Mary Jane slunk up onto the rooftop of Babbo using the emergency exit. She'd gotten a tip from an informant that something big was going down that night. The details were fuzzy, but it was certain that a big-time crook was going to be there. It sounded like a good opportunity to get some intel. She wasn't sure if it was one of the Maggia families trying to build themselves back up or what. Whatever it was sounded juicy. And Mary Jane wasn't one to back down from a scoop.
She crouched low and slowly crept across the roof. Ducking behind the vents right by the stairs, she took the risk and looked out towards the more open area of the rooftop.
Then she blinked. Again. And again.
There was a table set up with a nice tablecloth across it and two chairs tucked underneath. Plates were set along with silverware and glasses, some covered with tops to keep whatever was inside warm. Flutes were filled with what she guessed was some kind of white wine with the centerpiece being a strange little cat statue that seemed to be looking right at her.
Ooooookay...? So it was a romantic rendezvous. Someone was clearly trying to impress.
But...why on a rooftop?
"Heya MJ," a smoky, smooth voice said from above her.
Mary Jane jumped forward while simultaneously pulling out her taser. She faced whoever had snuck up on her, ready to defend herself.
Hanging off the top of the vent upside-down was a silver-haired woman. She had a black domino mask on as well as a sleek bodysuit. A smirk of amusement was on her face as she looked down at Mary Jane.
"Oh dear. Seems like Spider's nickname for you is personal. It's fine; Mary Jane isn't a terrible name, after all."
As the woman let her grappling hook loose and landed on the rooftop, Mary Jane finally made the connection.
"Black Cat," she hissed. While Peter has forgiven her for that 'son' trick, MJ hadn't forgotten. Not in the slightest.
"Guilty as charged." The annoying smirk was still on her face.
"What are you doing here?" It was suspicious that the thief was here when there was supposed to be—
Again, a connection.
"This was a set-up, wasn't it? You lured me here."
Black Cat's grin grew. "My, you are a sharp one."
Mary Jane growled, frustrated. "What do you want?"
"Want? I already got what I wanted with that nice little heist you and Spider helped me pull off." Black Cat walked over to Mary Jane and began tracing a talon across her own face. "This is simply a thank-you for that."
Mary Jane's eyes narrowed. "Bribery?"
"Nothing of the sort! Oh no. I simply..." Now her talon began tracing against Mary Jane's cheek. MJ pulled back, resisting a snappy comment as she silently fumed. "...want to give you a more solid reward."
"You can take your 'reward' and shove it." Mary Jane started to stomp back to the escape ladder, hitting Black Cat with her shoulder as she passed.
"Funny..." the thief murmured just loud enough for MJ to hear. "I thought you would love to pick my brain for all the juicy gossip I have."
Mary Jane paused mid-step at that.
Gossip. The only kind of gossip that a thief like Black Cat would know would be the bad guy kind. Something Mary Jane could build off of. It was...
Mary Jane sighed, then turned back to look at Black Cat. "Fine. You win. We'll have 'dinner' and chat a bit."
Black Cat looked like she'd caught a mouse. "I knew you would see it my way."
—
It wasn't long before they had served themselves some of the food that had been waiting for them.
It was quite the smorgasbord. A whole salmon with capers, a fresh salad bursting with berries, some extremely creamy mashed potatoes, a bowl of mixed vegetables, a sample platter of various cheeses and bread...
It must have been very expensive to have this custom made and brought to the rooftop. It was a strange way of rewarding someone, too. It didn't seem like Black Cat's style from what research Mary Jane had done on her. She would have expected something like a stolen bit of artwork or some jewelry. This set-up was more...intimate.
MJ shook her head. Whatever game Black Cat was playing didn't matter. What did matter was the intel.
She had turned on her recorders as they were sitting down. Smooth as silk.
"So, Mary Jane..." Black Cat was lounging in her chair, her flute glass held delicately on her claws. "You and Spider broke up."
MJ flinched, then glowered. While it was true that they had broken up while she was in Symkaria, it wasn't any kind of big news. After all, no one knew Pete was Spider-Man. At least, that was what Mary Jane had thought.
"Why do you look so shocked? I keep up with Spider's life. I know he's moved on—from both of us—but I just can't give up my favorite toy. Besides..." she gave Mary Jane an appraising look "...it let me know a bit more about you."
Mary Jane flushed against her will. The way she'd said it…! Hurriedly she replied, "I'm nothing special. Just a basic average girl, really."
"You shouldn't downplay yourself. You're an amazing woman." Black Cat took a berry from the salad and bit into it. Juices from it dripped onto her lips, which she licked off very slowly. It was like she was doing it on purpose…! After swallowing, she noted, "After all, not everyone can sneak around a warehouse undetected and steal a database right from under a bunch of goons' noses."
