Chapter Five - What's Up, Doc?

"So you're sure he said you could meet today?" Drew said for the umpteenth time, which gained a slightly irritated nod from Peter.

"Today. Seven PM. Oscorp. Meeting with Doctor Otto Octavius. Thirty minutes." He said, listing off each item with another short nod.

"Watch out, Agent Drew, he's getting snippy with you," Hardy said with a dry smirk. "You sure you won't start acting like you did with Ward?"

God, why did that tone sound so familiar? Hardy's tone and voice had been bugging him for the past week. Something about it rubbed him the wrong way, and he couldn't put a finger on it. It seriously bugged him.

"Ward's a stupid, backstabbing son of a bitch, I'm glad he's gone wherever he is," Drew growled, gritting her teeth. "You two seemed pretty friendly," she added defensively, glancing towards the silver-haired agent, who was, as of now, sporting a classy, formal look. Undercover clothes, just like the other two agents with Peter.

Moon cleared her throat, attempting to break the tension. "I am going to go in, like its a usual work day, and you two are going to come in with the next tour group," she said quickly. "Peter here is going to come in like he usually does, no exceptions. Stay in character," she said, giving a slight glare to each agent.

Peter pursed his lips, feeling more than just a little out of place among these three girls, but exhaled a breath of relief as he took note of the time. "I should get going," he said somewhat gratefully, pointing in the direction of the building. "I'll be in contact," he added, tapping the small microphone pinned in his shirt pocket.

-.-.-

"So, young Mr. Parker," Dr. Octavius said, folding his hands in his lap as he leaned back in his chair, "Why is it you wanted to speak to me today?"

"Well, sir, I know you've got a great reputation with your experiments in engineering and chemical sciences, and I myself have done a bit of reading on your studies," Peter said in complete honesty.

Dr. Octavius smiled with a soft nod, "I'm impressed, what are you, thirteen?" He asked curiously. "Young geniuses; that's something I like to see."

"Um, fifteen, sir; I'm turning sixteen in the fall," Peter corrected rather easily, because people guess his age wrong often. He was used to it, given his stature. "I've been considering a few jobs including chemical sciences or engineering; you've been a big part of me wanting to do just that," he admitted.

The Oscorp doctor nodded again. "Very good, very good. Ah, you must be Harry Osborn's friend then, yes? Norman has mentioned you often," he said.

Peter tipped his head for a moment, "Where is Mr. Osborn, anyways? I thought Harry had said his dad was staying in on the meeting." He fidgeted in his chair a moment, really hoping things were going according to plan right now—he didn't want to screw things up on his first mission.

Octavius waved a hand dismissively, "Would you like an ice water, Mr. Parker?" He asked, evading the question whole motioning for someone to get an assistant. "You know, I'm always looking for young interns. Perhaps in a year or so, you should send in a résumé," he suggested, leaning in towards Peter for a moment.

Peter smiled. Oh, how he wished he could say yes. "I dunno, sir, that sounds like too good of an offer," he said, glancing over his shoulder at the assistant who came in. Agent Moon. Wow.

She motioned quickly with her eyes to keep focused on Doctor Octavius, which is exactly what he did. "But I'll certainly keep it in mind," he added, taking a glass of water without looking at the undercover agent again.

She had those half-moon glasses on again.

"I do hope you keep it in mind, what, with Pym, Stark, all of those other exploratory scientific corporations," Doctor Octavius said. Oscorp is already like a second home to you, isn't it? I'm sure you would fit right in."

Not as much as you would hope, Peter thought, his brow raising externally as he took a sip of the water. "Like I said, I'll certainly keep it in mind."

The comm plugged in his ear came to life with a burst of calls from multiple people.

There's people down here, they were waiting for us!

How did they even know? This was high-stealth, no one but the team and Director Coulson knew.

I—what the hell do they even have here? I can't—

Dead.

Just silence.

"Mr. Parker?" Octavius checked, "Are you alright?" He asked. The undercover Agent Moon had beads of sweat trailing down her forehead, and her eyes darted towards the door. "Mr. Parker," he said, concern evident in his voice.

"I'm fine, I'm—I'm fine," Peter said, shaken to the core with shock and fear. Something was wrong. Quickly, he pulled out his phone and checked an imaginary text, wincing rather believably. "I'm so sorry, Doctor Octavius, something's come up. My Aunt May really needs me at home, I think something might've happened," he said, hopefully sounding sincere. "I think we'll have to cut this meeting short. It was an honor, sir," he said, quickly shaking the man's hand as he headed for the door, Moon opening it for him and slipping out just behind him.

As soon as they speed-walked out of the building, Moon tugged off her glasses and shoved them in her blazer pocket. Her eyes were frantic as they headed down into the parking garage, finding their vehicle. Moon got in the driver's seat. "What was that?" She hissed as they checked their comms—still nothing.

"No idea," Peter responded quickly. "I'm lost as you are," he admitted.

"Agents Drew and Hardy are still in there," she said, gulping nervously. "Our orders were to wait fifteen minutes, then drive, right?" She checked, losing her cool now.

Peter shook his head, "I hadn't been planning on this kind of getaway, I assumed I would be taking a bus home," he said, pursing his lips a moment. "So...I'm lost here."

The young agent took a deep, shaky breath before letting go of it slowly. "Okay. We'll wait ten minutes then, and drive if we can't find them after that. Sound good enough to be an excuse to the uppers?"

