Chapter Six: Cat Problems
"Waahoo!"
It's been days since then. Spider-man howls happily as he swings around the dimly lit streets of Manhattan on his nightly patrol with glee after the events that have transpired…
"Oh man, to think that Liz was willing to accept me again and keep my secret in one day, how wicked is tha—whoa ugh!" Spider-man grunted as he was slammed to a nearby building by some metal mechanized talons that belonged to the Vulture, now donning a new light-greenish armored suit and wings.
"Long time no see, Spider-man!" Vulture screamed before flying up high with him in his grasp. "Like my upgrades? A gift from my benefactor of course!"
"First Beetle, then Scorpion, then Molten Man, and now you too? I so need to give myself a powerup," Spider-man sighed in frustration before shooting a web towards a building and reels the both of them to crash into the building. "Ugh, didn't get to break my fall."
As the two of them get back up on their feet, Vulture flings shrapnel feathers at Spider-man, only to miss and hit the walls because of his quick reflexes and his Spider Sense's foresight.
"W-w-wait, you can shoot your feathers now!?" Spider-man exclaimed in shock.
"Yes! A great gift that's really made for destroying you!" Vulture roared as he lunges over to Spider-man, giving him the chance to get over his flight pack before leaving the building with him and fly high into the air. "Raaagh! Get off me!"
The two of them carelessly fly around Manhattan while avoiding collisions with nearby buildings and struggling hard to keep themselves in midair.
"Get off me!" Vulture barked while struggling to keep his balance because of Spider-man being his passenger.
"Let's talk this out elsewhere then," Spider-man quipped as he blinds Vulture with webs over his eyes, causing him to struggle flying blind that he has to let the Wall-crawler guide him around, only to make him crash into a nearby rooftop and destroy his new wings while rendering him unconscious upon impact.
"Oookay, good talk then," Spider-man quipped, safe on his feet over a ledge.
After proceeding to web the unconscious Vulture onto a billboard and getting the police's attention, his Spider-Sense was triggered again, which prompted him to duck below from what was going to hit him before looking back to see the seductive Black Cat with a slightly menacing look on her face.
"Cat!?" Spider-man responded hysterically. "W-what are you doing here!?"
Without answering him, she just tries to land a jab at his face or a kick to his gut, missing each and every time as she appears to be blinded by anger and matchless against his superhuman reflexes.
"Cat! What's gotten into you!?" Spider-man asked hysterically, dodging a punch-kick combo before climbing onto a water tank.
"Oh, you really want to know what's gotten into me?" Black Cat hissed with an angry tone and an aggressive fighting stance with her retractable claws open.
"Umm, maybe?" Spider-man squeamishly asked before dodging her midair kick and landing onto a higher ledge. "Look, just please tell me your problem! I am no mind-reader!"
"Oh yeah? Then what if I say..." Black Cat trailed off before swiping Spider-man's feet off the ground and landing on top of him with her retractable claws close to his face. "...the problem is you. What will you do?"
"Wait, what? What did I ever do to you?" Spider-man asked, giving her a confused look, not knowing why she is being so hostile out of nowhere.
"What you did to me…" Black Cat then gets close to his ear and whispers to him in a seductive tone. "...is hurting my maiden heart."
"What!? How!?" Spider-man asked hysterically with his eyes widened in response. "When!?"
"I'm sure you know the answer yourself," Black Cat seductively replied before flipping and landing onto the roof's ledge. "Tata."
From there, she only swings away and leaves Spider-man's questions unanswered, festering with his mind.
"What was that all about…?" Spider-man thought out loud as he stood himself up again. "Maan, I need to get myself a break."
—
"We're runnin' outta ideas with all the freaks poppin' outta nowhere. The last thing I wanna see is an Avenger helpin' out that Spider-brat and findin' us," Hammerhead complained while fixing his favorite knuckle dusters.
"Patience Hammerhead, we still have plenty of candidates in dealing with him and his so-called "mutant" friends ," Norman assured as he waved his hand and motioned a person in a business suit with a straight mustache to enter the room.
"Hey who is this guy?" Hammerhead asked.
