Author's Note: Here's the next chapter of the Web Tech. Not only that, but it's an original chapter too. MajorBrony95 and I worked hard on this, so we hope you all like it.
Enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.
"Set me up, Timmy!" Miko called out.
The Web Tech caught an ogre-like Glitch in his web before slinging him up into the air. At the same time, Miko did a super leap into the air and swatted it down like a volleyball, right onto another bunch of ogres destroying them all at once.
"And that's a killer spike from Miko Kubota!" Web Tech announced like a sportscaster. "The crowd's going wild! Oh, but wait! What's this?" He webbed a pair of ogres and spun them around, crashing a bunch of other Glitches around him. "Ooh! The Web Tech just hit the ogres with a variation of around-the-world! That's gonna be tough to beat!"
"HA! We'll see about that!" Miko accepted the challenge. She summoned Ally who rode her slightly above the ogres. She hang over her and extended her legs to knock a line of them over.
Meanwhile, Mitch and Five were blasting their own ogres when the former noticed the other two playing around with theirs.
"What are those griefers doing?" Mitch asked annoyed.
"Oh, it's kind of an in-team competition they have going on." Five said. "Whoever eliminated the most Glitches without having to use their gauntlet the longest gets to be player one at the HQ games tomorrow."
"Seriously?" Mitch asked rolling his eyes. "We're stopping an ogre Glitch invasion, and they want to pull something like this?"
"Well, it's all in good fun." Five said. "And hey, it's not like they haven't done this before. They always bring out the best in each other when they're playing around together."
"Really? I hadn't noticed." Mitch said sarcastically. "Just keep blasting these pests!"
While the Techs were working, a certain figure was looking down at them. It was the Black Cat, who perched herself on the edge of a rooftop looking through a pair of binoculars.
"There you are." she said before turning her look over at the Web Tech. "Mmm. And there YOU are. Eyes on the prize."
After a while, all the ogres were finally eliminated. The Web Tech and Miko made proud exclamations in celebration. As they did, all the ogres' bodies disappeared and combined into one green Glitch root.
"It looks like we tied." Miko said
"Well, how can we both be player one?" the Web Tech asked.
"It doesn't matter to me." Mitch said pointing his gauntlet over at the Glitch, which he immediately absorbed.
"Glitch contained!"
"Because you both are losers!" he continued with a laugh.
"Dude, this is none of your business." the Web Tech said annoyed.
"Yeah, why do YOU always have to interject in some Tim/Miko duo time?" Miko asked.
"Hey now. Remember, we're all on the same team." Five said with a nervous chuckle.
"I'm just saying, maybe you dunderheads will earn more XP when you're not flirting around." Mitch said.
"Flirting?!" Miko exclaimed with a nervous chuckle and a blush. "Who said anything about flirting?"
"And we're NOT just looking for XP. We also happen to enjoy each other's company." the Web Tech said. "This might be a foreign concept for you. You know, because no one ever enjoys YOUR company."
"Wow. Real hilarious." Mitch said dryly.
From above, the Black Cat watched as the Techs walked around the van. A second later, they were seen again walking straight around the van still arguing. Black Cat just continued overseeing them.
"Ay. Don't those people do anything other than argue?" she asked.
"Oh, I know. If only they saw it MY way."
The Black Cat's eyes widened when she heard a British voice speaking right behind her. She turned and came face to face with Mitch Williams, who pointed his gauntlet at her.
"What… How…" she asked looking back at the Glitch Techs who were on the street.
"You fell for the old switcheroo." Mitch said tapping a button on his gauntlet. The "Techs" on the street turned out to be holograms which disappeared in an instant. "I thought I saw someone up here, so I used my goggles during the battle and recognized you from the security feed from before. I pulled the blueberries aside and had us surround you while those ones down there played a little 'cat-and-mouse'." He smirked. "Honestly, I would've thought a supposed genius like 'the Black Cat' would've seen this coming."
The Black Cat's surprised expression slowly changed to a confident smile. "So you're the legendary player, Mitch Williams."
"In the flesh." Mitch said preening and swiping his hair back. "And let me tell you, my legendary status is going to go WAY UP once I turn in the girl who tried to hack Hinobi."
"Yeah, I'm sure THAT will earn you a picture on the hall of fame." the Black Cat said. "Though, I wonder if you'll remember to fix that split end before they take it."
"What… WHAT SPLIT END?!" Mitch panicked looking up at his hair.
With Mitch distracted, the Black Cat took her opportunity to make a mad dash towards him. She then knocked him aside with a spinning kick before running across the roof. However, she stopped when Five jumped out from the side of the building.
"Nice try, kitty!" Five said readying his gauntlet. However, she threw a handful of white powder at his face blinding his eyes.
The Black Cat turned and made her run to the next side of the roof. However, another Glitch Tech made her entrance. It was Miko, who had an evil smile on her face.
"Oh. If it isn't Bouncy Ball." Black Cat said.
"Don't try to be all cute with ME, furball!" Miko shouted. "You played me like a cheap console last time, and now, you're gonna PAAAAYYY!"
