Author's Notes: And here we are with the next chapter of the Web Tech, which is going to be before the two-part season finale.

Enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.

"Aaaaaand… we're back." Nix said as soon as he drove his Glitch Tech van right through the city limits of Bailey. He turned to Bergy, who sat in the passenger seat beside him. "Told you it'd be a cinch."

"I know. I'm just a little nervous about doing a job just out of town." Bergy said. He turned behind him and fixed his eyes on a large, black, square machine that was strapped to the ground to avoid shaking. "What is that thing anyway?"

"Don't you pay attention to the briefing?" Nix asked. When Bergy shrugged, he sighed. "That's a data storage server specifically for Oscorp purposes. Inside is highly sensitive data on the relations between Oscorp and Hinobi. It has to be delivered to Norman Osborn himself, who's visiting Bailey for the weekend."

"So… If this thing is so important, why did WE get assigned to this?" Bergy asked. "I mean, I don't mean to disparage us, but our record hasn't exactly been the best since the Castlestein incident."

"Eh. Honestly, we were the only team available when it was assigned," Nix said. Bergy winced at that. "Relax, will ya? We're just a couple miles from the portal's signal range. After that, it's one warp away from completing the assignment." He smiled proudly. "Besides, after our earlier Glitch grab today, I'd say we're on a hot streak. Speaking of, still in that gauntlet, Berg?"

Bergy checked her gauntlet and checked on an image of a large, square pyramid. "Still here ready to be deposited."

"See? For once, Nix and Bergy are on top of things."

Ironically, just as they drove underneath a tree, a figure dropped down from its branches. It was the Black Cat sinking her claws into the van's roof. Carefully making sure she wasn't seen, she climbed over to the back and managed to open it up slightly; just enough for her to slip right in and land inside the van.

Once she closed the door behind her, Black Cat glanced to make sure she wasn't seen by the Glitch Techs driving the van. That's when she approached the server and pulled out a thumb drive.

"This is it." she thought. "Finally, this is the break I've been waiting for."

"And now, a toast." Bergy said holding up a soda can. He popped it open when all of a sudden, the drink sprayed right into his face. "AAHH! IT STINGS!"

"Bergy…" Nix said annoyed. He turned to face his partner when his eyes glanced something else. He turned his head further and noticed Black Cat just as she was about to insert her thumb drive into the server. "Bergy! It's the Black Cat!"

"What?! Where?!" Bergy asked squinting through his stinging eyes.

"I'll take care of this!" Nix shouted. He set the van to autopilot before aiming his gauntlet at the thief. He fired at her while she effortlessly took cover behind the server.

"Maldita sea! I was so close!" Black Cat hissed. "I guess I got no choice!"

She reached her belt and pulled out a small, white pebble that she was ready to throw. She just needed to find her chance.

"Did you get her?" Bergy asked wiping the soda from his eyes finally.

"No, Bergy! Just…"

While Nix was distracted, Black Cat found her chance and threw her white pallet in between the two of them.

All of a sudden, there was an explosion and a HUGE flash of white light that lit up the entire van. Black Cat was taking cover and even had special shades installed into her goggles, so she was safe. Nix and Bergy, on the other hand, were instantly blinded, screaming as they flailed around. In the chaos, Bergy accidentally pressed the autopilot button and shut it off. Without anyone driving, the van steered off the road and fell onto its side. The force caused the server to pop out of its bindings and fly out of the van's back doors as they opened before rolling into the nearby forest.

"No!" Black Cat cried. She jumped out of the back and ran in the direction the server had gone, looking around frantically. She let out a sigh of relief as she saw the server under a pile of bushes a little ways away.

"Looks intact. Let's hope the data is still good." she said before running out.

Nix and Bergy groaned as they crawled out of the van. They were a bit banged up, though nothing too serious thankfully, but couldn't see well at all with the world practically a place of white everywhere they looked.

"What happened?" Bergy asked.

"I think she hit us with a flash bang!" Nix shouted.

"Well, that's a good assumption! There was definitely a flash and a bang!"

Nix looked ahead and briefly spotted Black Cat through the white spots impairing his vision. "She's getting away!"

"Don't worry! I got her!" Bergy yelled going for his gauntlet. Because of his blindness, however, he pressed the release selection without realizing it.

"Command accepted! Releasing Glitch!"

"Wait, wha…"

All of a sudden, a green jolt shot out of Bergy's gauntlet and fired its way to the Black Cat. She saw it coming and managed to dodge narrowly. Instead, it hit the ground right next to the server box. As it did, it took form and changed into a massive structure made entirely of ancient stone. The steps were all square, but the structure itself was in the shape of a South American pyramid.

Black Cat gaped up at the structure for a second before groaning. "Caramba. Just my luck. Can't have a single job go my way without having a Glitch interfere. So the server is in THAT THING?" She sighed. "Well, when the going gets tough…" She ran up the stairs to enter the pyramid as fast as she could, aided by a few flips and jumps.

As soon as Nix and Bergy regained a little bit more of their vision, they gazed in shock at the outline of the Glitch they had unleashed, just as a hazy Black Cat reached the entrance and went in.

"Uh… Whoops. My bad." Bergy said embarrassedly as Nix groaned and facepamed.

"What I said about that hot streak? Consider it doused."

Over at Glitch Tech HQ, the Dream Team returned from their morning patrol laughing as they parked in the loading bay.

"Oh, yeah!" Miko shouted, jumping out of the van and pumping her fists as she and Five phased off their gear and Tim his costume. "Best patrol yet! Five, that was so awesome when you lured those Keepas into that playpen!"

"And Tim, when you built that web net that caught them!" Five continued excitedly.

"What about Miko? The way that she…" He stopped when he noticed her smiling at him. He took note of her hair, which flowed in the air as she turned, making him blush a bit. "Ah… I… Uh… I'm just a little speechless, that's all."

"Ah. Truth. I am capable of that," Miko said proudly, flipping her hair in a way that made Tim gulp. "Welp, time to cash in our XP. WHOOPEE!" She jumped away from her teammates and bounced to the hub room.

Tim sighed with a small smile on his face. "I gotta admit… she's pretty great."

"Well, of course, she's great." Five said. "I mean, she's one of the best gamers we know, remember?"

"No. It's not just that. It's… Well…" Tim was nervous to say it. "Five, can I share something with you? Something that stays between you and me?"

Five looked seriously at his best friend. "Sure, bud. What's up?"

Tim took a deep breath. "Well… Lately… I've been getting the distinct idea that… Miko might… possibly… maybe… like me. As in, LIKE-like me."

"Like-like?" Five asked before widening his eyes. "Holy smokes! You think Miko actually…"

Tim nodded. "I know. Bombshell, right?"