"The inventor of that ray gun you used on one of those "freaks", as you liked to call them. Meet Mr. Bolivar Trask. He is very much pleased to join hands with us in eradicating threats like Spider-man," Norman introduced.
"If you'd like I would—"
"No need to bother yourself with those mutants, Trask. I will ask for your help to find ways in fighting against them. They're my own problems," Norman assured.
"Mutants are never a personal problem, but a problem for the populace. You will ask me again next time. I swear it" Bolivar differed before leaving the room.
"Wooow, you sure you can trust that creep?" Hammerhead wondered.
"We need his hand in this," Norman replied before looking through personal documents, one of which containing information on Miles Warren. "Although, there is another that can be also promising for now..."
—
Another bright school day ends in Midtown High with everyone bummed and only eager for the coming break in the summer, which is about two or three months away.
"Man, can't wait for summer break!" Bobby exclaimed, walking down the corridors from class dismissal with Kitty, Peter, and Liz.
"Bobby, you do realize it's not even half a year since we enrolled, and now you're looking forward to summer vacation?" Kitty deadpans while fixing her purple-framed glasses while reading a pamphlet.
"Hey Kitty, I didn't know you'd wear glasses," Peter noticed, with his arms linked with Liz's embrace.
"Well duh, 'cause they sometimes get in my way during sports and stuff, so I try to not use much," Kitty plainly answered. "I look weird in them, don't I?"
"Well, it kinda suits you, but whichever is comfortable for you I guess," Peter shrugged as he complimented her look, getting an elbow to his gut from a jealous Liz who raised a curious eyebrow, while making Kitty's face light up in response.
"W-whoa, t-thanks," Kitty thanked with a gleeful smile and nervously tilts her glasses straight, reminding Peter of Gwen's old jolly look before she changed her appearance.
'Gwen…' Peter thought to himself, lost in his train of thought that Bobby had to shake him back into reality.
"Bro, you doing alright?" Bobby asked.
"Hm? Oh yeah, yeah," Peter nervously replied.
"Hey Pete…"
Suddenly, Peter stopped in his tracks, causing his friends and girlfriend beside him to stop and look to see Harry greeting him, who is somehow well with a crutch while being helped by Gwen.
"What's up man?" Harry asked while limping over to him with Gwen and his crutch.
"H-Harry! Man, why are you here?! Are you already discharged?" Peter asked with concern, making Bobby and Kitty somehow uneasy after remembering the incident back then.
"Yeah, wouldn't wanna miss out on school and stuff," Harry nervously replied as he scratches the back of his head and then he notices Peter holding Liz's hand. "Hey, how is stuff between you Liz?"
"Oh uh...um, we had a….falling out back then, but we're able to pick ourselves back up from where we left off," Peter happily replied, making Liz hug tight onto his arm with joy while Gwen hides her surprised look with her face down.
"Wow! That's great!" Harry congratulated, whereas Gwen stayed silent while hiding her jealousy and sorrow upon hearing the two of them getting back together.
"Say what!? What!?"
Overhearing the conversation from afar was the snobbish Sally Avril, along with the "popular squad", coming their way.
'Great, here we go again,' Peter and Liz thought to themselves.
"Lizzy! Please tell me it's not true: Are you dating the geek again!?" Sally hysterically demanded for an explanation.
Without flinching, they look at each other with vibrant smiles and flaunt their hands clasped tightly together before answering…
"Yes," Peter answered.
"Petey's mine, and I'm his," Liz replied with glee and snuggles close to Peter's shoulder, making him blush.
"What!? Are you—!?"
"C'mon Sal, aren't you supposed to be happy for your friend?" Randy cuts in. "Besides, she's with the 'cool geeks'. She'll be fine."
"Cool geeks? Seriously?" Kitty sassily wonders.
"Honored to be called a 'geek'," Bobby joked, making Peter and Kitty facepalmed in humorous disappointment.
After the sudden hurdle's easily dealt with, the next session of classes begins and prompts every student to go to their respective classroom arrangements when the bell rang.