Miko fired a blast from her gauntlet, but Black Cat dodged out of the way. She fired again and again with nothing but misses every time. The Black Cat then backflipped her way across the rooftop until she finally jumped off the fourth and final edge. She was proud of her escape until she got hit with an Impact Web which instantly stuck her to the wall. She struggled until she looked up at the web's shooter, the Web Tech, who was sticking onto the wall opposite from her.
"Really? You escaped the other three, but you didn't see me coming? Don't tell me you forgot all about me."
The Black Cat laughed in a flirty tone. "Oh, trust me, handsome. I could NEVER forget you."
"Oh, put a sock in it!" Miko yelled jumping to the ground along with Five and Mitch. "You think you're so cool with your flirty attitude and your backflips and your "ooh-la-la"…"
"I think she got the message, Miko." Five assured.
The Glitch Techs all grabbed Black Cat and pulled her back down to the ground while she was still bound by the Web Tech's webs. She then came face to face with Mitch's gauntlet again.
"Now, what was that you said about 'forgetting'?" Mitch asked with a smug grin.
"Whoa, hold on. Let's not do anything crazy." Black Cat said nervously. She turned to the other Techs. "Hey. You're really going to let this guy do this to me?"
"Uh… DUH!" Miko yelled out.
"Sorry, but you really messed with us a lot." Five said.
"Wish things could be different." the Web Tech answered.
"Smile and say 'boosh'!" Mitch said readying to mind wipe her.
"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! MAYBE WE CAN MAKE A DEAL!"
The Black Cat's pleas caused Mitch to stop and pull his gauntlet back. "Excuse me?"
"A deal? You know, like how cops offer criminals reduced sentencing if they help them with other crimes." Black Cat said. "You know the old saying, 'you scratch my back, I scratch yours'. And trust me…" She extended her claws. "I can REALLY scratch."
"Uh, how can you help us?" the Web Tech asked. "All you've ever done is try to steal from us."
"I can help you people find a pretty elusive Glitch that's running around Bailey. Tell me, have any of you ever heard of… Marcy Santacruz?"
Mitch widened his eyes hearing that. "Whoa. Hold on. Marcy Santacruz? You're telling us a Glitch like that is on the loose in Bailey?"
"Marcy Santacruz…" Five repeated to himself. "Why does that sound familiar?"
"Isn't that the name of a fictional thief?" the Web Tech asked.
"Oh, yeah. From Where the Heck is Marcy Santacruz!" Miko said. "Where you have to solve a few puzzles to track down a master thief. Honestly, I never played it myself. Games where you technically LEARN stuff as you play are NOT my thing."
"Oh HO! First a Possessor, and now THIS! It's like Christmas has come early!" Mitch crowed before turning to the others and becoming more stern. "Alright. Listen up, noobs. A Glitch like Marcy Santacruz is designated an Edutainment Glitch. These Glitches are similar to Mappers in that they can change environments to match the games and challenges that come with them, but can sometimes affect more than one location depending on the game. Plus, they move around a lot more freely and have a bit more free will than most Glitches, though not by much, making them a LOT harder to catch."
"Oh man. And Marcy's a master thief. If she's out, then she won't resist robbing this entire town blind!" Five exclaimed.
"Well, there's that. PLUS, it comes with a BUTT TON of XP! There hasn't been a Glitch like that since back in Phil's day as a Field Tech!" Mitch said, rubbing his hands greedily.
"Ignoring that last statement, you're right. A Glitch like that is too risky to let run free for too long. But I can help you take her down." Black Cat said, smiling coyly.
Miko glared suspiciously. "This seems awfully convenient. How do YOU know there's a Glitch like that running around?"
"I have eyes in the sky." Black Cat said. "I've got a drone which flies around Bailey to keep a look out for suspicious activity. Just last night, my drone noticed that red-coated burglar roaming the streets before she shot it down on sight. You can check my phone if you wish. I've got the footage there."
"Well…" Miko said trying to come up with an excuse to exclude Black Cat. "Oh! What makes you think we need YOUR help? We're four professional Glitch Techs able to handle any video game villain."
"Well, believe it or not, you'll have a better shot if you include me." Black Cat said making Miko frown again. "This isn't just some eight-bit orc you can disintegrate with one blow to its head. You can't just catch her. You'll need to outsmart her. And no offense, but I don't think you all can do much when it comes to brainpower."
"HEY!" everyone shouted.
"Me, on the other hand," Black Cat continued, "I'm a full-on expert with Marcy Santacruz. I played her games all the time as a niña. She's one of my idols in the world of thievery. I know pretty much everything about her like the back of my paws."
"Pfft! I already told you, we've been doing this for months! YEARS for some!" Miko scoffed as she gestured to Mitch with the last statement. "We don't need you! Especially not to catch some 90s computer game thief who uses her crimes to teach about countries and colors and all that!"
"Oh, yeah? Then tell me, who's her primary enemy?"
"Easy. That's… um…" Miko was short of an answer.
"What criminal organization does she run?"
"That's… Well…"
"Which of her accomplices are the most recurring? What's her favorite type of gems to steal? How does her theme song go?"
"OKAY, WE GET IT!" Miko yelled out.
Black Cat laughed. "See? Besides, you said so yourself, you and games where you use your brain go together like water and oil. Face it, Bouncy. You need me."
