She transformed as she fell, the resulting flash of white light momentarily illuminating the walls of the elevator shaft as they flew past.
She caught a glimpse of closed elevator doors, a maintenance ladder (good to know one actually existed), and a hard concrete floor – rising to meet her.
Black Cat landed in a crouch at the bottom of the shaft and blinked her eyes. Her hyper-sensitive retinas quickly adjusted to the low light and soon she was able to see in the darkness as clear as if it was brightest day.
There was nothing of note at the bottom of the elevator shaft, least of all an exit she could use to smuggle out Harry and Eddie. So she climbed to the first set of doors and wedged them open, the heavy metal grinding loud and harsh as she slid the doors apart, her claws leaving deep impressions in the steel.
God that feels good.
The doors opened up into a long concrete corridor that stretched away from her, eventually bending around a corner in the far distance, completely empty – most likely a maintenance tunnel or the like. Black Cat pulled the doors shut and climbed up to the next pair, which revealed a similar scene.
The third set of doors actually had something interesting behind them. Black Cat let out a low whistle as she gazed up and up, taking in a cavernous chamber that was dominated by what looked like an enormous vault door. It had to be thirty feet tall, perfectly round, and set into a steel frame that was secured to the wall with bolts the size of refrigerators. The scale of it was put into perspective by a toy-sized booth at the foot of the vault door. The booth was currently unmanned as far as Cat could tell, but it no doubt had the controls for operating the massive vault.
Black Cat wet her lips. She could only imagine what lay inside… the Osborn family fortune, priceless artifacts and artwork that only the richest of the rich could amass, prototype tech still unreleased from Oscorp's labs…
The Spider-Man in her head (which had been very vocal that day) let out a quiet, almost inaudible um-hmm, a not-so-subtle reminder – those were not thoughts a superhero should be having.
With a last, lingering look at the enormous vault, Cat slid the elevator doors closed and continued her climb.
She picked up her pace, skipping a few doors and checking two more floors, before she eventually found the lobby. Cat pulled the elevator doors apart just a crack and peered into the glossy foyer.
Three of Mysterio's tall demons stood shoulder to shoulder, facing the elevators and watching with an unnatural attentiveness. Cat could could almost feel the weight of their gazes as their glowing red eyes passed over where she was peeking. If they noticed her, they didn't react and Black Cat was left to wonder if the demons were even real, or just another illusion.
Around the demon's heads fluttered a flock of monsters that were new to Cat - swooping, winged imps. She could hear a robotic hum coming from them all the way across the otherwise silent lobby. Notably absent was the sound of flapping wings or rustling scales or any other sound she would expect the flying monsters to make.
Very carefully, Black Cat eased the elevator doors shut. She'd have to find another way to get Harry and Eddie out of the tower.
She scaled the shaft once more, bouncing and leaping off the walls as she went. Eventually, she reached the stalled elevator that held Harry and Eddie and stopped at the doors just beneath it. She reentered the tower proper from there, a plan freshly formed in her mind:
She would find the stairwell, head up one floor, and open Harry and Eddie's elevator from the outside, then they'd all make a break for one of those fake parks that she knew were attached to the tower's upper floors. She and Peter Parker had used one of these arboretums to break into Oscorp just a few months ago, so it followed that they might be a convenient exit as well.
Black Cat hurried down a corridor, her boots making no sound against the carpeted floor as she followed signs towards the nearest set of stairs. She encountered none of Mysterio's robots on the way, nor anyone else for that matter, and she was ruminating on if she might be able to get a message out to Spider-Man – when she exited the stairwell and suddenly collided with someone.
They slammed into each other hard and a firm arm wrapped around her waist as she heard a man's voice gasp in her ear. They were tilting, the force of their collision sending them to the ground, tangled together. Black Cat reacted on instinct, gripping her attacker by the shoulders and driving them into the floor beneath her. There noses were an inch apart and she pulled back ready to deliver a headbutt or a bite or…
"Cat?"
"Spider?!"
Somehow, miraculously, he was here – in all of his red and blue, webbed glory. Just when she was thinking about him, wishing that he was there – he'd come, as he always did.
"How'd you get here so fast?" He asked. They were so close, Black Cat could see herself reflected in the lenses of his mask.
"Oh, you know…" She wasn't sure how to respond to that. There was no way she could tell him she'd actually been in the tower all day. "The 1 train isn't too bad once the morning rush is over." She said, thinking quickly.