—
In the ESU laboratory, where the current head of management, Miles Warren, resides to fulfil his duties as a scientist…
"Fascinating…" Miles thought out loud, in awe of his breakthrough with mutating Jackal DNA under a microscope. "This has to be one of the greatest breakthroughs I've ever witnessed in my time!"
"Um, Dr. Warren?" Deborah called.
"What is it Deborah? I'm currently busy, as you can see," Miles plainly answered while looking through his microscope.
"But sir, it is really an urgent matter—"
"I'll deal with it in a minute," Miles halted.
"I'm afraid you won't have another minute. No more in this lab, that is."
Catching Miles off guard, he turns to notice a familiar group of men in suits and military uniforms with medals indicating their high ranks, along with a bald man in a wheelchair assisted by a native American man. Behind them were other familiar faces and a couple of law enforcement officers.
"C-Connors! I thought you were supposed to be transferred?!" Miles was taken by surprise from his return.
"I did. And I was having a nice and busy life in my new research center until the board recalled me back for serious reasons, concerning you and your radical ideas," Curtis Connors angrily, but calmly replied.
"What do you mean by that, Connors? Besides, you yourself know better that you are far from being innocent as well," Miles sneered.
"Yes, I am not a perfect person, but I'm man enough to admit my faults," Curtis replied. "And I've told them about many of your secrets in the past months.
"Wait, what!?" Miles backed away in shock.
"Dr. Miles Warren, in the name of the law, you are hereby arrested for your crimes in carrying out illegal human experiments," George Stacy calls out with his gun and badge ready in front of him. "Please come with us immediately."
"What experiments? Surely I—"
"Don't play dumb, Dr. Warren, we have a witness brought here with us," George Stacy warned.
Walking up to Captain Stacy's side was a furious Mark Allan, alive and well while being accompanied by the bald man in a wheelchair.
"I am a witness to his crimes, as I was a victim of one of his experiments. If it weren't for the kindness of Spider-man and Professor Xavier to help me, I would've continued living my life as a monster," Mark briefly explained.
"The files of his research are in this lab, feel free to search for them high and low," Curtis permitted.
"No! You can't do this to me!" Miles protested before being grabbed and restrained by two law enforcement officers.
"Sorry Miles, but you're out of the job," says one of the men in business suits, most likely a member of Oscorp's board of directors. He turns to Dr. Connors and pats his back. "From here on out, you're reinstated back here in ESU. We're counting on you, Dr. Connors."
"T-Thank you sir! This time, I won't let you down!" Curtis swore.
Before Miles was about to be escorted out of the laboratory, he forcibly stops near the door and turns to Dr. Connors with a grimacing glare...
"I'll make you pay for this, Connors," Miles swore as he's being pushed out of the laboratory by two police officers. "All of you will pay...!"
"...Mr. Allan, would you like to visit your family? Now that your issue has been resolved?" Professor Xavier asked, looking at the young Latino with concern.
"No, not yet, sir—I mean, Professor," Mark stuttered. "I'll visit them when I'm ready for the day."
"Alright then, you can feel free to stick around with us for now," says the young native American man handling the bars of the Professor's wheelchair as they discreetly leave the rest of the matter to the law enforcement officers and Oscorp's board of directors.
"Thanks again for your help, Forge. I lost all hope when I thought I'd be stuck with the crazy machines inside of me that could turn me into a monster. A monster that could hurt my family and the hero who saved them," Mark thanked with deep gratitude.
"Piece of cake, man. His gizmo is nothing compared to what I could've possibly made. Not that I'd want to though," the man named Forge, joked and laughed.
—
"Well, guess this is where we part ways for the day. Take care of yourselves!" Bobby bade farewell, walking up to Logan, who was waiting by the subway entrance.
"See ya guys tomorrow! We gotta head back fast if we wanna ace the English test next week Tuesday!" Kitty bade before following Bobby.
"See you guys la—wait, oh shoot! The English test!" Peter yelped hysterically that he slapped the sides of his head in shock.
"What's the matter, Petey? Wait, don't tell me—"
"I didn't get to study! And that's one subject that I'm not quite good at somehow, especially poetry. Ugh, I am so doomed," Peter groaned and sighed before feeling an assuring hold over his shoulder.