"Okay. Huddle time." Web Tech said, pulling a very irate Miko to him and Five. Mitch stayed to keep an eye on the Black Cat. "Alright, call me crazy… but I think we should let her help."
"WHAT?!" Miko yelled in horror. "Timmy, have you gone completely CRACKERS?! After what she put us through the LAST time we ran into her?! Read my lips: She's. Pure. EVIL!"
"No, she's not." Five said, making Miko look at him like he too had lost his mind. "She's annoying and sort of sneaky, sure, but she's clearly a complicated person. I mean, we still don't know why she's trying to break into Hinobi in the first place. Maybe we can take this opportunity to find out."
"And hey, if she does end up double-crossing us," the Web Tech said, "Then you're free to dropkick her any time you want."
"…Well, I do wanna dropkick her." Miko said before letting out a reluctant sigh. "Fiiiiiiine! I guess I'm on board."
"All right." Five said. He and his team broke from the huddle and returned to Mitch and Cat. "So you help us, and what, we don't erase your memories?"
"Oh, that's not an option." Mitch said. "You still gotta have your mind wiped. But if you help us, then I guess we won't permaban you for hacking Hinobi."
"Whoa, really?" the Web Tech exclaimed. "We can do that?"
"Obviously." Mitch said. "So what do you say, kitty cat?"
The Black Cat thought for a moment before giving out a shrug. "I guess I can live with that. Deal."
Miko reluctantly whipped out her energy blades and used them to cut Black Cat free. She then got up in her face. "Just know this, fuzzface: if you mess with us in any way, I'm throwing you into a kennel and letting the DOGS have at you."
"Ooh, I'm shaking." the thief replied with a playful tease. She then went with the others to the van while Miko growled angrily. "Oh. BTW, I call the seat next to Webs!" She then grabbed Tim by the wrist and yanked him along with her.
"WHAT?! OH, COME ON!" Miko yelled.
Mitch drove the van with Five in the passenger seat. Meanwhile, behind them, Web Tech and Black Cat were sitting side by side on a bench (with her sitting a little closer to him) while Miko pouted and glared daggers at her archenemy from the other side. The thief glanced in between the two and smiled.
"So I take it you two have some history, huh?" she asked.
"Who, me and Miko?" the Web Tech asked. "I mean, yeah. We played each other on online games for almost a year before we finally met at the Hinobi Smash tournament."
"You remember that, don't you?" Miko asked in a fake sweet tone. "The place where you hacked Hinobi from? Because you're a no-good CRIMINAL?"
"Um, I was there." Black Cat said dryly. She then glanced at the Web Tech and batted her eyelashes. "I also remember bumping into YOU, Webs. Couldn't forget a face THAT cute."
Web Tech's face showed a blush even under the mask and he rubbed the back of his neck with a chuckle. Meanwhile Miko's left eye began to twitch and one could swear there was the sound of creaking metal as her fingers dug into the bench.
"Can we PLEASE just FOCUS already?!" Mitch groaned loudly from up front.
"Whoa, Mitch." Five said surprised. "Since when do you say 'please'?"
"I just want to get that XP motherload and be done with this soap opera insanity as soon as I can." Mitch said gritting his teeth before letting out a sigh and looking at Black Cat in the rear view mirror. "Now, Cat, you said your drone spotted Marcy Santacruz? Where did it see her?"
"She was seen breaking into the bowling alley." Black Cat answered.
"The bowling alley?" Five asked. "What, does she think the balls have diamonds in them or something?"
"Do you know nothing about Marcy Santacruz?" Mitch asked. "You can't just bust her outright. She usually comes with all sorts of other criminals you have to nab first. Each criminal you bust will offer a clue of where we'll find their boss."
"If it's a bowling alley," Black Cat said, "Then her most likely known accomplice there has got to be Tenpin, an expert juggler who uses bowling pins as weapons. It's all a matter of pointing him out and catching him."
"A guy with bowling pins for weapons?" Miko laughed. "Sounds like a piece of cake."
"Good. Because we're here." Mitch said stopping the van. He and the others stepped out in front of the Bailey bowling alley.
Miko was the first to kick her way into the scene while the others followed her.
"All right, you circus act!" Miko shouted aiming her gauntlet. "You're going… down?"
Everyone stared with their jaws dropped and their eyes widened as they looked around. They gazed across the bowling alley seeing that other than them, the only other occupants were a bunch of men who were juggling bowling pins.
"Um… anyone else thinking this has GOT to be the weirdest Glitch bust we've ever seen?" Web Tech asked. "Did we interrupt a jugglers convention or something?"
"No. They all look like this because they're all potential suspects of being Tenpin. Decoys, you might say. And you have to find the real Tenpin in this crowd, or else, you'll chase the real one out, and your success will be held back." Black Cat explained nonchalantly. "Did I not mention this?"
"No! You didn't!" Miko yelled. "How are we going to find a pin-juggling criminal if they ALL juggle pins?"
"Well, in the game, you'll be asking witnesses for specific details, look for clues in places they've been, and all that." Black Cat said.
"We don't have time for that!" Mitch yelled.