"That's an understatement!" Five shouted. "I mean, how do you know?"

"Well, it was only brought up recently." Tim said, not wanting to say that he had learned it thanks to a slip-up from Miko's kid sister. "Though, looking back, I guess Miko has been doing a lot of kooky things around me. I mean, kooky by MIKO'S standards. And now?" He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "I guess I can't help but think about how much I like her too. I mean, she's cool, she's funny, she's an amazing gamer, she doesn't take crud from anyone, and honestly, she's really pr—"

"Yo!" Miko called out from the end of the docking area. "We gonna gain XP or what?"

"Uh, on our way, Miko!" Tim said with a blush. He then turned to Five and whispered. "So Five, can you please keep this between us. Just until I figure out how to handle this."

"My lips are sealed." Tim said making a zipping gesture across his mouth.

"Thanks."

Five and Tim joined Miko into the hub where the central Glitch depository awaited them. They inserted their gauntlets and waited until they got their XP.

"Not a bad haul." Five commented looking at their total score.

"No kidding." Tim said.

All of a sudden, the three of them were startled by the distant sound of something breaking on the second floor along with a couple men yelling. It even caused many other Techs to pause and stare up.

"HOW CAN YOU BE SO UTTERLY INCOMPOTENT!"

"I'm sorry, sir! I swear, we're doing everything we can!"

"What's going on?" Five asked.

"Only one way to find out." Miko said.

The three of them headed upstairs and followed the loud sounds over to Phil's office. They spotted BITT outside the door peeking through a tiny crack in it.

"BITT, what's going on?" Five asked the robot who turned to them.

"Alert! There is an angry boss in the office!"

"Yeah, well, when is Phil ever NOT angry?" Tim asked.

"Not YOUR boss! Phil's boss."

The three looked curiously before peeking through the open crack of the door. They widened their eyes when they saw Norman Osborn in the office glaring angrily at the surprisingly frightened Phil.

"So this was going to be a snap, huh? No problems at all." Osborn scolded harshly. "Weren't those your EXACT words?"

"C-Come on, Mr. Osborn!" Phil said nervously. "I mean, how was I supposed to know this would happen? Don't worry, though. I'm putting my best team on it." He then spotted the kids peeking just outside and grinned in relief. "Oh, and here they are now! Get in here, you three! Now!"

Though they were nervous, Five, Miko and Tim entered the office. Osborn turned to face them before recomposing himself.

"Sorry if you saw anything that unsettled you, children. I'm just… stressed. We're dealing with a major crisis right now."

"What's happening?" Tim asked.

Phil pressed a button on his gauntlet and projected a holographic map with a specific point highlighted. "Around this area, Nix and Bergy crashed their ride and accidentally unleashed a certain Glitch."

"Which Glitch?" Miko asked, giggling a bit at the rhyme (and unknowingly making Tim's heart skip a little at her laugh.)

Phil pressed another button and showed the pyramid on the screen. "It's a pyramid from the Crypt Searcher games."

"Whoa, for real?" Five asked loudly. "I love Crypt Searcher! The puzzles! The mysteries! The mythos!"

"And its main character, Tara Toft, is one of the most iconic video game MC girls of all time!" Miko cheered, making a few kung fu moves. "So kick-butt and madly skilled!"

"So, how exactly is this a major crisis?" Tim asked, getting his mind off how Miko's laugh sounded like gentle bells. "If Nix and Bergy caught it once, they can do it again. It's basically like replaying a game you finished, but it's easier since you know all the tricks now."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Osborn said gravely. "Those two Techs were transporting a highly-sensitive data server here for me to take to Oscorp, and once the Glitch was unleashed, the server got trapped inside."

"And Nix and Bergy can't handle it again because they were incapacitated by a certain individual you three might be familiar with." Phil pulled out security footage and revealed the Black Cat on the screen right before she went into the pyramid.

Miko looked surprised as she saw her rival on the screen. "Black Cat?!"

"She's at it again?" Tim asked in an exasperated tone.

"And it looks like she's going after that data server." Five said worriedly. "It must have some really important stuff. If she gets her claws on it, who knows what she'll do with it!"

"So that'll be your mission." Phil declared. "Get into the pyramid, stop Black Cat, and make sure that data server remains secure." He glanced fearfully at Osborn's deathly glare. "Please. Jobs are on the line here."

"You can count on us, sirs!" Miko yelled, slamming her fist into her hand. "Personally, I've been waiting for another round with that putrid pussycat!"

Tim and Five gulped at that. Considering how she had been last time, they weren't quite looking forward to seeing the outcome.

Five, Miko, and Tim returned to their van and portaled out of HQ as quickly as they could. They instantly arrived a short distance away from Nix and Bergy's last location. They drove the rest of the way and stopped when they reached the forest where the Crypt Searcher pyramid stood tall, easily visible as it reached the sky.

Once they got out of the van, they found Nix and Bergy sitting on their crashed van with their backs pressed to it and looking tired, depressed, and slightly beat up.

"Woof! You guys looks like you went toe-to-toe with a monster truck." Tim commented.

"Tim. Is that you?" Bergy asked. "I can kinda see a little better, but you sorta still look like a blob right now. I'm guessing Miko and Five are with you."

"Hey!" Miko greeted.

"As you can see, we're not exactly in much shape to go after Black Cat." Nix said.

"It's cool. You guys just wait here and keep healing up while we go in." Five said.

"Just remember, you're playing Crypt Searcher." Nix reminded. "The only way to neutralize the Glitch is to claim its treasure. In this case, it looks like the treasure is the data box."

"Got it." Tim said pressing on his gauntlet to equip his suit. "Get the server, beat the Glitch."

"Ooh! If we're playing Crypt Searcher, better dress the part!" Miko said. She pressed her finger onto her gauntlet screen, scrolled a bit and then her face lit up as she pressed the screen. At once, her outfit began to change. Her Hinobi uniform became a black tank top, a pair of blue jean shorts and a pair of tan boots. In addition, her long hair was sleekly braided down her back.

"So, waddaya think, guys?" she asked, posing a bit.

"Whoa, Miko! You look just like Tara Toft!" Five exclaimed.

"Man, wish I could see it better." Nix grumbled.

"Same, but I'm sure you look great." Bergy assured.

Miko then turned to Tim, who was staring slack jawed at Miko's outfit. "So… how 'bout you, Timmy?"

Tim, who was blushing like mad, shook himself alert. "Oh! Um… You, er, look really… REALLY good in that, Miko."

Miko also blushed at THAT statement and rubbed her arm and leg, looking less like a cool hero and more like a timid schoolgirl. "Oh. Uh, thanks, Tim."