"Um, Petey, if you'd like, mind if I try tutoring you for the English test?" Liz nervously suggested.
"W-w-wait, really? You mean it!?" Peter asked.
"Why not? I mean, you "reluctantly" helped me a lot with Science class, so let me help you this time," Liz eagerly suggests.
"Y-yeah! Sounds great!" Peter nervously replied, somehow excited for the plan. "So um, when and where can we study?"
"We can go to my place," Liz quickly suggested.
"Huh…? Huh?!" Peter was caught off guard upon hearing her suggestion. "Wait, are you sure? Won't your parents um, mind about me coming over?"
"I'm pretty sure they're cool with it Petey, don't stress yourself too hard on it," Liz smiled reassuringly.
"I-If you say so then," Peter gave in before getting embraced tightly by Liz.
"Yay! We can start tomorrow Saturday afternoon if you'd like. For now, when you get home, you should try reading through those Shakespearean sonnets. I think they might pop up in that test," Liz advises before getting a taxi to stop in front of her.
"Wow, homework already? That's quick. Well...not like I'm one to talk," Peter joked, remembering the time he left Harry to self-study for a Calculus test.
"Yes, and you better do it, Mr. Parker," Liz joked in a strict tone with a smirk before getting in the taxi.
"Yes ma'am, will do," Peter joked back, waving her bye as he saw her off.
—
Saturday comes around, and Peter's been able to get permission from Aunt May to go to Liz's place for a study session at her place. However, he still feels awkward after treating Liz inappropriately before their breakup.
'Oh man, maybe I should've thought this through more,' Peter thought to himself while standing at the doorway of the Allans' residence before taking a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."
He knocks on the door then waits for a response while looking around the corridors and a window at the nearest end of it until the door opens, revealing Liz in her casual oversized green t-shirt and dolphin shorts.
"Petey! You really came!" Liz excitedly tackles Peter into a tight hug.
"Peter Parker, present, ma'am!" Peter joked. "Are classes in session?"
"Why yes, Mr. Parker, now come inside!" Liz playfully grabs Peter's hand and takes him into the house.
They immediately make their way into her room, the same as it was after the memorable moment of "the unmasking of Spider-man".
"I still remember it clearly, Spidey," Liz thought out loud, looking at the window and the ceiling before turning to Peter and catching him off guard with that name. "Don't worry, Petey, my family still don't know and I never told them."
"Thanks Liz, and I'm sorry again for the burden of keeping that a secret," Peter nervously apologized, surprised by her arms wrapped around his necks while looking straight into his eyes.
"It's a secret I don't regret keeping though," Liz smiled, causing Peter's cheeks to blush bright and then gently tries to pull him into a passionate kiss.
"Mija! Where is your guy friend!?"
Suddenly, a middle-aged Latina was at the door yelling, causing both Peter and Liz to panic and frantically distance themselves from embarrassment.
"Mija?" the Latina called.
"Yes Ma?" Liz nervously asked, walking up to her and leaving Peter awkward from her sudden appearance.
"Liz, mija, what is his name?" Liz's mother asked curiously.
"I-it's Peter, Peter Parker," Liz answered.
"Peter," her mother repeated with curiosity before whispering to Liz with a kind and hospitable suggestion.
There, Liz walks up to Peter, following what her mother whispered to her…
"U-um, Petey…?" Liz nervously asked.
"Yeah Liz?" Peter responded quickly.
"My mom's wondering if you'd like a snack," Liz replied, looking at Peter while flipping hair over the side of her face. "We got some um chocolate cake if you want some."
"S-sounds great! Is it alright?" Peter asked.
"Yeah of course! You're not allergic, are ya?" Liz asks in a cute tone.
"Nope, no allergies," Peter playfully answered, making her chuckle in response.
"Stick around here for a bit, I'll be right back. Read while you're at it," Liz requested before leaving him in her room.
Peter sits at the couch and lays down his satchel while looking around Liz's tiny, yet spacious room before looking through the view of her window.