"Ay, por llorar en voz alta." Black Cat sighed. "Relax, already, will you? As someone who's played the game many times in her youth, I know EXACTLY what Tenpin looks like. The man you're looking for is a man in a green bodysuit, a yellow visor, brown hair with a pointed goatee, and has an athletic build."
"Well, that sounds like a good enough description to me." Five said. "Let's work with what I got?"
"Right. Now, you people look around the crowd." Black Cat said. "Meanwhile, I can cover the exits to make sure… HEY!" She yelped as Miko grabbed her by the elbow and yanked her back with an icy glare.
"Not so fast, pussyfoot! You offered to help, so you're HELPING! Plus, this way, I can keep an eye on you. Comprendo?"
"Okay, okay!" Black Cat groaned, pulling her arm out of Miko's grasp and muttering annoyedly in Spanish. Miko merely childishly stuck her tongue out.
"Fan out." Mitch ordered.
Everyone split up and looked in between the juggling decoys. They checked each one to make sure they fit every last bit of description in Black Cat's explanation.
Mitch stopped when he confronted one of them. "Green suit. Yellow visor. Red ha… No. Not this one."
"Not this guy, either." Five said looking one up and down. "He's more skinny than athletic."
"Probably like looking in a mirror." snarked Mitch, making Five frown.
"And this one doesn't even HAVE a goatee." Web Tech said pointing to a guy with a mustache instead.
Miko kept looking around while keeping the Black Cat close to her. Then, her eyes spotted a man with every last feature her prisoner described.
"Found him!" Miko yelled, immediately jumping at him. Tenpin quit juggling and began tossing his pins at Miko who dodged easily before landing on him. The two of them engaged in a fight, creating a cartoonish cloud around them. Everyone else quickly joined in.
After a moment, the cloud died out, and Tenpin was left tied up in the Web Tech's webs. Around them, all the decoys flashed out of existence.
"So we caught him." Five said. "Now, what?"
All of a sudden, Tenpin's body changed into a light which then morphed into a small square. It became a square image of a cloud which inserted itself into the Web Tech's gauntlet.
"First piece collected. Nine more to go."
"One piece?" the Web Tech asked.
"Oh, I remember this." Black Cat said. "In some games, when a criminal is caught, you collect a puzzle piece on where Marcy Santacruz is. It also comes attached with a location of the next criminal."
"So if we collect all ten pieces, we'll find the Glitch?" Five asked.
"Essentially."
"So that's one down," the Web Tech said, "And only nine more criminals to catch."
Mitch sighed. "I always did hate this game."
Throughout the day, the team traveled around Bailey following the clues as well as catching any criminals they find. They caught a man with high stilts at an amusement park, a giant armadillo at a pet shop, a man with an industrial glue gun at a glue factory, and so on. And with each new criminal they catch, the number of puzzle pieces they collect increase.
Finally, they caught their tenth criminal at a wall with a human face at a construction site.
"Tenth piece collected. You can now locate Marcy Santacruz."
"Finally!" Mitch groaned. "If I had to deal with one more kooky-looking crook, I was going to scream. Just bring up the image already so we can look at it."
The Web Tech pressed his gauntlet and pulled out all the images in holographic form. The pieces were scattered, which caused everyone to groan.
"Don't worry, everyone. It's just a ten-piece puzzle. This should be easy." The Web Tech proceeded to place the pieces in specific spots.
While he did so, Miko glanced at Black Cat, who gave an interested smile over at the Web Tech. She growled and pulled her away.
"Hey! Why don't you keep those lingering eyes to yourself?" Miko asked.
"Why?" Black Cat asked smugly. "I'm not doing anything. I didn't even say anything."
"You clearly wanted to butt in with my friend!" Miko argued. "Listen, Ms. Whiskers, he's too good for a criminal like you."
"Hey, I may be a bad girl, but I'm not a BAD girl." Black Cat said. "And I don't see how it's any of your business. Plus, you've got to admit, he's cute."
Miko was getting more and more steamed with smoke practically coming out of her ears and nostrils.
"Done!" the Web Tech announced. Everyone gathered around. "These pieces make up an image of the Bailey Natural History Museum. If it's full of priceless artifacts, it seems like an idea place for a master thief."
"Then let's catch her in the act." Mitch said.
Since it was Sunday, the museum was closed for the day. However, when the Glitch Techs and Black Cat arrived, they noticed a perfectly circle-shaped hole in one of the front windows.
"I think it's safe to say she's here." the Web Tech assumed.
"How do we know she isn't already long gone?" Miko asked.
"I don't think so." Black Cat said. "I mean, if she's a Glitch, from what I've learned about them, she's forced to follow her programming. And like Captain Hairgel said, Edutainment Glitches have more free will, but not too much. That means even if she does take the prize she's looking for, she at least has to stick around and give her pursuers a chance to catch her."
"That does… make sense, I guess." Five admitted.
The Glitch Techs stepped through the hole in the window and made their way into the museum. They stopped to gaze at all the rows of artifacts put on display.
"Holy Raiders of the Lost Ark, my friends." Miko exclaimed. "This place is both cool-looking and giving off a boring aura."
"This place is pretty big." Mitch said. "We'll need to split up if we're going to catch Santacruz."
