of the two occupants.

"What the hell was that?" Taylor asked.

"No clue. But whatever it is," Jack's voice turned menacing, "it won't be there much longer." He cocked his gun with a loud click.

As he exited the truck, Jack was met with two well-placed feet to his jaw, courtesy of the Black Cat. Landing on her feet, she got into a battle stance, ready to fight again, but her opponent lay still on the pavement, unconscious.

Tying him up quickly, Cat went to take care of the other bruiser, but was too late. Her arms were suddenly wrenched behind her, secured tightly behind her back. Taylor's gruff voice threatened, close to her ear, "What did you do to my buddy, lady? You better talk if you know what's good for ya."

A wicked smile spread across her face. "…something like this…" The Black Cat mule-kicked her captor in the groin. He groaned, and lost his grip on her. Cat then followed that up with a roundhouse kick, and a couple of punches to knock the guy out.

Tying the hood called Taylor to his pal, the Black Cat dragged their sorry carcasses over to the hole in the wall of the bank. The two goons moaned slightly at her rough handling. "You two stay here," she growled unrepentantly. "I'll go see how my friend is doing with your buddies – who will probably be joining you shortly." Inside, the Dark Crusader had everything well in hand. He had the others all tied up and ready for the police to take them away.

Cat surveyed his handiwork, pleasantly surprised. "I thought I would have to help you round up the others, but I guess I don't have to."

"These guys weren't so tough." He winked. "Besides, I knew I could take them."

Placing the thugs together and retrieving the cash from the getaway truck took only moments. The police would be able to deal with both when they arrived. As they began to leave the bank, the Dark Crusader stiffened beside her.

She turned to him questioningly. "Hey, what's…?"

"Watch out, Cat!" Crusader called out urgently. He grasped her around the waist and leaped out of the way just as the gas line exploded with a flash of light and energy. They landed on the ledge of the building next door.

The Dark Crusader gently released her, and she brushed debris from her costume brusquely. It was always a pain to clean the leather… She could hear the sirens of the approaching police cars. It looked like the authorities could take it from here.

"Are you all right?" he asked, concerned.

The Black Cat grimaced and looked up into his face, only inches away. His expression was worried, but had a touch of something… indefinable. "I'm fine. Thanks for getting me out of the way. You have quick reflexes."

He reached out tentatively, to brush a piece of stray hair out of her face. "It was my pleasure." He smiled enigmatically.

His gentle, personal touch caused a small shiver to run down her spine. She looked back up at him, eyes locked on his. What a handsome devil he is, she thought idly, as their lips began to draw close…

Suddenly, he broke away from her, reddening. "I want to show you something," he said, taking her hand. He led her to the edge of the roof and nodded toward the empty chasm between the building and the next. "I would suggest that we go together, but I think you have your own ways of getting around that are different from mine. Do you mind following?"

She shook her head, intrigued. He smiled briefly, happily, and leaped from the edge. As he sprang ahead, she easily kept pace with her grappling hook. His strength and grace were beautiful to see. At several points along the way, he seemed to blend into the shadows, but always came back into sight.

As they approached the downtown area, they started to travel closer to street level. Why isn't he staying to the rooftops? she wondered. When I'm in costume, I'd rather avoid the spotlight.

She looked into the distance, trying to figure out where they were headed. He seemed to be making a beeline for… No, I can't believe it…

With a gasp from the tourists strolling along 34th Street, the Dark Crusader touched down on the sidewalk in front of the Empire State Building. She joined him a few moments later. "So I suppose we're going to buy a ticket to the observatory?" she asked sarcastically, as she gestured dramatically to their outfits.

He leaned close so that only she could hear. "We're not buying a ticket…" And before she could react, he had taken her by the waist and was propelling them up the side of the building. He didn't use any sort of grappling hook, or claws. He just seemed to be able to cling to the surface with well-placed handholds. In minutes, he was placing her above the metal grill of the 86th floor observatory.

A voice drifted up from below. "No, honey, I don't care who they are – they should buy a ticket just like everyone else."

The two of them grinned guiltily at each other, and then turned to look at the twinkling lights of New York City. For several minutes, they sat unspeaking. Felicia had seen this many times before, but somehow, she was seeing it with new eyes tonight.

He broke the silence. "You know, I haven't been at this long… how do you deal with it?"

"Deal with what?"

"The constant fear that you'll mess up, that someone will get hurt… or worse, killed… because of something you could have done."

"I don't think you really do," she said, and then chuckled. "You sound like one of my ex-boyfriends."