Five looked at the two of the blushing and goofily smiling messes that were his teammates with a realizing look. "Oooooh, NOW I'm starting to see it. Man, guess I'm not as observant as I thought." He then cleared his throat loudly. "Uh, hey guys, what say we head on in and try to find Black Cat? After all, as Phil said, jobs ARE on the line."

That got the two crushing teens to break out of their stupor. "Er, r-right, let's, um, get a move on! Come on, slowpokes!" Miko cheered as she raced forward while her friends got their gear on and followed.

"Good luck!" Bergy called out before he turned to Nix. "So, I know I couldn't see much, but the way Tim and Miko were sounding, do you think…?"

"Oh yeah. And with that, you owe me $20. You said it would take 5 weeks, I said 4 and a half. Mine's closer."

"Dang it. Though that means we both owe Mitch $50!"

"Darn."

The Dream Team ran up the stairs and eventually made it to the entrance at the top. They then set foot inside, finding themselves in a dark hallway that was promptly lit up by an array of torches along the sides.

"Well, that's ominous." Five said as he and his friends started walking forward.

"You know, I never quite understood these types of maps." Miko said. "Like, why would they make the door on the top and have the treasure on the bottom? If it was me, I'd put the door on the bottom and the treasure to the top, like a normal person."

Web Tech chuckled at that. Seeing her right now, he found everything about her just so cute and pretty. Like the way the torch light shined off her purple, pink and blue hair. How had he never noticed how gorgeous it looked? And DANG, did she ROCK that Tara outfit.

Suddenly, his daydreaming stopped when his head began to ring. He reached out his arm to stop his friends from taking another step.

"Guys, wait!"

"Huh? What's up, Tim?" Five asked.

"It's my Spider Sense. It tingled just now. I think…" The Web Tech picked up a rock and tossed it down the hallway. Suddenly, part of the floor the rock fell on shot upward slamming the rock right to the ceiling. When the platform descended back down into the floor, the trio watched with wide eyes as the rock the Web Tech threw was now just dust that blew in the wind.

"Tim, do you know what this means?" Miko asked.

"That Nix and Bergy must be invincible if they beat this Glitch?" Web Tech asked.

"It means that with your Spider Senses, we can see all the traps coming a mile away!" Miko declared.

"Good thinking, Miko!" Five said. "We'll breeze right through this mucho rapido and find the server! What do you say, buddy? Wanna take point?"

"Sounds good to me." Tim said getting ready. "Time to run this temple!"

As time passed, the Web Tech ran ahead of Five and Miko alerting them to any traps they would've run into if they hadn't had their specialist's powers with them. They managed to evade every arrow, every trap door, every giant boulder, and basically everything else that would nearly kill them.

"Keep it going!" Miko cheered as they continued running. "We're on a hot streak! WOO-HOO!"

The Web Tech followed his Spider Senses moving along with the danger that was awaiting them. However, there was something he wasn't able to prepare for. Just as he reached a corner to turn to, he ran into something. Or rather, someone.

When the Web Tech recovered from the crash and raised his head, he was alarmed to find himself on top of the Black Cat, who looked at him with a saucy smile.

"Fancy running into you here, Webs. Dang, you sure work fast, chico. This is only our third meeting."

The Web Tech cried out nervously before getting off the pretty hacker. He joined Five and Miko, who had spotted their enemy and were filled with determination (especially Miko, though with her, it was more anger).

"You!" Miko shouted.

"Me." Black Cat said playfully.

"You're not getting away from us this time." Five said aiming his gauntlet at the thief. "Now, what did you do to the data box?"

"Nothing, yet." Black Cat said with a shrug. "I spent the last hour or so trying to find the stupid thing in this loco temple. It didn't need to be this complicated."

"Yeah, I notice you say that a lot every time you try to rob us." the Web Tech said.

"We got you right where we want you!" Miko snarled. "And don't even THINK about kissing Tim like last time! He's staying right behind me!" She promptly jumped in front of the Web Tech and aimed her gauntlet at Black Cat.

"I… don't know how to respond to that." Tim said with a bit of red in his cheeks.

"Well, are you going to arrest me or look for your Oscorp tech?" Black Cat asked.

"I suppose we can do both." Web Tech answered. "Five, you escort Black Cat back outside and call for backup while Miko and I continue on to find the server. Since we already figured out the traps, they should be easier for you guys to dodge."

"Though feel free to push her into any." Miko piped up. Tim looked at her. "What?"

"Mmm. Good plan." Black Cat said. "But there's just un problema with that."

"And what might that be?" Web Tech asked.

All of a sudden, Black Cat pulled out a small, gray pellet and threw it on the ground. It exploded into a huge cloud of smoke that made everyone cough. Five activated a high powered fan power-up and blew the smoke away. Once it was clear, they saw Black Cat running down the hallway.

"After her!" Five yelled.

The three of them ran as fast as they could. Each time they turned a corner, they would catch a glimpse of her, letting them know they were still on her tail. However, they stopped though when they came across a part of the hallway that branched out into three different hallways.

"Oh, nerds! Where'd she go?" Web Tech asked.

"We're gonna have to split up." Five suggested.

"What? No!" Miko shouted. "What if Black Cat runs into Tim and…" She stopped herself. "I mean, uh, what if she takes us out one by one?"

"We may not have a choice." Tim said. "Odds are, one of them is bound to lead to the treasure. This definitely seems like Crypt Searcher logic."

Miko was nervous about potentially leaving her crush with such a girl who was so aggressively attracted to him, but she had no choice but to concede. "All right. But Tim… be careful. She's dangerous."

"I know." Web Tech said.

The three of them nodded and went off in different directions. Five went left, Miko went middle, and the Web Tech went right.

However, right above where the trio stood before, the Black Cat hung herself to the ceiling with her claws. She released her grip and landed on the ground.

"Dangerous, am I?" Black Cat asked. "Well, webs, I'm about to show you the thrill of danger." She proceeded to run into the right hallway following the Web Tech.

The Web Tech ran through the hallways keeping his eyes peeled for his target. He sprinted while also keeping his senses sharp for any traps.

"Sheesh. How hard is it to find a girl in a temple like this?" He paused. "Okay considering how big it is, guess that was sort of a dumb question."

He stopped upon reaching a doorway. He found himself at the top of a staircase which stood at the edge of a VERY large room that had statues of different figures and animals scattered around the area. He then quickly hid behind a large nearby rock as he also noted that there were several men in mercenary uniforms carrying guns. They patrolled around the area failing to notice Web Tech's hiding place.

At the other side of the room was another doorway, but this one was filled with a golden energy shield. The Oscorp data server was laid out right behind it.

"Looks like I'm on the right path." Web Tech surmised.

"That makes two of us."