He pushed himself off the floor and she rolled with the movement, gripping him by the shoulders and tugging him after her until they were reversed – him propped up over her.
"Sorry if I kept you waiting." Cat continued, a small simile quirking her lips. "Have you been holding up okay?"
"More or less. I'm just glad you got my text."
Ah, right - the phones. She hadn't received any texts, at least as far as she knew, but she supposed that made sense. She'd handed in her one and only cell phone at the reception desk downstairs.
So much had happened so fast, it felt like she'd hardly had a second to breathe. Seeing Spider-Man though, was like a breathe of fresh, clean air, which was much needed in Oscorp tower, stark and stifling and currently dangerous as it was.
"Well you got me here," She purred, tapping a pattern against his collarbone with a claw. "What happens now?"
"Um." A fake cough drew both their attentions and Black Cat looked up to see (to her utter dismay) MJ, Flash Thompson, and Professor Marconi standing over them. The three of them looking severely… uncomfortable.
"Are we interrupting..." MJ gestured over the pair of them vaguely. "Something?"
"No, no. This is just, uh – we were… " Spider-Man skittered off of Black Cat and quickly bounced to his feet. "We're just having quick huddle is all."
"I'd say."
"Cat!" Spider-Man said loudly, pretending not to have heard Flash's comment. He helped her to her feet. "I'd like to introduce you to Professor Marconi and- and some of her students from Empire State! They were on a tour of Oscorp when their group was attacked by Mysterio."
Mary-Jane Watson." MJ announced quickly, offering her hand. "I'm a big fan."
Black Cat shook her hand and nodded kindly, but held her tongue. She suddenly felt nervous, irrationally so – because there was no way anyone could look at Black Cat and recognize her as Felicia Hardy, no way in hell.
That said, if anyone could, it would probably be Mary-Jane.
To avoid looking her roommate in the eyes for too long, she turned and gave the group a quick look-over, checking for injuries. Flash had a cut on his forehead and one sleeve of his jacket had been ripped off, MJ had lost both of her shoes, and Marconi had this kind of rattled, shell-shocked look about her – but, otherwise, they looked unhurt. Black Cat breathed an inner sigh of relief.
"Have you seen Peter?" MJ asked and just like that, Cat's momentary relief vanished and her veins filled with ice. "Skinny guy, glasses, dark hair, tall, but kind of slouchy, and wearing a questionable tie and shirt combo? Last seen being carried away by a flying monkey?"
"I – what?" Cat turned to Spider-Man for answers, part of her weirdly panicked at the thought that Peter had been taken, and part of her wondering if he wasn't standing right in front of them at that very moment, unbeknownst to anyone but her...
"They came out of the damn walls." Flash added, before Spider-Man could say anything. "They would have taken me too if Spider-Man hadn't saved me. You haven't seen Parker?"
"No." Black Cat kept her eyes Spider-Man, a sharp question escaping her lips: "You didn't save Peter?"
The words came out a little harsher than she intended, but she didn't walk it back. She watched him carefully.
"Mysterio's robots are using these chutes in the walls to get around." Spider-Man explained. "I was in the right spot to catch Flash, but I didn't see where they took Peter. We'll find him though, I'm sure of it."
Spider-Man's voice was confident and calm, and without the truth of the eyes, Cat couldn't detect so much as a hint of suspicious behavior.
Regardless, the very thought that Peter, her lab partner, a good and kind person, could have been kidnapped and was being held hostage by Mysterio – that Peter was in real, life-threatening danger – it was almost too horrible to consider. It filled Cat with an all-consuming dread.
They had to find him. She had to be sure.
"Show me these chutes. I'll check it out"
"It's no use. He could be anywhere in the building by now." Spider-Man said calmly, infuriatingly. "We'll find him later."
Later? She would have grabbed Spider-Man by the neck and shook him if MJ and the rest weren't standing there watching them. 'Later' was not something Spider-Man said when it came to people's safety. Black Cat's pulse quickened.
"Poor Peter." Marconi spoke up. She was wringing her hands in front of her. "He must be terrified."
"Yeah, he was so scared earlier he was about to puke. I bet he's pissing his pants right now." Flash agreed.
