"So, we all agree something's up with Peter?"
Peter never was the most secretive person. Well, to his friends at least. But recently, he adopted a very strange habit. He would look at his phone, and suddenly bolt out of the room, and whenever he was asked about it, he would always say "spider-stuff."
The first few times it happened, Karen, Jaime, and Marinette were okay with it. Superhero stuff, y'know?
But now it was happening every week and it got suspicious. Too suspicious to just be superhero stuff. Just that Jaime was the first to talk about it.
"Yeah, we do." Karen was probably to pick up on this strange habit.
"So, what are we going to do about it?" Marinette asked.
"Next time it happens, we trail him. Find out what exactly keeps drawing him away." Karen suggested. "In?'
"In." Jaime said.
"In." Marinette said.
"Alrighty then."
Peter, Jaime, Marinette, and Karen were just sitting in Peter's room. Karen and Jaime were watching Peter get demolished in Mortal Kombat, Marinette was demolishing Peter in Mortal Kombat, and Peter was getting demolished in Mortal Kombat.
"No! Nonono!"
"Finish him!"
Squelch! SPLAT!
"Fatality. Scorpion wins."
"Ha! Taste sour defeat, Parker!" Marinette exclaimed.
"Just one victory! I swear, I'll beat you..." Before Peter could finish his sentence, his phone suddenly got a notification. Peter looked, and a second later he was suited up and about to jump out the window.
"Sorry guys, emergency. Trust me, I'll be back before-"
"Yeah, you can go." Karen said.
"Huh?" Peter was confused.
"Go ahead and go. The city needs Spider-Man. We'll wait." Marinette said.
"Thanks guys! You're the best!" Peter jumped out the window.
Once Peter swung away, Karen just sat there for a couple seconds, much to the confusion of Marinette and Jaime.
"Uhhh, wasn't the plan to trail Peter?" Jaime asked.
"We gotta wait a second. Too soon, we get caught by Peter." Karen said.
A couple seconds passed.
"Ok, now we can trail Peter."
Bumblebee, Ladybug, and Blue Beetle were navigating the streets of New York City as quietly as possible. Pretty hard to do when your friend literally has a jetpack attached to his spine. But they managed.
And they were right behind Spider-Man. Just needed to keep this up and they would finally figure out what's eating up so much of Peter's time.
"Do you think it's a supervillain?" Ladybug asked.
"Maybe it's MJ. Putting his girlfriend first is pretty respectable." Blue Beetle said.
"Well, we're about to find out, so start placing bets." Bumblebee joked.
SMACK! THUD!
That was a sound that was all too familiar to the squad. The sound of someone getting their butt kicked. Peter was truly in trouble.
The three heroes followed the sounds of the fight, being drawn to a penthouse that obviously belonged to some rich man. They saw Spider-Man talking to some girl in black armor with white hair appearing to be similar age, as if she was an old friend. Sensing something was off, Bumblebee, Ladybug, and Blue Beetle hid themselves from sight.
"C'mon Cat, you didn't have to throw me that hard." Spider-Man complained.
"In my defense, not all of have a sixth sense that tells us when we're in danger." "Cat" joked.
Bumblebee, Blue Beetle, and Ladybug were all peaking from the ledge of the penthouse.
"I think I heard of this girl!" Blue Beetle whispered. "Black Cat, one of the most renowned thieves in the world."
"Huh. Is she related to your boyfriend by any chance?" Bumblebee snarked, earning a punch to the shoulder from Ladybug.
"Felicia, isn't this guy associated with Tombstone?" Spider-Man asked. "I'm not exactly sure robbing him in the middle of the day is the best idea."
"And cats have nine lives." Black Cat said. "You don't have to worry about me, Peter."
The rest of the squad could've sworn they heard a record scratch.
Black Cat knows Spidey's identity!?
"Ok, this is unexpected." Bumblebee said.
"Peter's friends with a villain?" Ladybug asked.
"No way. This is a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding we'll clear up once we get back to his ho-"
Click
Before Bumblebee could even finish her sentence, the sound of a camera was heard. She looked to her side to see Blue Beetle take a picture of the whole exchange between Spidey and Black Cat.
AND FORGOT TO TURN THE FLASH OFF.
Before any of them could move, they were overwhelmed by the all-too-familiar feeling of webbing and stuck to the wall.
"Oh, sorry guys, did not realize that was you." Spider-Man apologized for that action. Meanwhile, Black Cat walked towards the trio of heroes.
Insectoid arms burst out of Blue Beetle's back and tore open the webbing. "Hey Spidey. Didn't know you were buddies with a villain."
"I'm not friends with a villain." Spider-Man defended himself.
"A thief sounds pretty villainous to me." Bumblebee struggled in the webs.
"Hey!" Black Cat took offense to Bumblebee's words. "I may be a thief, but I am no villain! Villains steal from anyone. I only steal from those well-off enough to not be affected."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot to formally introduce you guys. Guys, this is Black Cat. Cat, this is Ladybug, Blue Beetle, and Bumblebee." Spider-Man did introductions.
"Nice to meet you. Quick question: how do you know Spidey's identity?" Ladybug inquired.
"What? My best friends can't know my secret identity anymore?" Spidey snarked.
"Cool. I have another quick question." Blue Beetle said.
"What?" Both Spidey and Cat asked.
Blue Beetle slowly smiled. "Do you know Chat Noir?"
Ladybug gave Blue Beetle a stare that could've killed your average man. "Beetle, I swear, once I get outta these webs, I'm gonna-"
"My brother?" Black Cat asked. "Why are you asking? Did he do something wrong?"
Did Spider-Man know that Black Cat was lying? Yes.
Did it make everyone else's reactions, especially Ladybug's, any less hilarious? No.