The Web Tech gasped when he heard Black Cat's voice whisper to him from behind. When he turned, he immediately backed away when he saw how close she was to his face. She laughed quietly knowing he was blushing underneath his mask.

"Oh, you are adorable."

"Um, thanks, I guess." Web Tech said.

Black Cat looked down and saw the mercenaries. "So what are we looking at here?"

"Well, it looks like these are the minions that Tara Toft faces in the games. If they spot us, they'll shoot on sight." Web Tech said. "Thankfully, we can easily sneak past them, just like you can do in the games."

"Mmm. I got a better idea." Black Cat said stepping up to the top of the stairs railing.

"Wait, Cat!"

The Web Tech's words failed to reach her as Black Cat launched herself off and landed at the bottom of the stairs in a three point landing, making sure she could be seen by all the mercenaries.

"Hey, boys!" she greeted, playfully. "You know what you need? Some manners and kicks to your faces!"

The mercenaries aimed their guns and fired. However, Black Cat ducked and rolled out of the way toward one of them. She raised her legs and wrapped them around the merc's head before throwing him into another.

The Web Tech groaned before swinging into action. He fired lines of web to the mercenaries' guns and yanked them out of their hands. While still in the air, he fired another web line at one of the mercs and pulled him over to him. Once he got close enough, Tim fired a kick at the merc, knocking him down to the ground.

"Hello! Black Cat!" Five called taking a second to rest up. He took heavy breaths while sweating. "You can run, but you can't… Oh, who am I kidding? She can hide too. She's good at it." He sighed and slumped to the wall.

"Yo, Five!"

Five widened his eyes when he heard a very familiar voice. He turned and spotted Miko meeting up with him from the other side of the hall.

"Miko!" Five greeted. "How'd you get here?"

"I just ran through the hall." Miko said. "I guess yours and mine are the same."

"Then what did Tim get?" Five asked.

"I don't know, but I haven't found Black Cat, and I'm guessing you haven't either." Miko said before realizing something horrifying. "Oh, no! That must mean… We gotta go!"

She grabbed Five's hand and ran as fast as she could dragging him behind her so fast, he was off the ground as he was carried off.

"Whoa! Miko! Stop!" Five yelled.

"Huh? What?!" Miko asked loudly coming to a sudden stop. When she did though, Five was accidentally thrown across to the nearest wall.

"Ow!"

"Ooh! Sorry, Five. I guess I… Huh?"

The two watched as the wall Five hit began to change. It glitched out until it went from a stone wall to a clear window. Right through it, they could see the Web Tech and Black Cat fighting the mercenaries in the animal statue room.

"Uh, what just happened?" Miko asked.

"I think we just unlocked a secret in the map. A window into the true place we gotta go to." Five said. "It looks like Tim's already in there."

"Yeah! With BLACK CAT!" Miko yelled furiously. "Why isn't he webbing her up just yet?!"

"Probably gotta deal with all those bad guys first." Five said. "They seem to be doing okay. For now, let's wait and see where this goes. We'll get involved if things start to get dicey."

Miko groaned, not liking the idea of leaving Tim with that girl she disliked, but accepted it and watched along with Five.

Soon, the fight was over, and all the mercenaries disintegrated into plixels. Black Cat stood up, dusted her hands and flipped her hair before she noticed a symbol on the floor. She looked around and saw more symbols before eyeing the statues. That's when an idea clicked in her head.

"Hey!" the Web Tech shouted, moving forward to confront the thief. "What was that all about? We didn't need to go all out on them! I told you we could avoid them all!"

The Black Cat laughed. "It was more fun my way."

"That's totally irresponsible!"

"What are you so upset about? We won." Black Cat said. She then moved to a statue of an archer. "Right now, I need you to help me."

"Help YOU?" the Web Tech asked in disbelief at her gall.

"Yes. I figured out the secret of the room." Black Cat said gesturing around at the room "It's based on the 12 astronomical zodiacs. There are 12 symbols on the floor and 12 statues of different characters, including a bull, a ram, an archer, and so on. All we gotta do is place each statue to their appropriate place. So let's…"

She was cut off by a webline that attached itself to her hands. She glanced back at the Web Tech with a disapproving look.

"Oh, come on." She used her claws to scratch her hands free. "Don't tell me you're still upset over the stupid mercenary thing."

"I am, but that's not the point." the Web Tech said. "Do you REALLY honestly think I'm just going to work with you? Especially after last time? Miko told us about what you did! Releasing Marcy Santacruz and risking a crime wave all so you could toy with us and figure out weaknesses in us!"

Black Cat raised an eyebrow at hearing that. "She told you THAT?"

"Yeah, so forgive me if I don't entirely trust you. Anyway, my team and I were sent to make sure YOU don't go anywhere near that server!"

Black Cat scoffed. "Oh, you were SENT here. Of course. And by who? The Big Man?"

"Well… Yeah, pretty much."

"Vamos, cariño. You don't need to listen to that old dude or his corporate stooges." Black Cat sauntered around the Web Tech, tracing her claws seductively across his shoulders (which unknown to her made Miko screech in fury as she pounded the see-through wall like a mad woman.) "Look at you. Look at me. We're two of a kind; smart, strong, special thrill-seekers. We don't need the likes of Oscorp or Hinobi bossing us around when we can play by our own rules."

"Is this all it is to you? A game?"

"Mira a tu alrededor, look around you. You're LITERALLY standing in a game."

"It's a game that's affecting the real world. People are gonna get hurt if Glitches like these are left unchecked. It's my duty to…"

"Ugh! Duty, schmuty!" Black Cat cried annoyed before smiling at Tim. "Look at you. You can shoot webs out of your hands. You're never taken by surprise. You've got the grace of an Olympian gymnast. And yet, here you are, cleaning up after Oscorp just because another one of their products is going haywire, and they don't want to be held accountable! Are they EVER really honest about what they truly want?"

"Well, the same can be said for you." Tim returned. "What about what you told Miko? About your dad?"

Black Cat's smile completely disappeared in an instant. "So she told you THAT at least, huh? Look, I'm not sure if…"

"Look, it's clear you like me. I get it." Web Tech said. "And you want me to join you in your 'war against Oscorp' or whatever. But if you even want me to at least CONSIDER doing that, I need to know why you're doing all this. No flirty misleads. No jokes. I want the honest truth. Why are you doing this?"

Black Cat looked away for a moment, clenching her arms. She let out a soft sigh before taking off her mask to finally show her full face. Tim was once again looking at the beautiful girl who had called him "handsome" at the tournament.

"My real name is Felicia Hardy," she said. "My father's name is Walter Hardy, or rather Walter Hardeski, a well-known hacker."

"Wait, I think I read about him. He was a famed hacker who robbed a bank of almost 3 million dollars 16 years ago! He disappeared and was never found! He was like the D.B. Cooper of the hacking world!"