"I doubt that – I mean, I'm sure he's not pissing…" Spider-Man started, but then seemingly decided to changed tracks. "Whatever, that doesn't matter. We'll find your friend soon, okay? But no one is safe while Mysterio is here. If we find Mysterio, then I'm sure we'll find anyone that he's kidnapped." He looked at Cat. "Right?"
She knew he wanted her to back him up on this and help him soothe these people's fears, but Black Cat wasn't sure she wanted to. Never had she seen Spider-Man so unconcerned with someone's safety as he was with Peter Parker, even if his reasoning for being so was technically sound.
For the first time since the terrible thought had struck her that day, Black Cat secretly hoped that Spider-Man really was Peter Parker. At least then this would all make sense (kind of) and Peter would be safe (not really).
"Right." She finally agreed, her voice stiff.
Spider-Man was right about one thing – they would get to Mysterio eventually and if Peter was there and they found him hurt in any way…
Well, she couldn't be held liable for whatever happened to Mysterio next.
She motioned for the group to follow her. "Follow me. I heard a noise from one of the elevators that might be worth checking out."
With a dull groan, the doors buckled, folding to the side as Black Cat and Spider-Man ripped them apart together.
Eddie had retreated against the back of the elevator, Harry shunted behind him, but at the sight of them, his shoulders drooped and his legs seemed to give out, sending him slumping backwards on top of Harry.
"Oh thank you, god." He gasped as Spider-Man jumped in and righted him. "We thought you were one of those monsters."
"Just us, I'm afraid." Spider-Man said. "Hope that's okay with you."
"More than okay." Eddie grinned.
Black Cat reached and took him by the hand, pulling him out of the elevator as Spider-Man turned to carefully collect Harry.
"Harry Osborn." Spider-Man said warmly once they were all in the hall. "We've got to stop meeting like this. How are you doing?"
"Y- You remember me?" Harry balked.
"Of course I do! Kind of hard to forget someone after you take down a fire-breathing monster together."
"That was all you." Harry argued, face flushing. His crutches rattled under him. "Y- you're awesome. And you!" He turned and stared at Black Cat, mouth slack. "You're great - awesome too, I mean. I've been wanting to meet you both forever. I need a picture."
"I know the perfect spot for a picture - outside the tower, preferably far away from here." Black Cat said.
Eddie took in the group, staring at each one in turn as if doing a head count.
"You wouldn't… uh, happened to have come across a girl named Felicia Hardy, would you?" He asked nervously.
Black Cat shook her head immediately.
"No," Spider-Man said. "She's probably with the rest of your class. Hopefully somewhere safe."
"I don't know. She… she was was with us, but… she kind of," Eddie paused, eyes drifting to the floor as if he was ashamed of what he was about to say next. He gestured weakly back towards the elevator. "She climbed into the elevator shaft…"
There was a full ten seconds where everyone just stared at Eddie. Black Cat couldn't help but feel a little awkward and she was wracking her brains for something reassuring to say, when Spider-Man suddenly exploded.
"What?!" He rasped, shoving past Eddie quickly and rushing back into the elevator.
Black Cat lunged and snagged his wrist before he got too far though, stopping him mid-step.
"What does Felicia look like?" She asked Eddie, tugging Spider-Man back to her side.
Before Eddie could answer, someone slipped between them, a fan of red hair flashing in her wake.
"I got this," MJ said confidently. "Felicia's about yae tall, brunette, with a pixie cut, and wearing all black. She's built like a Russian figure skater or… I don't know - one of those little potted olive trees, if we're being brutally honest." She rattled off. "Still cute though, just in a twiggy kind of way, if you get my drift." She added.
Black Cat had to process that for a moment. While not the rudest thing anyone had ever said about her, it wasn't exactly flattering. All eyes were on Cat, waiting to see if she had good or bad news following MJ's description. Once again, she had to think quickly.
"I saw a girl like that." Black Cat said. "She was grabbed by one of those flying monsters and taken."
Eddie's hands rose to claw at his scalp and his face fell into such anguish, Black Cat couldn't help but feel another sharp pang of guilt.
"No, no, no." He groaned. "That can't be true. Tell me you're joking, please…"
"I'm sorry." Cat rested a hand on his shoulder. "That's what I saw, but we'll find her, don't worry."
Eddie didn't look convinced and Black Cat was about to comfort him further when Spider-Man suddenly growled by her side.