Peter nodded.

They began to count the minutes.

-.-.-

Fifteen minutes earlier

"Parker's in," Agent Drew said shortly to Hardy. "Our turn."

Hardy straightened her white button up, smirking confidently. "In and out," she said, walking towards the front doors of Oscorp, heels clicking precisely. "Aren't you coming, sis?" She asked, rather enjoying this for Drew's reaction.

"Of course, sis," she grunted in response, tugging at the collar of her sweater. "In and out," she grumbled, heading in with the other agent.

"Two for the tour, please?" Hardy asked perkily. "Treating my sis to a tour for her birthday. Gotta be the older sister," she said, playfully elbowing the other agent, who was smiling half-convincingly.

The receptionist smiled politely, "It'll be that way," she said, pointing down the hall. "You're lucky, usually the tours aren't open for all. They're having a special this week."

"We are lucky, aren't we?" Drew said with a grin. "Thanks, sis," she said, squeezing her arm just a bit tighter than necessary. But it was necessary (in her opinion), so she decided to do it. And did do it. Discussion over.

Hardy gave her a smile with an ice-cold glare, motioning for Jessica to follow her over towards the tour group. The two stayed towards the back of the group as the tour began, making sure they were inconspicuous.

...

"And here we are, the genetics labs," a tour guide said, gesturing about herself to the large hall the group has just stepped in. "You may remember us for our tests with spider genetics, but we've moved on. Much higher up now," she said with a perky nod.

Drew decided to raise her hand, wanting to look inconspicuous, and gain some information. "Miss, what about that whole Hydra thing? Wasn't there mention of Oscorp?" She asked in her most innocent tone.

The tour guide grimaced cheerily, "Oh, don't you worry, you've nothing to worry about," she said, skirting that topic rather easily. "Now, if you'll follow me, there's much more to see here at Oscorp..."

The two agents nodded to each other and slowed their paces, pulling out a pair of goggles each and untucking their white shirts to reveal them to be lab coats. Both discarded their sweaters in a nearby trash can. They headed for the locked security door and Hardy pulled out a small device that would replicate the keycard of an Oscorp worker.

"We're in," she murmured, barely audible as the two headed quickly and quietly down the hall. "My intel says this way," she said, nodding down another, darker hallway and slipping into it, pulling the door closed behind them.

"We've got them!" Someone called from down the hall as a good dozen or so soldiers emerge from the doors on either side of the girls. They discarded their goggles and lab coats, quickly going back-to-back as they readied themselves for a fight.

"There's people down here, they were waiting for us!" Hardy hissed.

"How did they even know? This was high-stealth, no one but the team and Director Coulson knew." Drew responded, gritting her teeth.

"I—what the hell do they even have here? I can't—" Hardy was immediately interrupted with a quick punch to the face. She cracked her neck as she came back off it. "Now, now, boys, don't you know it's not good to cross a black cat's path?" She said with a smirk, using a quick maneuver she'd come up with herself to knock out two of the soldiers. "Hydra," she said to Drew before punching a third in the gut and finishing him off with a kick to the jaw.

"I've fought more with less," she responded, pulling on a pair of gloves and squeezing her fists a moment. "We've got this," she said, smacking one in the chest, a quick shock of electricity spreading through his body. "Venom bites," she said, clicking her tongue slightly.

In about five minutes, the rest were out cold. "Black cat? Really?" Drew questioned as she tugged off her gloves, folding her arms as they headed for the research banks.

"Venom bites? Really?" Hardy retaliated, pursing her lips slightly, heading into the room first. "Plug these in," she tossed a drive to Drew, plugging her own into one of the data banks.

"I know what to do," she responded in a monotone, plugging in the drive. "Easy information, in and out," she repeated to herself in a quiet, breathy tone.

"Right," Hardy said, pulling the drives out, "We'd better get going. Comms are out, I'm sure Agent Moon's freaking out by now, scaring poor Peter," she said, chuckling just a tad.

-.-.-

"Good God, what took you so long?" Agent Moon exclaimed as they started their drive to the rendezvous point.

"We weren't that long," Hardy said dismissively.

"Eleven minutes," Moon said in a brittle tone, "I was going to leave in ten, but I waited."

"Cindy—" Jessica tried.

"I waited." She snapped. "You had us both scared half to death, I thought one of you had been captured, possibly both," she said, gritting her teeth.

"Well, we aren't," Hardy said, folding her arms and crossing her legs in the back seat, "How are you doing, Peter?" She asked, tilting her head as she asked.

"Uh, fine. I'm fine." No he wasn't. "Yeah, I'm good." No, he really wasn't. "Okay, I freaked out a little, but I'm good now." No, not really. He had been genuinely scared, if he had to admit it, and he was just slowing his heart rate as of now.

Drew tapped his shoulder from where she sat behind him. "I'm quite skilled in interrogation, and you're obviously not fine," she said with a light smile. "But it's okay. None of us are fine," she added, leaning back again in her own seat.

"Speak for yourself, I'm livid," Moon said, shoulders hunched forward as she drove, "You be lucky I'm the calmest person here."

All three passengers raised an eyebrow at the mention of "calm," and silently prayed they wouldn't get into an accident tonight.

"Well, at least comms are back up," Hardy said, twisting the little device in her ear as they continued their drive towards the rendezvous.

-.-.-

Never let Cindy Moon drive angry. Just don't.