"Man, wonder if Flash ever saw anything like this..." Peter thought out loud before sitting comfortably on the couch with an English textbook in hand while looking out the window.
—
Somewhere near a restobar, Logan—Bobby and Kitty's guardian— is taking a period of leisure after leaving the two of them to study for their upcoming English test. However, his afternoon was disturbed after something triggered his enhanced mutant senses.
"Hmmm," Logan sniffs a familiar scent nearby that was present in the recent fight at Coney Island and then his eyes narrowed down spotting the same limousine that got away when he was chasing it down before flicking the toothpick hanging onto his teeth. "I smell trouble…"
With stealth and haste, he carefully chases it down without dragging too much attention by going through the crowds and shortcuts around the alleys nearby until they stop and enter some old warehouse with the sign saying "LTL Body Shop".
"Hmph," Logan grunted before getting a closer look at the inside through the dirty windows and seeing some sort of elevator-like mechanism that brought the limousine down like some underground compartment. "That doesn't seem ordinary, now does it….?"
With restraint, he unsheathes his claws and thrusts his claws through the hidden computer and camera by the steel door, causing it to open uncontrollably and allowing Logan to quietly enter the warehouse. As he looks around and inspects the scene for a way underground, he notices four thin upright rails over a much more elevated floor, probably leading to the hidden compartment underground. With the strength of his adamantium claws and bones, he slowly pries it open enough for him to stealthily enter without too much noise before sneaking his way into the dark pipe-lined tunnels.
'Bet that Webhead would wanna find this place,' Logan thought to himself while walking along the dark tunnels before seeing a lit room nearby and crouches up close to eavesdrop from outside, listening to the conversation with a little glimpse through the tinted windows.
"Thank you, thank you again for helping me out of prison, sir. I am greatly honored," Miles thanked with deep appreciation.
"Please, no need to be so modest. Your life's work has gotten my attention," Norman replied calmly. "I am quite surprised that the board no longer wants you."
"It's all because of that tailed traitor, Connors," Miles hissed, gripping his fists tightly. "If I get my hands on him, I'll—"
"Patience, doctor. You will have your chance, but first you will have to work for me to work for yourself," Norman turns to examine the same old experimentation chamber that birthed the Sandman and the Rhino.
"But of course, anything for you, sir!" Miles eagerly answered.
"Alright alright, enough with the friendly talk now," Hammerhead snapped. "We got a lot of brain power in this business, so let's start putting them into good use, clear?"
'Bub, you're in for a world of hurt,' Logan hissed in his thoughts until he sensed another presence in the dark and unsheathed his claws. "Come on out, I already found ya."
Without hesitation, a caped shadowy figure equips a pair of retractable claws and lunges over Logan to slash him, only to meet his adamantium claws and clash metal-to-metal, making lots of clunking noise that startled everyone in the tinted lit room.
"What was that!?" Miles thought out loud. "Is it the police?!"
"Impossible, this place is hard enough to find as it is," Norman protested.
"Good thing I made sure that we ain't alone. Don't worry, the guy I got is far from a mook," Hammerhead assures.
Battling in the dark tunnels, Logan manages to push back the dark cloaked assailant with his mutant strength, senses, and abilities before kicking him in the gut towards the black limo. But as he was lunging over to the downed assailant, he dodged a bolt of electricity—shot by Hammerhead's chauffeur with an anti-mutant ray gun— that could've paralyzed him as the time back then and caused him to hide behind the limo, which gave the assailant breathing time to get up and retreat out of the tunnels by blasting a hole over the top with a strong concussive gas bomb.
"Are you sure about that, Hammerhead?" Norman stared at his flat-headed subordinate in question.
"Never should've trusted a kid," Hammerhead facepalmed.
—
"So Petey, do you get the point somehow?" Liz wondered, checking on Peter's progress.
"Sorta? I get the part where kinda um…" Peter hesitantly replied.
Few hours went by and it was close to dinnertime in the Allans' residences. Peter is somehow managing to grasp the lessons with Liz's help in Literature. However, he seemed to be trying too hard because it is not exactly a straightforward subject like Science, Mathematics, or Calculus.