"You let her climb into an elevator shaft by herself?" Spider-Man snapped, his voice unusually harsh. "What the hell were you thinking? Forget Mysterio for a second, she could have fallen and died. Did you even think of that?"
Eddie wouldn't meet anyone's gaze.
"I'm sorry… I didn't want her to. I wasn't thinking. I- I should have stopped her."
"It's not your fault." Cat said softly, while at the same time squeezing Spider-Man's wrist like a steel trap, flexing her claws against his tender flesh so as to make him hiss through his teeth. "No one is blaming you. We'll find Felicia."
"I'll find her." Spider-Man snatched his arm roughly out of her grip. "Take everyone down to the lobby and get them out of here." He ordered. "I'll search the elevator shaft and then work my way up the floors. After you get this group to safety, come meet me on the roof. We'll turn this whole place upside down until we-"
"Lobby is blocked." Cat interrupted coolly. "I checked on it before I ran into you. Mysterio has robots keeping watch. We'll never make it through."
"Fine then, take them to the roof." Spider-Man turned, as if to climb into the stalled elevator again. "I'll meet you there."
"No!"
They didn't have time for this.
They were sitting ducks just standing around like idiots and she could not let Spider-Man waste his time running around looking for a girl that was standing right in front of him.
"You said it yourself." Cat continued. "If we find Mysterio, then we'll find where he's taken his hostages. That includes Felicia and Peter. Right?"
"Oh my god." MJ clapped a hand over her mouth. "Felicia and Peter locked up together... I don't know if that's the greatest thing that could have happened or the worst."
"Definitely the worst." Harry said knowledgeably.
Black Cat ignored them.
"That's not to mention…" She leaned in close to whisper in Spider-Man's ear. "A certain someone who we know for a fact is Mysterio's main target."
Spider-Man followed her flicking eyes to Harry and she watched his jaw tense under his mask. Cat wasn't sure she'd ever seen him like this, so agitated and stubborn. Usually he was the one trying to talk sense. Right now though, he looked taut, ready to argue or storm off and she could not, under any circumstances, allow that to happen.
"Spider." She said, softer this time. "We have to stay together... I need you."
There was another long moment of tension, but then he let out a sigh – the rattling kind that seemed to take everything out of him at once.
"Fine." He muttered, then: "You're right. We'll get this group out and then come back for the rest."
"Brilliant plan. I couldn't have said it better myself." She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "And I know just where to go."
She quickly told him about her plan to try exiting the tower through one of the gardens. When she was finished, Spider-Man nodded.
"That could work." He said. "And it'll definitely be closer than the roof." Spider-Man turned to Harry. "You wouldn't happen to know how to get to the closest arboretum would you?"
At Spider-Man's question, Harry's face lit up. He stood straight and seemed half a mind to throw up a salute.
"I do, Spider-Man." He said officially. He nodded to a plaque set over the elevator. "We're on the eight floor, which means the closest park would be two floors up."
"Great. Lead the way!"
The group, with Spider-Man at its head, returned to the stairwell and climbed the next two floors.
It was slow going.
As anxious as they all were to get out of the tower, Spider-Man and Black Cat had to make sure to check around every corner for any of Mysterio's robots that may be waiting in ambush. Black Cat in particular took extra care to test the occasional wall to make sure it wasn't a hologram.
She was not falling for that again.
A pair of horned, burly demons blocked one hallway on the tenth floor, but Harry claimed to know a detour and took the group through a door that led to a long conference room and then a side hall that brought them around the other side of the monsters. The demons faced forward, seemingly obvious to the group that slipped past them.
Black Cat was reminded of the oblivious sentries Mysterio had stationed in the lobby. As fearsome and realistic the monsters seemed, they were still just robots, programmed to stand still and watch in a single direction.
When they came up against a locked door, Spider-Man or Black Cat were able to force it open - that is, until they came up against what looked like nothing more than a solid steel wall.
Harry insisted that one of Oscorp's parks were just on the other side, but there were no hinges or seams to speak of. Black Cat tested the steel with a knuckle. The dull knocking noise proved the metal was real and also pretty thick from Cat's estimations.
"This is one of the security doors." Harry explained. "They're part of the lock-down."
"Can you cut through it?" Spider-Man asked Cat.
She tested her claws against it, tracing a shallow heart in the steel.