"Yeah, Papi was always good at covering his tracks. Anyway, with the money, he eventually managed to get a total identity change. New name, a few facial changes. Complete rewrite of his background. And he soon settled down here. No one in Bailey knew that a famous hacker was living an idle rich life right under their noses. Eventually, he met mi madre and soon had me. But… she passed away when I was six."

"I'm… sorry," Tim said sympathetically. "I know what it's like to lose a parent."

Felicia nodded. "Now, when Mama died, he told me the truth. About his past, how he had escaped the law and settled here. He taught me everything I know. From cracking firewalls to erasing data."

"Gee, sounds like 'Dad of the Year' material." Tim scoffed.

"He was a good father to me!" Felicia snapped.

"Sorry, sorry. I don't doubt he cared." Tim said. "Go on."

Felicia sighed and continued. "Eventually, Papi started back up with hacking, secretly conducting black hat work under the screen name, Blak_C . Nothing too major. Just finding and selling secrets on rather disreputable companies or suspicious individuals to the highest bidder."

"Right, nothing major." Tim said sarcastically. "So, what happened with your dad? How did he go missing supposedly."

Black Cat grew more serious. "One day, just a week before that Hinobi tournament, he told me he found something unusual while hacking into Oscorp for a competitor, Tricorp. He didn't say what though, but it was enough to leave him more shaken than he let on. I left the house to get some lunch for us, but when I got back, I found that my home had been ransacked. Everything was broken, the shelves and cabinets were open, and mi padre was nowhere to be found. He had just… gone missing.

"I searched my entire house for clues about what happened. All I could learn so far was that there were a bunch of people who had barged in and tore the place apart. I thought maybe it was the authorities who had finally discovered where he was and arrested him. But then, I found a flash drive which was cleverly hidden underneath the floor. It was obviously placed there by my dad, and after going through it, I found some things that didn't add up with Oscorp. After that, it was obviously clear that Oscorp might have been involved with what happened. So, in order to find out more info, I needed a way to get into their system, whatever it took.

"Now, I knew Hinobi was a subsidiary of Oscorp, so it was easier to hack them from, say, a store, than it would be to hack Oscorp directly. During the Smash tournament, I made my move and tried to create a backdoor into Oscorp's network. Instead, though, I learned about the existence of the Glitch Techs, and figured they could be somehow related to Oscorp's secrets. So I decided to sneak in and… Well, you know the rest."

The story left Tim speechless. He removed his mask to show his surprised reaction. "Okay… I didn't see that coming. So, what, you think Oscorp KIDNAPPED your father?"

"I would make sense. He discovered something big about them and Osborn sent goons to capture him and destroy any evidence. Papi hid it, so now they have him captive somewhere until he cracks and tells where the drive is. So you see? That's why I have to do this." Black Cat said, almost sounding desperate as she put back on her mask. "That server comes directly from Oscorp. It might be my best chance to find out just what happened to my dad and to see for sure if Oscorp and the Big Man have anything to do with it!"

On the other side of the secret window, Five and Miko watched in shock at all that had occurred and what they had heard.

"Ay dios. I mean… All of that. I can't believe that all this time…" Five mused.

"I may hate her guts, but… dang, that backstory was… kinda tragic." Miko said.

"Do you really think that Oscorp had something to do with her dad going missing?" Five asked.

Miko thought to herself. She remembered Cat telling her about Oscorp's keeping files on her and Tim and how Osborn had reacted when Miko had kept them from accepting his help. In all honesty, there DID seem to be something he was hiding. Whether it had anything to do with Felicia's missing father, she didn't know. But she still wanted to keep her thoughts to herself since she wasn't entirely positive about anything just yet.

"Honestly, I dunno. I… Wait, what's she doing?!"

"I thought I would have to do this alone." She looked at Tim passionately. "But now? I see I don't have to."

She stepped over closer to Tim. "You're not like the others, Tim Burns. You're not totally blind. You're brave. You're everything I'm looking for in a partner. So please… help me. Together, we can crack this wide open and PROVE once and for all if Oscorp is truly the company it pretends to be, or if that's a load of basura. If so, we can save my father and shut them down for good. After that, who knows? The world is our oyster with the skills I know."

She held Tim's hands and pulled him in close to her. He blushed a bit more before acting uncertain. He thought long and hard about it before sighing and finally replying.

"I admit, I DO understand why you're doing all of this."

"TIMMY, NO!" Miko cried, once again pounding on the glass.

"Dude! Don't do it!" Five agreed, beating on the wall too.

Black Cat smiled. "I knew you would." She leaned in close to him to apply a kiss… but before her lips could touch his, he raised his finger to stop it.

"I do understand… but I can't help you."

Black Cat's eyes widened. "What? After everything…"

"I'm sorry, really." Tim said, "Any other way, I would be glad to help, but… what you're suggesting is having me become like you and commit what are basically crimes. I don't want to resort to your kind of tricks and actions just for a theory that Oscorp MIGHT have kidnapped your dad."

"He had dirt on them, remember?!" Black Cat argued.

"But that doesn't mean THEY'RE the ones responsible for what happened! Look, I've seen and met Norman Osborn. Sure, he's a bit… intense at times but he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would have people secretly kidnap others. But even if he WAS and he needed to be stopped, I honestly don't like how you do things." He listed transgressions out on his fingers. "You hacked into Hinobi. You broke into our HQ and electrocuted BITT. You manipulated me and my friends SEVERAL times. AND, most importantly, you unleashed a whole bunch of dangerous Glitches that put us and you in danger!"

"Hey, like I told your friend, I didn't have a choice!" Black Cat shouted, becoming frustrated. "Cómo podés ser tan egoísta? How can you be so selfish? My dad may be in trouble! He's the only family I have left! What would YOU do in my position?!"

"I don't know, honestly," Tim answered sadly. "But I certainly wouldn't put people in harm's way in the process like you have. You don't seem like a truly bad person, but I'm sorry, Felicia. I can't."

The Black Cat shot a furious glare at Tim. "Can't… or won't."

Tim stared back before putting his own mask back on. "Same thing. Now, I'm afraid I'll have to take you in. Maybe we can figure something out after." He reached out to grab her, but she blocked his attempt and kicked him back.

"If you won't join me, then you're in my way!" she hissed. She then extended her claws and pounced forward to engage in a fight against the Web Tech.

Five and Miko watched in relieved surprise as Tim refused to join Black Cat.

"That's our buddy." Five said.

"Come on! Tim needs our help!" Miko shouted. She ran down the hallway with Five beside her.