"Who…?" he started to say. Then, "Really? I never would have guessed…"

I shouldn't be surprised, she thought ruefully. It was common knowledge that Spider-Man and the Black Cat had been a couple. Even years later, people still thought they were together.

Paul continued, "He just seems so confident and sure of himself. Always cracking jokes when it seems that the situation is hopeless…" He started back-pedaling immediately. "At least, that's the way the stories go. We are talking about… you know…"

"Yes. Spider-Man," she finished magnanimously.

"Wow. The guy's a legend. He has doubts, too?"

She reached for his hand to squeeze it. "We all do, sweetie."

"Huh." Crusader exhaled. As she started to remove her hand, he squeezed back, and held it tighter. "Actually, I thought about bringing a picnic up here, but it sounded too clichéd." He turned to her hopefully. "Are you enjoying this?"

"Oh, yeah. It's always pleasant to come up here when the weather's nice. Thank you." She gave him an encouraging smile.

They stared at each other for a long moment, holding hands. He's just what I've been looking for… why am I so shy all of a sudden?

"Just kiss her already!" a female voice called from below. They broke apart, embarrassed.

"Don't encourage them, Kirsten. All we need is more so-called superheroes running around this town…"

Offended, Felicia looked down at the man who had said that. Before she could retort, they both heard the sound of sirens in the distance. A squadron of police cruisers was racing toward something big.

"It was nice while it lasted, huh?" He rose and prepared to spring. "Meet you there?"

She nodded, and watched him drop. But before she joined him, she couldn't resist calling down to the peanut gallery below. "Hey, honey. He's too old for you – I don't care how many pretty things he buys you…" She winked, and leapt away.

- - - - -

"What a beautiful night to go webslinging," Spider-Man thought aloud while soaring the streets of New York. He had on the new armored suit Tony Stark had designed, but had altered it to look like his good old red and blues. I can't believe how much this suit can do… Off in the distance, the sound of sirens brought his fun-loving swing through the canyons of the city to a screeching halt. "When will I learn to keep my mouth shut? Better go check this out and see if I can lend a web-covered hand." He swung off into the direction of the sirens.

In no time at all, Spider-Man was at the place of the disturbance. He could tell from a distance that there were two other superheroes there already. With one mighty swing, he landed just above the pair on a wall and greeted, "Hello there, kiddies, what's all the…" He was startled to see just who was helping out. "…Cat?"

"Spider? What are you doing here?" Black Cat said with surprise at seeing Spider-Man.

"Probably the same thing that you are…" Spider-Man then took a glance at the guy with the Black Cat. Black jumpsuit, black eye-mask, relatively muscular and not too young... who was this guy? "Who's the 'dark knight' with you?" Spider-Man asked, noticing idly all of the cops milling about down on the street below. The danger seemed to have passed, whatever it had been.

The Crusader looked uncomfortable at Spider-Man's presence. "It looks like everything is being handled by the police. I'll see you later, Cat," the other hero said, and then left in a hurry, bounding from rooftop to rooftop.

As he left, Spider-Man watched him go. Something seems strange about him… "Was it something I said?" Spider-Man quipped.

Felicia turned an annoyed glare on him, and then sighed. "I doubt it. I'll ask him the next time I see him."

"Who is he anyway?"

"My, aren't we full of questions this evening?" she replied, giving him a look as if to say, and what business of yours is it anyway?

Spider-Man merely shrugged it off.

After a few moments, Felicia reluctantly gave in. "All right. He's called the Dark Crusader. We met a few days ago, and we've already helped each other out a couple times. In fact, you just interrupted our first 'date.'"

"Really?"

"Yes. You and I used to patrol together when we were dating, what's so strange about that?"

"I dunno. He might be a nice guy… but the costume could use some work. And that name, it sounds like he's infringing on another guy's moniker…"

"Lay off, Spider."

His tone turned more serious. "But there's something about him that reminds me of someone, and I just can't place it." He shook his head when nothing specific came to mind. "Just don't get too heavily involved with him, okay?" he warned.

"What does it matter to you? Did you sense any danger from him?"

His spider-sense had not tingled at all in the Crusader's presence. "No, but…"

"Then let me live my life how I see fit, Spider," she demanded harshly. "See you around." The Black Cat launched her grappling hook, and swung off.

You really put your foot in your mouth that time, webhead, Peter thought with chagrin. What does it matter to me, Cat? You matter to me more than you realize. Even though their romance had been over for years, he still felt very protective of her, like an older brother would. One thing's for sure, I will be keeping an eye on your friend.

Spider-Man spun a web strand and headed back to Stark Tower. He needed a good night's rest for a change… and he needed to think about this 'Dark Crusader.'