"Sounds good to me." Black Cat said. She approached Tim and held onto his arm, making him blush. "I'll go with the cute one here, and the rest of you can go together."
"What?! Oh, HECK no!" Miko yelled, forcing herself between them. "I'M going with Timmy! YOU can go with Five and Mitch!"
"Oh, don't be so defensive," Black Cat said, pushing Miko away. "Why don't we let 'Timmy' decide?" She turned to Tim. "What do you say, handsome?"
"C'mon! We don't need her! This can be another Tim/Miko adventure!" Miko cried looking at Tim with pleading eyes.
"Um… Well…" the Web Tech struggled nervously trying to decide.
"All right! That does it! I can't take any more of this!" Mitch yelled out. "Poofy hair, freakshow, and criminal will stay together while the loudmouth goes with me!"
"But I…" Miko said.
"DON'T QUESTION ME!" Mitch snapped angrily, a tic mark appearing on his forehead. "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS BLOODY TEEN DRAMA TO LAST A LIFETIME!"
Miko groaned with gritted teeth. She then turned to Five with a look of deathly seriousness. "Make sure that pussycat doesn't try ANY funny business with Timmy, got it?"
"Um, sure, I guess." Five said confused.
"Perfect. Then let's go!" Mitch yelled dragging away Miko, who got infuriated when Black Cat gave a cocky wink at her.
"Uh, do you have any idea what's going on, buddy?" Five asked the Web Tech.
"None whatsoever."
"UGH! Who does she think she is?!" Miko griped out in frustration. "She shows up, messes with our lives, and then tries to get with Timmy?! She never passes up an opportunity to flirt with him!"
Mitch, who was taking point in front of Miko with the flashlight in his gauntlet turned on, twitched his eye at hearing her complain, which had been going on the past few minutes. "Yes. I can't imagine what it's like to be bothered by some girl constantly."
"And sometimes, I just think she's doing it to mess with me!" Miko yelled. "I don't even know why she does! I don't even know why it affects me! What do I care about who gets close to Timmy? Why would it bother me so much?"
Mitch stopped, making Miko bump into him as he let out a heavy sigh and turned around to look at her. "You seriously don't understand?" Mitch asked annoyed. Miko shrugged and he rubbed his temples. "Oy, your brain's just a wad of bubblegum, isn't it? It's because you like the wall-crawler."
"Well, of course, I like Tim." Miko said. "What's not to like?"
Mitch facepalmed. "No, you twit, that's not what I meant. I mean, you like him as MORE than just a friend. As in, you like-like him."
Hearing that, Miko stared at Mitch for a moment. She then let out a chortle of laughter while she blushed. "What? Me, liking Tim? Hahaha! Come on, Mitch! We're just friends!"
"No, you and FIVE are 'just friends.'" Mitch said making air quotes. "You hang out, you make playful remarks at his appearance, you have his back when he's in an awkward situation. You're more like brother and sister. Seen the same with Zarah and Haneesh." He continued walking and looking as he talked. "With you and Tim however… Ugh, you're SO much closer than that, it makes me want to VOMIT! All the flirty comebacks, the chemistry you two share, the fact that you get so ridiculously and easily jealous when another girl gets too close to him? Those are all the telltale signs of a schoolgirl crush. Evidently, you've never had feelings like this before, so you wouldn't know them if they hit you like an asteroid."
"Nonononono." Miko continued to deny. "Y-you got it all wrong. I mean, sure, we do play around a lot and have fun together. And true, except for maybe Five, I certainly do enjoy playing with him more than anyone else. And… maybe I do get a little upset when another girl like Madame Hairball back there flirts around with Timmy. And maaaaybe, sometimes, I DO fantasize about Tim being a handsome, dashing, rugged hero who I'd like to…" She stopped to let out a loud gasp and her eyes widened. "Oh, my gorf. I have a crush on Tim Burns."
"And THERE you have it." Mitch sighed. "Now, if you're done with that self-realization, can we just GET ON WITH THE GLITCH HUNTING!"
He stomped forward, Miko continuing to follow, but being much more quiet and with a hollow look on her face.
At the same time, Web Tech, Five, and Black Cat were traveling down another hallway before entering a room full of gems and jewels on display.
"Ooh. Hello, mami." Black Cat purred looking around.
"Ah, ah. Don't get any funny ideas," the Web Tech warned. "You're still in hot water over what you did with Hinobi. Do you want to get in even more trouble with being an ACTUAL criminal?"
"Hey, cats have nine lives." Black Cat shrugged. "Might as well live one of them dangerously. Then again, I bet you like danger as much as I do." She carefully grabbed the Web Tech's chin with her thumb and index finger. "Don't you?"
"Um, well…" the Web Tech blushed again moving away. "Hey, Five, any sign of Santacruz?"
"Not yet." Five said. "So while we're waiting, why don't we all get to know each other a little better?"
"That's my kind of plan." Black Cat said. "Hey, webs, be honest. What's up with you and Bouncing Girl?"
"Uh.. Well…"
"How about a question from me?" Five asked. "Black Cat, since we're going to erase your memories of what happened with Hinobi, perhaps you could tell us why you were so interested in it all this time."