The Web Tech and Black Cat engaged in a battle that had them bouncing around the room. He would swing around and fire web pellets, but she often slashed them away and countered his swings with her own courtesy of a grappling hook. Sometimes, Web Tech would have the advantage. Sometimes, Black Cat would, especially when, at the moment, she had mounted herself on top of the Web Tech pinning his arms down.

"It didn't need to be this way!" she cried out. "Don't you see? We're the same!"

"I'm nothing like you!" the Web Tech argued. "You're a criminal!"

"And you're a blind idiota just like everyone else!" Black Cat shouted. "It looks like I was wrong about you after all!"

All of a sudden, a blue laser blast shot at Black Cat knocking her off Tim. He was delighted to see Five and Miko running in from the entrance.

"Get away from my Timmy!" Miko shouted summoning Ally. She rode on her back and zipped over to Black Cat kicking her as she zipped past.

Meanwhile, Five helped the Web Tech back to his feet. "You okay, hermano?"

"I've been better," the Web Tech said, "but right now, we have a job to do."

Black Cat didn't last long with the triple-team. She tried to evade the Glitch Techs, but this time, they came together to overpower her until she fell to the ground. The Web Tech wasted no time tying her up with his web. She tried to struggle out, but was unsuccessful.

"That oughta handle it." Tim said proudly.

Black Cat then began swearing at them in Spanish.

"Uh, you do realize I can understand you perfectly, right?" Five asked with raised eyebrows.

"Oh I know! And I mean EVERY word of it!" Black Cat growled.

"Aw, shut up. Be glad we don't have Tim web your mouth, furball face." Miko shot back before she and the others went on to ignore Black Cat's swears and insults.

"You guys all right?" Tim asked.

"Better now that you decided not to turn traitor on us." Miko said in relief.

"We were kinda watching the whole thing through a special thing in the game." Five explained. "We even heard about the zodiac thing."

"Well, let's start shuffling."

As the trio began to move the pieces around, Black Cat eventually found the strength to sit back up. Without anyone knowing, though, she extended her claws and started grazing them through the web that bound her slowly.

"You three are making a big mistake." she hissed.

"We'll see." Five said.

"Aaaaaand… we're done." Tim said after moving the lion statue on top of the Leo symbol.

All the zodiac symbols were placed, and the cracks in the tiles began to glow gold. It shined all the way to the end of the room where the other door was. Once the doorway glowed, the field that separated them from the server that was on the other side faded.

"Eureka!" Miko exclaimed. "Now, we can get out of here."

"Good luck with that, bouncy ball!" Black Cat shouted, finally breaking out of her weakened webs. She then pushed Five over to the Web Tech and jumped over Miko. She began sprinting towards the door. "That prize is mine! And so are the answers it holds!"

"Oh, no, you don't!" Miko shouted. She raced over and, out of instinct, reached out and managed to grab Felicia's white hair. "You're not getting away from us this time!"

"LET GO!" Black Cat shouted. She readied her claws and made a slashing motion turning to Miko.

Thankfully, Miko managed to let go of her rival's hair and backstep just enough to avoid getting scratched. However, she was unable to defend against her follow-up kick which sent her flying backwards.

"Miko!" the Web Tech shouted reaching out to catch her.

Miko landed in his arms, but the both of them were knocked to a statue of a goat which stood on the Capricorn symbol. It was then knocked over and fell to the ground, where it then shattered to pieces.

"Uh… That's okay, right?" Five asked hopefully.

Just then, the golden glow that came from the floor changed to blood red. The ground began to shake beneath them, the ceiling began to collapse, and from the far end of the room, tiles began to collapse and fall into a pitch-black void beneath.

"RUN!" the Web Tech yelled.

Immediately, everyone began to run to the room where the server was. Unfortunately, not everyone managed to make it. A huge pile of rubble managed to land right on top of Miko, pinning her to the ground.

"MIKO!" both her partners yelled. They ran back over to her and tried to lift the rubble off her, but even with their combined strength, they weren't enough to do so.

Miko looked back and saw the collapsing tiles getting closer. "Guys, run! I'll be fine! Just get the server!"

"No! We're not leaving you!" Five shouted.

"We'll never leave you behind!" the Web Tech yelled continuing to try lifting the rubble with Five.

The Black Cat kept on running until she suddenly stopped. She looked back and saw the Glitch Techs struggling to save their friend even though they were both in danger. Including the Web Tech who, despite all that had happened and what she had said, Felicia knew she still had some feelings for. She then looked back at the server, and while her being able to take it easily, she knew she couldn't get to it with enough time to save the others from plummeting. Thus, she was put in a precarious moral dilemma.

After a moment of thinking, she groaned out loudly. "Ay, scratch me for a fool!" She turned around and ran as fast as she could to the rubble. She joined Web Tech and Five with trying to lift it much to their surprise.

"Wait, you're helping?" Miko asked.

"JUST LIFT BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND!" Black Cat shouted.

Without another word, the three of them manage to remove the rubble off Miko, and she was able to crawl right out before standing back up sharing everyone's surprise toward Black Cat.

"Oh. I…"

Not another word could be said. The floor managed to shake and crumble beneath them. Thankfully, two of them were able to swing. Tim grabbed Five and swung with his webs, and Black Cat grabbed Miko and swung with her cable.

"Well… I certainly feel awkward with this." Miko commented.

"Feeling's mutual." Felicia snarked.

As they all looked across the room, they saw that the next room over began to collapse too. The server lost its place and started falling into the black space below.

"We gotta get that server before it's lost and we lose too!" Tim shouted. "Everybody, together!"

Everyone nodded and thrusted themselves down to the direction of the falling server. They reached their hands out as far and hard as they could as they started to be consumed by the darkness. Thankfully, they were able to place their hands on it just before they all could be lost for good.

Just outside, the pyramid stood silently for a moment. Then, without warning, the entire structure began to glow green. It gave a bright, blinding light before quickly shrinking. It reverted into its root form, and in its place, Five, Miko, Tim, and Felicia sat in the grass with their hands firmly placed on the server they were all after.

The four of them slowly opened their eyes and looked around. Once they saw that the danger had passed and the Glitch was defeated, they slowly began to smile and laugh in relief.

"Man," Miko said looking over at Felicia, "Can't believe you came through for me."

"Truth be told, Bouncy? Me either." Felicia said.

All of a sudden, the four of them found themselves surrounded by Glitch Techs, including a recovered Nix and Bergy, the latter of whom recaptured the Glitch, and even Phil. The Dream Team were taken aback by so many of their coworkers and friends being there, all of whom had their gauntlets raised right at the Black Cat with icy looks.

"I… think they're here for you." Tim said to the thief.

"No kidding."

Just then, another man started walking past the Glitch Techs. It was Norman Osborn, who approached the four with a stern look and his arms crossed.

"Well, this should be good."