MJ stared. "How did you—"
"I was there, scoping the place out," Black Cat explained. "You have the makings of a solid thief!" She leaned onto the table, claws tapping against the solid wood. "If you want, I could give you a few lessons."
"Hard pass." Mary Jane may steal things on occasion, but she was no thief! Deciding to say it out loud, she said, "I only take things from the bad guys, to help bring them down."
"And to get a scoop," Black Cat added unhelpfully, clearly on purpose. "Besides, that puts us on the same side! I only steal from those who deserve it."
"For your own gain!"
"There's nothing wrong with taking from the corrupt rich," she replied with a wave of her claws. She paused, then said with what could almost be mistaken for awe, "I don't know how you and Spider can do it. The altruism. It must be hard."
"It's easy when you have morals, Black Cat," Mary Jane snapped back.
"Please, call me Felicia." The casualness of the words caught Mary Jane off guard.
This entire set-up. It was so weird. What was Black Cat trying to accomplish? What was her goal?
To try and buy some time to think, MJ ate a few bites of her salmon. She had to admit, it lived up to the restaurant's reputation. The salmon was perfectly cooked, moist even with how it had been sitting out, and seasoned perfectly.
"Can I call you MJ?" Felicia suddenly asked. Mary Jane looked over to find the other woman staring at her intently, as if judging her to some secret standard.
She thought about it for a minute. While it was her widely-used nickname, Mary Jane wasn't sure if she should blatantly give permission to a criminal to use it.
...Then again, she was Peter's friend. And she wasn't a bad person. Just selfish.
Eventually she murmured, "I suppose...you can…"
A strangely warm smile crossed Felicia's face. "Glad to hear it, MJ." She relaxed back into her chair. "Not that it would've stopped me."
"Of course not," Mary Jane said with a roll of her eyes.
There was silence for a few minutes as they seemed to come to a verbal truce. They both focused on the meal in front of them. Mary Jane shot glances at Felicia every now and then between bites. Each time made her flush more and more; Black Cat was eating her food so salaciously that MJ was now certain it was on purpose.
Finally it was too much.
"Why are you doing that?" she asked after swallowing a piece of bread with Brie smeared on top.
Black Cat blinked innocently. "What?"
"You're eating so…" There was no other word. "...provocatively."
"Such a dirty imagination!" Felicia tsked.
Mary Jane raised an eyebrow, then said without thinking, "You going to punish me for it?"
"Mmmm…" Black Cat traced a talon across her lips. "Maybe."
MJ's lips tilted in amusement against her will. That was a rather catty little exchange. It was almost like they were flirt—
Oh. Oh.
Mary Jane suddenly felt caught off-guard. Black Cat was flirting with her. And she was flirting back! Was this how it was for Peter?! She was almost irresistible!
Then, like a flash, Felicia had cartwheeled over the table right next to MJ. Light as a cat; the table barely shifted under her weight.
"MJ…" Felicia bent down, lips grazing against Mary Jane's ear. "This was fun. We should do it again."
MJ blinked as Black Cat stood back up. "You're leaving?" Though she was flustered, she managed to cry, "What about that 'gossip' you were talking about?"
"Oh, you mean the arms deal taking place near Fisk Tower?" Felicia chuckled. "Rather brazen of them, don't you think?"
"Arms deal…?"
"Yeah. Someone managed to filch some experimental tech from Roxxon." Black Cat stretched. "Nothing of interest for me. But I bet you're just dying to get down there." She looked up at the quarter moon. "You better hurry! You only have probably an hour before the deal goes down!"
Mary Jane hopped up from her seat. Felicia was right; she didn't want to miss this!
Then, suddenly, Black Cat was leaning back down. Her lips grazed Mary Jane's ever-so-slightly with a soft touch of a tongue. Before MJ could react, Felicia was already running for the edge of the roof.
Black Cat paused, though tense for a jump. Laughing, she held something up. "Don't quote me word-for-word without proof I said it."
MJ realized—
Her recorder.
When had she—?!
Black Cat tucked it away somewhere in her suit. Then she blew a kiss at MJ. "Let's do this again sometime, MJ!"
Her wrist flicked, shooting out a grappling hook.
Then she was gone.
Mary Jane waited for a minute before she began making her way back down the side of the building.
Well, that was fun. And informative.
She absentmindedly looked through her purse as she descended. MJ was certain it was there. Otherwise Felicia would've flaunted it too.
Ah! There it was.
Buried in the side pocket of her purse was her back-up recorder. As she'd hoped, it was recording as it should. And even if it didn't, it automatically backed up to her Cloud. Even if she lost her recorders she could still access what she'd gained.
She stopped and traced a finger across her lips. Looking out to the skyline, MJ finally replied, "Yeah, let's do that again sometime."