"Sure, if we have a few hours to spare." She said, finishing her art by piercing the heart with an arrow. "Maybe even a whole day. We'll have to find another way. It's too thick."
"That's what she-." Flash snickered behind them, but was quickly cut off as MJ wedged her elbow into his ribs.
"What about this?" Black Cat asked, inspecting a small panel set into the wall. There was a slot for a key-card and a small screen the size of her thumbnail. "You wouldn't happen to have a badge, would you?'"
Harry produced a white card from his jacket.
"Yeah, but it won't work. You probably need special clearance." He said.
"It's worth a try." Spider-Man said, lightly urging Harry forward. "Give it a shot."
Harry swiped the card, the screen on the wall flashed green, and the door slid upwards, gliding silently to slot seamlessly into the ceiling.
"Look at that! My man with the special clearance." Spider-Man cheered. He clapped Harry on the back. "Keep that card handy, okay? You're our door-unlocking specialist from here on out."
"Um – sure thing." Harry flushed once more under the praise, missing his pocket completely when stowing the card and dropping it on the floor. Eddie retrieved it for him.
"Come on." Spider-Man shepherded the group forward, taking them around the last couple of turns toward their destination.
Black Cat followed close on his heels, thinking ahead to the next part of her plan. It should be easy, they'd cut or smash their way through the windows, and then carry her classmates safely to the ground below. She could already feel the fresh autumn breeze in her hair.
Spider-Man came to a grinding stop in front of her and only Black Cat's quick reflexes kept her from colliding with him.
As it was, she felt two bodies bounce off her back – MJ and Eddie from the sound of it.
Peering over Spider-Man's shoulder, Cat spotted what the hold-up was and let a low curse escape her lips.
The pair of large glass doors meant to lead into the garden were completely shattered. Chunky pebbles of shimmering glass trailed into the vast, green space beyond.
This garden was slightly different than the one she and Peter had broken into. Patches of grass were bisected with tightly-packed stone paths, crisscrossing over each other in the shade of tall, tropical trees. It was late afternoon now and the glowing orange sun filtered in the enormous windows through the canopy of wide leaves.
Also, the garden was full of people.
Her classmates and Doctor Connors were cowering at the base of a clump of trees, while above their heads swirled a group of winged imps. Cat watched as one of the imps dove, snatching Liz Allen, thrashing and screaming, off the ground.
"Stay back!" Spider-Man warned Harry and the others, and then he was gone, already airborne by the time Black Cat was starting to spring into motion herself.
The shattered glass crunched beneath her feet as she charged over the garden's threshold, sprinting directly at the cluster of students. Doctor Connors looked up as she approached, his eyes widening behind his glasses almost comically as she bared down on him. A few paces before they would have collided, Black Cat leapt, soaring upwards and catching one of the winged imps in her claws. She flipped, using her weight to drag the little beast down, and then slammed it into he gravel path below.
It exploded in a violent burst. Several of her nearest classmates cried out in surprise as they were showered with sparks and bits of metal, but Cat didn't turn to them yet. She watched as the hologram cloaking the imp flickered and died, revealing the crumpled remains of some kind of drone. She could make out the remains of two small propellers and a pair of grasping pincers…
And an inauspicious logo, boldly embossed on the drone's cracked metal shell.
"Head's up!" Spider-Man called overhead and Black Cat looked up just in time to see him fling an another imp in her direction. She jumped and caught this one as well, this time gripping it by the leathery wings and pulling until the imp's flesh turn from fiery-red to chrome, and scales turned to steel, which shredded under her claws.
Spider-Man landed lightly next to her, cradling Liz Allen in his arms. "Good catch." He said, then he nodded to the shards of drone scattered at her feet. "I think that's the last of them."
Sure enough, between the two of them, the skies were momentarily monster-free. Spider-Man set Liz down on her feet and she wavered there, blinking at the two of them owlishly, as if unsure they were real.
As Spider-Man left to check on the rest of the class, Black Cat started to pick over the remains of the drones, searching for the one that was most intact.
"Newton's holy cradle…" Doctor Connors swore. He sounded ready to pass out. "Is it good to see you two." He grasped Spider-Man's hand and shook it. "I thought we were all done for."
"Doctor Connors." Spider-Man greeted him kindly. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I've been meaning to pay you a visit ever since Cat told me all about your work with Vermin's disease. That cure was a work of art."