After the incident, Felicia found herself in high-tech handcuffs as she was escorted back to HQ with Tim, Miko and Five. They all stood in Phil's office, telling their story to him and Osborn. The server everyone had raced for was placed right beside where Osborn sat.

"And that's the whole story." Tim finished.

Both Osborn and Phil stared in disbelief before the latter spoke. "So… She's saying that she thinks Oscorp kidnapped her dad?"

Felicia scoffed. "I knew you wouldn't understand."

"On the contrary, Ms. Hardy," Norman Osborn said standing up, "I understand completely. I'm a father myself, so I know how important family is. Sadly, I'm afraid I don't know anything about what happened to your father."

"Yeah, right," Felicia sneered in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that? No soy estúpida."

"Here. Let me show you something." Osborn headed over to the server and connected it to his own gauntlet. Once he was set up, he projected a screen which showed graphs and charts that caught everyone's attention. "As you can see here, these numbers are seen as peculiar. I monitor every business transaction that occurs in Oscorp, but a few months ago, I noticed there were some numbers that just weren't adding up. I've since then theorized that there might be a splinter cell in Oscorp, a secret group of so-called 'loyal employees' who are using Oscorp resources for unofficial purposes. The data here confirms it."

Tim took a closer look at the charts and studied them. "Huh. He's right. It looks like some of Oscorp's resources have been sent somewhere else."

"So is it possible that whoever's doing this be responsible for what happened to Felicia's dad?" Five asked.

"Most likely." Osborn said.

Felicia stared with widened eyes. "Seriously? It's true?" She studied over the charts, her surprise becoming more and more apparent.

Watching Felicia's shock, Miko couldn't help but feel sorry for her despite hating her. It seemed as if her huge vendetta against Osborn had been all for nothing had been all for nothing. She turned to her bosses. "So, what do we do with Cat? I mean, she just lost her dad. Does she really have to lose her memories too?"

"Eh, I'm afraid that's up to the company." Phil said, unsurely scratching the back of his head. "And we HAVE the head of the company right here." He turned to look at the former game champ. "What do you think, Mr. Osborn?"

Osborn took a good long look at Felicia before coming to a decision. He approached her and raised his hand to her cuffs. Much to everyone's shock, he removed them and freed her wrists.

"You're… You're letting me go?" Felicia asked.

"Something like that." Osborn said. "Ms. Hardy, you're clearly brilliant and skilled; both excellent qualities in a Glitch Tech. So I'd like to offer you a deal. I want you to be a Glitch Tech."

Felicia's eyes widened. "What?"

"What?" everyone else repeated just as surprised.

"You want us to work with HER?!" Miko shouted. "Look, Mr. O, I know she saved us and everything and I feel kinda sorta sorry for her, but I still CAN'T STAND this girl!"

"THAT is abundantly clear." Osborn said with an eye roll. "That is why I'm offering to transfer Ms. Hardy to another Glitch Tech branch just outside of Bailey. Dabney, perhaps. And in return, I promise you, I'll do everything in my power to investigate your father's disappearance and see him returned. Especially if any Oscorp employees ARE truly behind this. What do you say?"

Felicia stared as Norman Osborn raised his hand to her offering a shake. She didn't seem certain. "And… what happens if I say no?"

"Well, you're still free to go. But you'll have to stay out of our affairs, and you're not allowed to breathe a word about what we do to the public. And if we catch you trying to hack us again or anything like that, we WILL have no choice but to wipe you."

"Veo. I see." Felicia said. After a long moment, she made her decision. She raised her hand and shook his. "All right, Mr. Osborn. Count me in."

"Great." Phil said with a sigh. "Now, she can be Joan's problem."

"Welcome to the team, Ms. Hardy." Osborn said. "Now, why don't you come with me so we can get you settled in? The rest of you, take the rest of the day off."

"Oh. Yeah, sure thing, Mr. Osborn." Five saluted.

Everyone exited Phil's office. Right before they went their separate ways, though, Felicia sighed and turned to Tim. "It looks like this is it for now, huh?"

"Guess so."

"Er, listen. About all those things I said before…"

"It's fine. I barely understood a word of it." Tim chuckled.

Black Cat giggled as well before frowning. "It's kind of a shame. We would've made a hell of a team, wouldn't we?"

"Maybe." Tim said sadly. "Guess we'll never know."

Felicia gave a small smile before pecking her lips onto Tim's cheek. "Hasta luego, cariño. Nos vemos luego." she said softly. She then left with Osborn as Tim gently touched his cheek and watched her leave. A team of Oscorp employees also carried the server with them as they followed them out.

The cheek kiss REALLY upset Miko. She growled once more and clenched her fists, but she stopped once Five placed his hand on her arm.

"Hey. Don't worry. She's gone." Five said.

Miko let out a deep breath. "Right. Sure." She then clapped her hands and forced a smile on her face. "Okey-dokey! Looks like that wraps up the final chapter on the whole Black Cat mystery… sort of. We may not know what happened to her dad, but it looks like Oscorp's got it covered. So on that note, let's head on home, everyone!"

Tim then turned to get a good, long look at Miko. Once again, he was mesmerized by how beautiful she looked in his eyes. Once he returned to reality, he spoke up.

"Miko, wait!"

"Hmm? You talking to me, Timmy?" Miko asked.

"Can I… Um… Can I ask you something?" Tim asked nervously.

"Uh, sure." Miko answered. "What's on your mind?"

"Well," Tim forced himself to say, "It's just that… after nearly losing you earlier, I kinda… I may have realized that I didn't want to lose you."

Miko made a "pfft" noise with her lips. "Come on. You can't lose me."

"Nor do I want to."

Miko's smiled dropped. "What do you mean by that?"

Tim took a breath and mustered up the courage to speak up despite his blush. "Miko… Would you… Maybe… Like sometime this weekend… Like to… You know… Go out and… Have fun… Together… You and me?"

Miko blinked TWICE before realizing what was happening, which caused her to blush too. "Whoa. Hold on. Tim Burns… are you… asking me—Miko Kubota—out on a DATE?!"

"I… guess I am?" Tim answered, though it sounded more like a question. "So… what do you say?"

Miko began to sweat quickly. She took heavy breaths, which Tim noticed, making him regret what he was saying.

"Actually, you know what? Forget it! This was stupid of me to…" He was about to turn to leave, but Miko grabbed his arm to make him stop.

"Tim, wait!" Miko took a deep breath before answering. "…Yes. I'd LOVE to go out."

Stunned, Tim took a moment to process the answer. He turned back to Miko, and they both exchanged bashful smiles to one another.

"Really?"

"Duh."

"Well… Okay. Saturday then?"

"I'll be ready."

"Great."

"Great."