The Black Cat's smile faded. "Oh. So that's what you wanted from me."
"Well, I think that's kinda obvious." the Web Tech. "Clearly, you aren't after any gaming advantage. You've been poking around too much for that. So why were you trying to break in?"
The Black Cat fell silent. "If you must know, then I'll only say this much: Hinobi's just a means to an end. It's an indirect link I've been using to get to my true target… Oscorp."
"Oscorp?" Five asked. "Why? What's at Oscorp you need?"
Before another word could be said, an unfamiliar voice called out. "Hey, you! Kids!" A security guard suddenly appeared. "Where did you come from? The museum is closed!"
"Sorry we can't answer your questions, ese." Five said. He fired his gauntlet at him causing him to forget his memory. "Why don't you go away and not catch us anymore?"
"Yeah… Yeah, I think I'll do that." the guard turned and walked away.
However, what neither of them knew was that there was an extra set of eyes watching from above; a set of eyes that seemed really interested in what Five just did.
"Careful not to blast me with that." Black Cat said. "I don't want to lose my memory prematurely."
"Just don't be on the receiving end of our gauntlets." the Web Tech advised. "One flash, and boom. You forget what we want you to forget."
"That's good to know!" Once again, a new voice called out at them.
Suddenly, a figure dropped in from above and surprised Black Cat with a sharp kick to her stomach sending her away. Meanwhile, she grabbed Tim's gauntlet and threw him around until he slipped out of it, which she then put it on herself.
The woman stood in the light from a skylight overhead, illuminating a beautiful face that was partially covered by a large, red hat. She wore a jacket with a similar color and black gloves and boots along with the gauntlet she took. It was clearly Marcy Santacruz in the plixels.
"Hmm. Not really my color, but it'll do."
"Hey, who can't take that!" the Web Tech yelled out. "That's mine!"
"Yes, but I think I can make MUCH better use of it," Santacruz said, admiring the gauntlet. "With this interesting memory-manipulation feature, I can pull off any crimes I want without having to worry about any witnesses! The world will be my oyster, and there will be nothing you or those fools at AJAX can do to stop me!"
"But I need it!" the Web Tech argued. "If I lose it, my boss is going to fire me!"
"You make it sound like something I should care about." Santacruz replied.
Suddenly, the Black Cat shot a grappling hook out of her wristbands and latched it on the Web Tech's gauntlet. She pulled hard to try to pry it off, but Santacruz fought equally hard to keep it.
"Sorry. I'm a big fan. Really, you are a HUGE inspiration and, any other time, I'd ask for an autograph," Black Cat said. "But I like the web-head too much, so I'm gonna have to side with him."
"Save some for me!" the Web Tech yelled out. He shot a webline at Santacruz, but the thief Glitch shot her leg up and let it attach itself to her foot instead. Then, she whipped her leg around, allowing Web Tech to get thrown over to her. At the same time, she gave Black Cat's grappling hook a hard tug, pulling her over to her. She jumped out of the way allowing both the Web Tech and the Black Cat to crash into each other.
Five quickly opened up a line in his own gauntlet. "Guys! We found Santacruz! Diamond exhibit! We're engaging her right now, but we need backup!"
"I'm on my way." Mitch replied.
"Me too!" Miko cried out.
After the call, Five aimed his gauntlet at Santacruz and fired a barrage of energy blasts at her. She quickly cartwheeled away to avoid getting hit. Five kept trying to blast her, but she got close enough to him and kneed him in the stomach before tossing him aside.
The Web Tech recovered, but froze up when he saw Marcy over him aiming her stolen gauntlet at him.
"Say bye-bye to your memories, kid."
A bright light escaped and shot at the Web Tech. The icon appeared over his head, but it got rejected, and he brushed it off.
"Yeah. Nice try."
"What?" Marcy asked in surprise. The Web Tech took advantage and hit her with an uppercut separating her from her gauntlet, which he took back and slipped back on.
"My gauntlet. Go find your own."
The Black Cat stood back up and stared in surprise. "Hold on. Qué pasó? Why didn't you lose your memories?"
"It's… kind of a bit of a complicated thing for me." Web Tech said. "See, because of my Glitch abilities, I'm basically immune to resets since those work on Glitches. So no matter what, my memories can't be flashed away."
"Really?" Black Cat asked. "Wait… Is Bouncing Girl immune to?"
"Miko?" the Web Tech asked. "Actually, yeah. Why do you ask?"
Black Cat thought to herself, "Could that be why Oscorp…" But before she could finish, Marcy Santacruz kicked from behind crashing her right onto the Web Tech.
"This is obviously what they mean about not meeting your heroes!" Black Cat complained.
"Sorry, kid. I'm flattered to meet a fan, but right now I'm after something much GRANDER than just praise." Marcy said.
Thinking victory was hers, Marcy attempted to reach for the Web Tech's gauntlet again. Suddenly, another energy blast narrowly missed her head. She turned and spotted Mitch and Miko entering the fight.
"Get away from them, you Arsene Lupin reject!" Miko cried out.
"Well, this just got more interesting." Santacruz said.
Suddenly, Mitch attempted to fire blasts at her while she dodged out of the way running around as she does it.