"Oh, uh… Well… Thank you." Connors stammered. "I wouldn't say 'art', exactly. Although... I suppose, it was certainly an inspired discovery-"
"This group is looking a little small, I think" Spider-Man said, gesturing towards the assembled students. "How many of your students are you missing?"
"I'm afraid to say – but nearly half. We were separated when Mysterio attacked and then three more were taken by those flying beasts. I can't account for sixteen to be exact. Including-" It was at that moment that Connors caught sight of the small group lingering near the entrance of the garden. "Harry!"
He rushed forward, barreling through other students so he could take a startled Harry by his shoulder. "Thank goodness you're safe. If anything happened to you, I- I… Well, it doesn't matter. No. I'm just so glad you're safe."
Spider-Man, Black Cat, the whole class watched Connors fuss. He gripped Harry's jacket so tightly the knuckles of his hand turned white and Harry shifted uncomfortably under the attention. He quickly extricated himself.
"Uh, sure. You too, Doc." Harry said.
Black Cat had already done her own count of the students. With Flash, MJ, Harry, and Eddie safe and combined with Connors's group, there were still twelve students unaccounted for (including Peter and "Felicia"). Harry's two bodyguards were also missing, which surprised Cat. She couldn't imagine either of the large fellas being carried off by Mysterio's flying imps. They weren't exactly the most nimble though, so it was possible that one of the larger monsters had snatched them.
"We couldn't make it to the stairwell or any of the elevators." Doctor Connors explained, having recovered himself. He wiped at the sheen of sweat covering his brow. "All communication systems in the tower went offline when the lock-down went into effect – which is very strange. It's as if every emergency protocol has failed. My only thought was that we could come here and signal for help from the windows."
"That was smart, but we'll do you one better. We're going to break through the windows and get you out of here." Spider-Man said. He addressed the whole class next. "I hope none of you are too afraid of heights."
Out of all of them, it was Connors who blanched the most at this.
"N- now I don't have the exact specifications, but that's likely to be heat-strengthened glass, one-inch thick at the very least." He argued. "I can't imagine you expect to… erm," He paused, considering the right words. "Muscle your way through that."
"You make it sound so barbaric." Black Cat put in. "and exhausting." She slipped between Spider-Man and Connors, her claws raised to catch the fading sunlight. "I'd rather just cut straight to the chase."
She got the feeling that Spider-Man was beaming at her under his mask. He loved a good pun.
"Ah... In that case… I- I suppose that could work." Connors eyed the glistening razors on her fingers warily.
"One thing first." Cat continued, she dropped her claws and raised her other hand, dangling one of the broken drones by two fingers in front of Doctor Connors. "Any thoughts on this?"
His eyes bulged once more and the class, Spider-Man too, crowded in so they could all see the brilliant emerald Oscorp logo on the drone more clearly.
"Th—that's not possible." Connors said. He pointed a wavering finger at the ruined machine. "Those drones are of Oscorp design. They wouldn't attack us… They can't attack us."
"What are they?"
"They're just automated drones. Similar to worker bees, you understand... They can be used to lift heavy machinery or – or handle more dangerous procedures in some of the chemical laboratories." Connors explained. "But they don't… I mean… they couldn't. It's not possible…"
"That they could attack us?" Spider-Man finished. He rubbed at his chin as he inspected the drone. "They are though, Doctor. They're following Mysterio's orders."
"But that's just not possible." Doctor Connors repeated yet again. "The drones can only be controlled by Oscorp technicians. Their programming is encrypted. It's secure. They can't be compromised."
"I don't know what to tell you." Black Cat dropped the drone at his feet with a weighty crunch. "Except maybe this place isn't as secure as you think." She waved vaguley around them, encompassing the glass-littering the floor, the bloodied and bruised students, and the smashed, smoldering drones. "Obviously."
Connors looked close to fainting again. All blood had drained from his face and his hand shook as he fumbled a handkerchief from his pocket to dab at the sweat on his brow for the umpteenth time.
"Th- this isn't good." He muttered.. He cast a wary look around. "But I suppose… this explains why all of the tower's security has failed. If Mysterio is somehow inside Oscorp's environment, then there's no telling the damage he could cause. If this gets out... Oscorp will be finished."
"I think there's a little more at stake than the company's reputation, my guy." MJ said. "And, uh, not to be that person, but weren't we in the middle of something." She pointed to one of the walls of the enormous glass box that enclosed them.