At that, the two of them went their separate ways both startled by what they did and proud that they managed to go through with it.

As they left though, Five stood aside and smiled at the conversation he witnessed. "Oh, nerds! They finally did it!"

"Yeah. About time."

Five yelled out when he heard Zahra's voice behind him. As he turned, he saw her along with Haneesh, Mitch, Nix, Bergy, Otto, and even BITT standing there revealed to be listening in with him.

"You guys heard that, huh?" Five asked.

"Yeah, well, we all already knew there was something between them." Haneesh said with a shrug.

"Wait, really?" Five asked. "You ALL knew?"

"The tension was clearly palpable." Otto said.

"Honestly, I saw it the day we first met." Mitch pointed out. "Oh, BTDubs, you lot owe me a hundred EACH."

The others grumbled as they reached into their pockets and handed money or made I.O.U.s to a smugly grinning Mitch.

Five stood surprised and disappointed in himself. "Wow. Guess I'm not quite as observant as I thought."

"That's what I pretty much said." Zahra chuckled, though she blushed as she gave him a small smile.

That evening, at the humongous Oscorp building on the edge of town, Osborn and Felicia entered a large office room painted green with a large portrait of the Big Man himself hanging on the wall. "I do hope you don't mind us doing this here, Ms. Hardy. I just thought we could use the privacy as we set you up, as well as go over any information we can for our investigation."

"Esta bien." Felicia assured.

"Good." Norman moved himself to his desk and sat in it. He then gestured his hand over at another chair on the other side. "Please, have a seat?"

Felicia nodded and sat in the empty chair crossing her legs. "So what happens now?"

"Well, first, we need to compare notes." Osborn said seriously. "You said you had a flash drive that had data your father found when he hacked us. Clearly, he must have found something involving the splinter cell I mentioned. Do you have it?"

"Si. It's right here." Felicia reached into her belt and pulled a drive with a USB plug from her buckle. She passed it over to Osborn, who then plugged it into his own computer.

A minute passed with Osborn reading into the data on the drive. When he was done, he smiled. "Ah. I knew we missed something."

"Good. Now, what can I do to…" Felicia stopped herself when she noticed what he said. "Wait. What do you mean you knew you MISSED something?"

Osborn stared knowingly at Felicia before pressing a button on his desk. Suddenly, her arms and legs were caught in metal straps. Once she realized what was happening, she tried to break free, but was unable to.

"Que? What's going on?! What is this?!"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Hardy." Osborn said, still smirking as he pulled out his personal gauntlet. He started typing into its screen. "When I sent my men to your father's house to capture him…" Felicia gasped quietly at that confession, "…it was soon realized that the data he'd stolen was still missing. Thankfully, you just gave it to me. For that, I thank you."

"My father?" Felicia asked with an angry growl. "Qué carajo? So you knew! You knew where he was and you LIED through your teeth! Maldita serpiente!"

"Be calm. Your father's alive." Osborn said. "Although, I'd be surprised if he knew what time of the day it was. We don't let him out much."

Felicia started swearing in Spanish once more as she struggled but found it futile. She then gazed up at the CEO and hero of gamers everywhere with a mix of confusion, fear and, above all, fury.

"But… I don't get it. The data on the server…"

"Oh, that's real, all right. Some of Oscorp's resources ARE being sent somewhere unofficially. It's just that… Well, I'M the perpetrator." Felica gasped at that. "I've been using Oscorp resources for a while to help in a few… under the table projects. Then your sneak of a father HAD to find out about it while hacking into our data banks for Tricorp. I had THOUGHT we had updated security the LAST two times this happened, but I suppose there's always a few spots we miss." Osborn walked around Felicia as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Anyway, we captured him to interrogate him and we searched the whole house as much as we could, but no such luck. The data was gone. So we kept him here to try and get him to talk. So far, he resisted, though it wasn't easy. One of my associates I work with. He rather… delights in causing human suffering."

Felicia once more tried to escape and claw Osborn's eyes out, but still stayed trapped as he continued.

"To be honest, we knew he had a daughter and, with all the break ins and such happening, we KNEW you must have somehow found it out and were trying to figure things out somehow. So, I decided to take a page out of your own book, Ms. Hardy, and create a little trap of my own."

"You… You what?!"

"Indeed. Seems curiosity got the better of the Black Cat," Osborn chuckled. "I was positive you wouldn't be able to resist when you heard about the server, so I had a tracking device put inside to follow you and apprehend you once you no doubt grabbed it. Though, to be honest, I thought the whole plan had gone up in smoke when that Crypt Searcher Glitch was unleashed and it was trapped inside.

"However, against all odds, you and those Techs STILL managed to succeed. I didn't even need the tracker at all. And to wrap up my little cover up, I spun the story of a 'splinter cell' so you all would believe that I myself wasn't responsible and I could get you alone." His smug smile widened. "And here we are. My secret remains safe, AND I get a new Glitch Tech."

Felicia gave a cold laugh. "You got to be kidding me. After basically spilling your guts to me about how you've been doing all this crazy evil stuff, you're INSANE if you think I'll ever work for you!"

"You don't seem to understand." Osborn said. "You see, one of the benefits of my memory wiping tech is that I get to CHOOSE which memories you lose. So I'm about to make you forget the data your father had on us, and I'm going to make sure you don't even remember this conversation we're having right now. You'll still think I'm innocent, and you'll keep collecting Glitches for me like every other talented player in Hinobi."

Felicia's reserve began to break, but she attempted to maintain her courage. "Okay, Okay! Look, I'll… I'll do it! I'll work for you! Just… let my father go, alright? You got the data, there's no need to keep him hostage anymore. Let him out of whatever twisted prison you have him in, and I'll do whatever you want. I'll even keep your secret! I'll stay silent about everything!"

Osborn paused for a moment. "Hmmm. A very noble offer. But I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

"But I swear I-!"

"You have a bad track record of trustworthiness, Ms. Hardy. I would prefer to cover all the bases. Not only that, but I believe we may have a need for your father for something else coming up. His hacking and programming skills are VERY impressive. Then again, what can one expect from the infamous Walter Hardeski. And I don't trust him not to come trying to save his daughter if we let him out."

"This doesn't make sense! Why do all of this? Why trick everyone? Why lie and manipulate so many? You already HAVE everything! And why insist on trying to bring me into the fold?!" Felicia asked.

Osborn shot a cold look at Felicia. "You're wrong on me having everything. There is one thing I DON'T have. Not yet at least. Believe it or not, Felicia, we have something in common." He aimed his gauntlet at her. "We both are willing to go to extremes for our families."

Once the gauntlet began to hum, Felicia's courage failed and she finally began to panic. "Wait, don't! Don't do this! You have no right! You can't just…"

FLASH!