Miko, meanwhile, helped the Web Tech back up while the Black Cat stood up behind them. "Um… Y-you okay?" she asked, a little more meekly than usual with a slight red face.
"I've been worse." Web Tech said. "Now, let's make this thief red and black and blue all over!"
"I can help with that." the Black Cat said. She fired her grappling hook again, but this time, it latched itself on Marcy Santacruz' foot. With a hard pull on her leg, she made her fall backwards landing on her back.
"NOW! QUICK! GET HER!" Five yelled.
All five of them jumped right onto Marcy Santacruz and created a large cloud again as they fought her. After a long minute, they stood around Marcy as she was tied up by the Web Tech. At that moment, Marcy disappeared into pixels and reverted back to her root form. Mitch took the opportunity and absorbed her into his gauntlet.
"Glitch contained."
"Hey, why do you get to take her?" Miko asked.
"Because I'm the best, and I deserve it." Mitch said.
"But I was the one who got affected by her the most." the Web Tech said. "Clearly, I deserve it."
"You nearly lost your gauntlet." Mitch said. "Consider this your penalty."
While the Techs argued, Black Cat quietly turned and tried to tiptoe her way out of the scene. However, she stopped when Five appeared in front of her with his gauntlet ready.
"Not so fast, cat." Five said.
Black Cat quickly found herself surrounded by all the Glitch Techs cutting off all her means of escape.
"Our deal is done." Mitch said. "Now, we're gonna do what we should have done this morning."
Black Cat sighed. "Fine. Just one thing though. Can I at least look in all of your eyes first?"
"You can already see our eyes." Miko said.
"Not mine." the Web Tech said before unequipping his helmet revealing his face. "Satisfied."
"Very." Black Cat answered with a sly grin.
All of a sudden, she shot her head forward and took Tim by surprise by planting a kiss on his lips. He was stunned by the forward gesture while the other boys were surprised at what they were seeing. Miko, meanwhile, had a very pale face which then turned red to match her fury.
"THAT'S IT! YOU'RE DEAD MEAT!"
Miko shot herself forward to tackle the Black Cat. However, the thief already knew she was coming and jumped out of the way letting her tackle the Web Tech instead. She then flipped backward kicking at both Five and Mitch before somersaulting to the middle of the room.
"Well, this was fun, and I really enjoyed the kiss," Black Cat said aiming her grappling hook upward, "But I best be leaving now. Adios." Her grappling hook was shot upward, and she pulled herself high until she reached the skylight, which the opened to get to the rooftop.
Miko recovered first and saw that she was lying on top of Tim, right next to his face. She yelped and scurried backwards with a face that was still red, but now with embarrassment.
The Web Tech awoke from his daze and looked around in confusion. "What just happened?"
"That feline femme fatale kissed you, and she's now getting away!" Mitch exclaimed angrily.
"Oh, no, she's not!" Miko said. She summoned Ally and rode on her back. Together, they flew upwards to the skylight.
Black Cat was halfway across the roof when Miko and Ally caught up to her. Miko recalled her bird and dropped down onto her prey.
"BANZAAAAAAAIIIIIII!"
Black Cat quickly sidestepped out of the way letting Miko land right next to her. She then took a couple steps away.
"Just an FYI, yelling 'banzai' kinda gives away your position." Black Cat advised.
"Shut it!" Miko snapped. "We've played your game for too long! But now, you're not getting away from us!"
"Actually, I think I am." Black Cat said. "It took a lot of work to set the whole thing up. I don't want it to backfire on me."
Miko looked confused. "Wait, what? What do you mean 'set the whole thing up'?"
"Oh, you honestly haven't figured it out?" Black Cat asked. "You said so yourself, it was awfully convenient I would know about that Edutainment Glitch. You see, the thing is? You were right. I kinda released the Marcy Santacruz Glitch… on purpose."
"WHAT?!" Miko yelled. "You did just what you did before with releasing a dangerous video game enemy?! Why would you do that?! Did you not learn from last time?!"
"Well, it's simple really. I needed to get close to both you and Webs." Black Cat said. "You see, back when I last broke into Glitch Tech HQ, I stole some personnel files of all the Glitch Techs, both past and present. While studying them, I noticed that Oscorp has been keeping very detailed tabs on the both of you specifically. I wanted to know why, but I knew you'd just flash me the second you saw me, so I decided to release a Glitch that I could help you catch. And after reading your boss' personnel file and all the accolades he got from catching an Edutainment Glitch, the whole scheme just came to me: I crash my old Marcy Santacruz game on purpose to release her, get caught by you, and spend the whole day with you trying to hunt down that Glitch until I can figure out why Oscorp was interested in you. Now, I think I have a good idea."
Miko growled. "So you used us… AGAIN?! Oh, this time, you're going down for GOOD!" She aimed her gauntlet, but Black Cat kicked her hand out of the way and countered with an elbow strike to her stomach.
"Lo siento, but I can't let you erase my memories. I've got too much on the line to lose it all now."
Miko gritted her teeth and attacked with a bunch of wild punches. However, the Black Cat dodged them all before grabbing Miko's arm and throwing her over her shoulder making her drop hard on the rooftop.