"C'mon, don't be shy with what you think. Almost anything can be an answer," Liz encouraged.
"Gee, I hoped Science would be as flexible as this," Peter joked while trying to understand another line in a Shakespearean sonnet.
"Remember, these poems are commonly known to be romantically themed, so you'll get the idea easily," Liz cutely suggested.
"Oh, oh yeah!" Peter thought out loud, taking note of her words as he read the sonnet until he felt the call of nature. "Um, Liz, do you know any men's rooms nearby?"
"Just outside in the living room with the sign, can't miss it," Liz quickly replied.
"Thanks!" Peter thanked before heading to the men's room.
"Hmmmm, well well, Mr. Parker, you're doing great," Liz thought out loud, reading his thoughts scribbled over his study notes.
On the building top just outside her window, a familiar feminine silhouette appears, almost blocking the moving moonlight while staring down at Liz's window.
"This will be fun...Spider…" Black Cat seductively thought out loud, before shooting a grappling hook over the wall just meters away from the top of Liz's window and swung over without being conspicuous by the mentally occupied cheerleader.
—
"Ahh man, much better," Peter sighed with relief, stretching his arms while leaving the restroom.
"Ah, Pedro! Come here please," Mrs. Allan called out from the kitchen area.
"Y-yes! Mrs. Allan?" Peter responded, going to her in the kitchen area.
"Here, take this with you into Liz's room. Have fun staying, Peter," Mrs. Allan kindly suggested, handing out a platter of club sandwiches to Peter. "You know, you must be the second boy to ever look after my mija. I trust you as someone she trusts very much."
"I won't let you down, Mrs. Allan! Thank you again for having me!" Peter thanked before walking with the platter of club sandwiches.
"Study well!" Mrs. Allan bade before trying to make dinner.
As Peter walks up to Liz's room with the sandwiches, his Spider Sense was triggered when he was about to open the door. With haste, he immediately, but gently lays down the platter of sandwiches and tries to not be too conspicuous heading to the restroom and quickly change into his Spider-man suit and swing out of the restroom through a window wide enough to swing out of it.
"Thank you restroom window," Peter, donning his Spider-man suit, thought out loud before swinging away to Liz's room from the outside.
—
"Whoa!"
"C'mon little girl, let's play some more."
Teasing the panicking cheerleader with her retractable claws, Black Cat scares Liz with her acrobatic skills and athletic prowess, with the intent of luring the spider into her playfully harmless trap.
"Wh-who are you!? Wh-what do you want!?" Liz panicked, wondering what the feline burglar could possibly want from her.
"You took something precious from me. Something greatly...irreplaceable," Black Cat seductively answered. "I just hope I am not too late...that is."
"Hu-huh?" Liz panicked, frightened from her retractable claws close to her face.
"You stay away from her!"
Suddenly, outside the opened balcony, Spider-man appears with an angry look under the mask, catching the two ladies' attention.
"Spidey!" Liz called out.
"Well what do you know, you did show up…" Black Cat hissed, with her full attention on the Webhead. "I've been waiting for you, Spider."
"Cat!? What's going on here!?" Spider-man noticed with surprise from her appearance.
"Oh nothing really, just a little...girl talk between us girls," Black Cat seductively answered.
"Wait, Spidey! Do you know this woman!?" Liz hysterically asked.
"Ma'am, don't panic, I got this," Spider-man assures, knowing that Liz sounded jealous in her tone.
"Oh you got me alright…!" Black Cat quickly replied before lunging over to Spider-man and kicking him in the chest out of the room and faceoff on the balcony.
With a nervous gaze towards the worried Liz behind the cat burglar, Spider-man then quickly manages to web up Black Cat before she could react and slash fast.
"Sorry, I'll be right back, hopefully," Spidey replied before swinging away with a web-bound Black Cat to keep Liz safe.
'Petey…' Liz thought to herself with concern.
—
"Cat!? Just what were you trying to do!?" Spider-man questioned while swinging as far as he could.
"Aww, c'mon Spider, remember what I said…? That you were the problem…?" Black Cat seductively replied before cutting the bindings away and catching Spider-man off guard that they land onto a nearby building.