"Right." Spider-Man agreed. "We can dissect this later after you're all safe." He motioned for all the students to follow him. "Come on, this way."
They started towards the nearest windowed wall, but never got the chance to make so much as a knick in the glass.
Ahead of them, from behind a cluster of trees, billowed a puff of black smoke and from the fog stepped Mysterio. His footsteps were light in the grass, despite his solid-looking greaves, and the end of his cape curled just before touching the ground, as if being held aloft by an invisible breeze.
The class froze at the sight of him. If this was another hologram (and Cat was a ninety-eight percent confident it was) it was very convincing. The sunset streaming through the windows reflected off his dome helmet, shining light directly into Black Cat's sensitive eyes and forcing her to squint.
"I seem to recall having told you," Mysterio hummed, leveling a finger casually past Black Cat and Spider-Man, to where Harry Osborn shook. "You can't leave – and why would you want to anyways? Aren't you having fun?"
"Oh it's been a regular blast. But, you know, it'd be even better if you were actually here with us." Spider-Man replied, his fists clenched as he stared Mysterio down. "Then we'd really have a ball."
"Spider-Man..." There was little inflection in Mysterio's robotic voice, but somehow, the way he said the name carried distaste all the same. "And the Black Cat. Just my luck." Mysterio chuckled. "Full disclosure – I was not expecting you two to drop in on this little party of ours, at least not so soon… But then again, who am I to turn away a couple of extra guests?"
"Well would our host please grace me by answering a question?" Spider-Man asked, giving an exaggerated bow. "Namely, where are the people you kidnapped?"
"They're around." Mysterio said simply. "And unhurt, for the time-being. I could be tempted to release them all, very tempted actually, if you were just to leave me young Mr. Osborn."
Spider-Man cast Harry a quick look.
"Quite the offer. But let me ask you another question: Why Harry? You sure put a lot of work into all this. There must be a reason other than just for a simple ransom. Is this personal?"
"That's two questions."
"Yes, right. Sorry for being greedy." Spider-Man sighed. "Any chance you'll answer them?"
"You should be, and that's a third question."
"Damn."
As much as she admired Spider-Man's willingness to hear villains out, Black Cat didn't see this going anywhere.
They already knew the answer to one question anyways – Yes, this was all very, very personal. The only reason Beck was here doing any of this was to get back at Osborn for quote/unquote "ruining him" as Black Cat father's had described it.
She leaned close to speak in Spider-Man's ear.
"Come on." She said, taking him by the arm. "I feel like we're being stalled."
Spider-Man didn't reply or move an inch. Instead, he kept his eyes trained firmly on Mysterio.
"Black Cat and I aren't going to let you kidnap or hurt anyone else," He began. "So stop all this. Turn yourself in and I promise, everything will be okay - we'll figure out whatever it is that you're trying to get out of this."
"Ha!" Mysterio laughed. "How trite! Do those little platitudes actually ever work, Spider-Man? Do piteous fools actually fall for that nonsense?"
Spider-Man simply shrugged.
"I've been doing this long enough to know how people like you think. You want something and I'm willing to bet there's a way to get it without all this violence and craziness. We can figure it out together if you just stop with the games, Beck."
At the sound of his own name, Mysterio stilled. It was as if a switch had been flicked and Mysterio had been momentarily shut down. His arms drifted slowly to hang limply by his side and his domed head was fixed frozen, pointed directly at Spider-Man. A full ten seconds passed, but it seemed Mysterio had nothing else to say.
"I think you broke him…" Black Cat muttered. "I don't like the feeling of this. Let's just get everyone out of here, Spider, please."
Spider-Man seemed torn on abandoning his negotiation attempt with Mysterio, but after a moment of consideration, he nodded.
"Don't be scared." He said waving for the class to follow him. "This isn't the real Beck. He can't hurt you."
As the class gradually crept forward, something flew past Black Cat's head from behind, causing her hair to lift off her shoulders. She flinched, glancing around and up to see what it was, but saw nothing.
"He's right." Mysterio barked, suddenly coming alive as the group slowly drew closer to him. "Completely harmless… except for this maybe."
And then he raised two fingers, pointing them squarely at Spider-Man's chest, "Here, Spider-Man, want to play ball?"