"For what it's worth, I wasn't lying about Tim." Black Cat stated. "I really do think he's cute. He…"
Miko interrupted her by sweeping her legs and making her fall. She then jumped on top of her. The two of them rolled on top of each other in a heated catfight.
"Stay away from Timmy!" Miko yelled.
The Black Cat laughed trying to fight off Miko. "I knew you'd be jealous, but I didn't think you'd get this heated! I mean, I can't blame you for liking him. But listen, Bouncy Ball, I mean this in the nicest way possible; just give up."
"What do you mean?!"
"I mean, you're cute, sure, but compared to ME, who do you think he's gonna pick when he has to?" Black Cat smirked. "In fact, I think if I can make him understand why I'm doing all of this, he may…"
"There is no way Tim would go for a common criminal like you! I told you! He's too sweet! Too kind!" Miko shouted.
"Hey! Have you seen me? There's nothing 'common' about me!" Black Cat shot back. "And I've seen the way he acts! Under all that 'goody-goody Glitch Tech' attitude, he's a thrill seeker! Being able to do all of this? Having all those powers? It's the ultimate adrenaline experience for anyone! He and I are more alike than he thinks!"
"He's a goody-goody because he IS one! He's the sweetest, most wonderful guy in the world, and he is NOTHING like a rotten thief and thrill-junkie who's just trying to steal secrets from Hinobi to probably sell to the highest bidder or something!"
"You don't understand anything!" Black Cat argued back, now quite angry. "I may love thrills and all, but I'm only a crook because I HAVE to be! I have no other choice, okay?!"
"Oh, yeah?" Miko asked, clearly not believing her. She then pinned Black Cat by the wrists. "Then tell me! Why are you doing all this? All the lies, the schemes, putting us and YOURSELF in danger! What is it that you want out of all this? Answer me, fleabag! What?!"
"I'M LOOKING FOR MY FATHER!" Black Cat finally shouted.
Miko's eyes widened upon hearing that revelation. "Wait. What?"
Black Cat didn't say anything else. She just took advantage and kicked Miko off her. She then ran to the edge of the rooftop and spared one last cold look at Miko before jumping right off. She then used her grappling hook to swing across the buildings before disappearing into a dark alley.
Miko sat in silence trying to process the events of the day. While she did that, the boys caught up with her at the rooftop and helped her up.
"Miko, you okay?" Five asked.
"Y… Yeah, I… Actually, I don't know." Miko said. "I'm just… confused. The Black Cat, she was saying that she was… looking for her dad."
"Her dad?" Tim asked. "What does that mean? Who's her dad?"
"I don't know." Miko said. "I was so surprised at that, she ran off and disappeared. Sorry I let her get away."
"You should be," Mitch said. Both Tim and Five gave Mitch a killer glare that made him stammer. "Um, well, that is… On the bright side, I just bagged one of the most elusive Glitche types in Hinobi history. That puts me in a good mood, so… I guess I won't report your incompetence."
"Thanks, I guess." Miko said.
"Well, at least we've got another piece to the whole Black Cat mystery." Tim said. "Next time, we'll get her for sure."
"Yeah." Miko said, but she still had a lot on her mind.
Miko eventually returned home and managed to convince her parents that she had gotten so beat up because she had accidentally disturbed an alley cat into attacking (which wasn't totally off). Mayumi managed to patch her up and then sent her to bed.
Miko made sure her little sister, Lexi, was asleep before she summoned Ally. "Hey, girl."
Ally cooed silently allowing Miko to pat her head.
"Gotta say, today was a QUITE the roller coaster for me." Miko sighed. "We finally captured my and Hinobi's greatest enemy, but she escaped. But apparently, she's doing all this to look for a lost dad or something. I don't know. I can't tell whether it was true or if it was just a stupid ploy she was using to escape." She sighed again. "But the biggest bombshell of this whole day is that I just realized… I like Timmy. Like, I LIKE-like him. Crazy, huh?"
Ally shook her head and made an "uh-uh" noise.
"You saw it too, huh?" Miko asked before groaning. She buried her face in a pillow. "Everything changes."
Once she returned home, the Black Cat removed her goggles and dropped them on her bed. Boojums, who was lying on the bed, watched her and meowed worriedly. Felicia then headed to a nearby table and let out a deep breath as she sank her claws into it. Like Miko, she was pretty banged up from their fight.
"That was close. WAY too close. And it sure didn't quite work out the way I had hoped."
Her cat hopped up and rubbed against her as she looked across the table and picked up a framed picture from the corner. She held it up staring at the image of a Caucasian man with white hair and mustache happily playing games on his PC with his little girl—Felicia. She caressed the picture gently and closed her eyes as tears prickled.
"I KNOW Oscorp is hiding something. And I know those two Glitch Techs are a part of it, even if they don't even know it. But I don't care if it's too dangerous. I don't care if the entire town goes against me. I don't care how many Glitches I need to face. I don't even care if Norman 'the Big Man' Osborn himself comes after me!" Black Cat said in determination. "Nada me detendrá, Papi. I promise I WILL find you." She set down the picture before getting a hard look. "And I won't let anyTHING or anyONE stand in my way."