"Yeah, but why drag the innocent down along with it!?" Spider-man hysterically asked while dodging the cat burglar's sharp retractable claws and swift kicks.
"Because she is a part of the problem," Black Cat plainly hissed, trying to land a kick or laceration on him.
"Look, Cat, can't we talk this out!? Please!? Whoa!" Spider-man tries to dodge another heel to his face before getting kicked off the ledge due to his carelessness and fall on his back. "Ughh, oggh."
"Is that the best you can do, Spider?" Black Cat seductively chuckled while descending from the ledge and looking down on his sore look from up close.
"I got more if you wanna!"
Unexpectedly, a beam of ice was fired onto Black Cat's legs, but missed due to her fast reaction time. Descending from a slide made of ice was Iceman, which surprised and relieved Spider-man with his sudden appearance.
"Spidey brooo, what the heck happened to you?" Iceman laughed, helping Spider-man stand up on his feet.
"Iceman?! W-what are you doing here?" Spider-man thought out loud before going close to his ear. 'Don't we have a test to study for?'
"Eh, got bored of it, so I wanted to take a breather. Thankfully, I'm not alone on this one," Iceman replied.
Suddenly, phasing underneath the cat burglar were two arms grabbing her feet and phasing into the building with them, catching the Black Cat off her guard.
"W-what on earth!?" Black Cat screamed, trying to get free as her waist and lower half are stuck on the building.
Phasing out of the ground in front of her was the elusive Shadowcat. With a smirk and confused look, she curiously asked the Wall-crawler.
"Whoa Spidey, who's the freaky cat lady?" Shadowcat wonders.
"My name is the Black Cat," the cat burglar hissed while pointlessly struggling to get out. "And how about you?"
"Me? Oh you can just call me Shadowcat," she introduced before looking at Black Cat's attire. "Soooo, Black Cat, is it? Are you some sort of superhero too? Or some super villainess? Orr..."
"Shadowcat, let her go," Spider-man demanded, which surprised his two mutant allies.
"Umm, why? Wasn't she beating you like a punching bag earlier?" Iceman points out.
"It's just a misunderstanding, probably my fault," Spider-man quickly answered. "She's friendly, trust me."
"Oookayyy," Shadowcat shrugged before helping the Black Cat phase out of the building's structure, only to get pushed away and gracefully caught by the Webhead. "Aw! Geez, what's her deal, Spidey?!"
"Sorry to take too much of your time, Spider, it's been a nice talk," Black Cat seductively replied before running away.
"I'll get 'er," Iceman volunteered as he was about to chase her down.
"No! It's fine!" Spider-man protested, halting Iceman in his tracks and surprising Shadowcat.
"Pete...who is that…? I want an answer," Shadowcat demanded with her arms crossed.
"Yeah bro... who was that girl?" Iceman asked curiously.
'Ughh, just when things couldn't get any worse…' Spider-man sighed, now having to deal with many questions and confusions in his head.
—
In the private office of Hammerhead in the Big Man's headquarters...
"Kid, you gotta do your job right, or this time, you're gone for good," Hammerhead scolded.
"Sir, please, it was a blunder I did. I panicked. I never met—"
"Don't make any more excuses, kid. This time, you ain't on guard duty. Your new job is making a diversion," Hammerhead replied.
"Wait, what's this new assignment about?" asked the caped assailant, using a voice-disguiser.
"Pretty simple like the other creeps' jobs: keep Spider-man occupied. Or if you can...just eliminate him," Hammerhead demanded.
"I-I'll try," the assailant reluctantly agreed, conflicted with how he has to possibly kill the hero who saved his friends.
"Good boy, now run along. I bet you got school stuff to catch on," Hammerhead suggests, leaving him alone in his office.
Unmasking his face nervously while panting from the mental pressure, he inhales and sighs with relief and looks at a blurry reflection, showing his sweaty face while wearing a green spandex suit with violet gauntlets and greaves before unclipping his purple sinister-looking cape.
"C'mon Hobie, you got this, you got this...you got this," Hobie thought to himself with the burden over his shoulders and staring at his mask.
—To be continued