A ray of fire shot from the tips of Mysterio's fingers and hit Spider-Man squarely in the chest. There was a loud whooshing noise and Black Cat could only watch in horror as Spider-Man was suddenly engulfed in a wreath of flames.
It's not real. Black Cat was certain. It 's just a hologram.
But those thoughts didn't stop many of her classmates from screaming out, they didn't stop the wave of heat that rolled over Black Cat's cheeks – she was standing right next to Spider-Man, and they definitely didn't stop Spider-Man from diving forward onto his front and rolling in the grass to try and smother the flames, a strangled, pained cry coming from him.
It wasn't working though. The fire was dancing around his chest and shoulders, licking at the blades of grass as he rolled. Panic seized Black Cat and the world seemed to waver, black tendrils creeping from the edges of her vision as she watched him writhe.
She moved on autopilot, finally spurred into action with a single word repeating over and over in her head:
No no no NO…
There wasn't a fountain in this garden she could use to dunk him, let alone a fire extinguisher. So she pounced on him, grabbing at the front of his suit and ripping it off of him roughly. The fabric came apart like paper in her claws and she threw the burning fabric away from them, not caring where it landed.
She sat back on her knees as Spider-Man stilled, both of them breathing heavily. She'd ripped his shirt off, taking one of his gloves off as well, but the mask stayed. He stared up at her, his chest heaving, but the flames were gone.
He was safe, for now.
"Holy shit... Are you okay?" MJ had crept up over them, along with Doctor Connors, Harry, and many others.
"Oh y- yeah… I'm fine…." Spider-Man exhaled deeply. He rested on his elbows, bare chest painted a splotchy, angry pink. Black Cat's claws had also cut him accidentally, and several trickles of blood ran from his chest to collect on his abdomen. "Sorry about that. I almost lost my cool there for a second."
She could have punched him.
But then his hand came down and patted her thigh.
"Thanks for the save." He said.
Black Cat just shook her head in response. She didn't trust herself to speak. Her rational brain told her not to make a scene in front of everyone, and yet...
You should have dodged that! Her inner voice roared. Where the hell is your 'Spider Sense' or whatever the fuck you call it? Are you stupid? Why didn't you move?
An answer came as MJ and Harry leaned over them, and it hurt, and she hated him for it as much as she loved him.
Because we were all standing behind him.
"So as I was saying earlier." Mysterio was still there, patiently watching. "Things stand to get a lot worse than that if you continue-"
Black Cat pounced, surging over Spider-Man and closing the distance with Mysterio.
She flew, claws first and passed clean through Mysterio's middle. The hologram wavered as she entered it and she registered a drone floating where Mysterio's head should have been, before she continued forward, tucking and rolling on Mysterio's other side.
"…Continue to resist." Mysterio finished, sounding slightly annoyed. He swiveled smoothly to face Black Cat. "I won't explain this again because, frankly, my patience is presently running thin."
Then Mysterio grew, the drone projecting his hologram apparently rising as his proportions increased until he towered over Black Cat and the top of his domed head touched the canopy high above. He raised his arms and flames shot from his fingers turning the leafy foliage black and causing burning embers to rain down on the student's heads.
"HEAR ME!" Mysterio's voice boomed, amplified inside the glass walls of the garden. "ALL WHO OPPOSE ME SHALL BE TURNED TO ASH! RELEASE OSBORN TO ME NOW!"
Something brushed past Black Cat again and she looked to track it. This time, under the bright, flickering light that Mysterio was conjuring, she could see a faint shimmer, the near invisible outline of something vaguely square-shaped. Another drone, invisible and circling around them. Black Cat was positive there had to more too. Odds are they were completely surrounded.
Through the gap between Mysterio's boots, Black Cat could see Spider-Man climbing to his feet and pushing Harry and the others behind him yet again. Their eyes met and she understood immediately, from the tilt of his head, the slant of his shoulders, exactly what he was thinking: they had to run… and not in the direction they'd been planning.
Over the group's heads, she could see the doors leading back into the tower – it was a clear path to the way they'd come.
One of the tall trees finally caught flame, fully erupting in burst of light just as Spider-Man had. From within the billowing plume of black smoke, more of Mysterio's winged demons unfolded, their flapping wings making no sound as they began swooping low over the students.
"Run!" Spider-Man shouted, and then he leapt into the air once more, colliding with the first of the imps.
