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Post by KittsMitts on Sept 13, 2024 5:00:46 GMT
Kaine was on the hunt.
The night was cloudless, but the light and air pollution of the city drowned out most of the stars anyways. The moon was just shy of new, and the night had been misty in a way that only left tiny drops clinging to his suit. The mist had passed some time ago, but the Scarlet Spider had not moved. His black and red suit blended in well enough with the brownstone and night sky behind him, so his careful perch had gone undisturbed for a long time now.
He'd gotten intel from Swarm: A crook named Hammerhead was waiting to do a solo run on an armored vehicle. Superpowered jerkoff had the balls to take it on alone, so he wouldn't be an easy catch. Kaine had found the planned route with well-worn knuckles and little effort (it was recent, surface level, he'd been in and out in less than ten minutes), then chosen his spot early based on vantage point and where the Maggia Strongman would likely try to intercept. There were clear points, and from here he was right on top of two, and could see the third most likely. Unless this guy was a bigger idiot than he'd accounted for, all he had to do was wait for the bait to get here.
Or spot the guy early and take care of things before he even got the chance.
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Post by Nomz on Sept 13, 2024 5:15:10 GMT
She almost didn't see him against the brownstone. She almost just kept on going along her path to try her hand at lifting something from just another fat-headed idiot. Felicia probably should have just picked the nice, shiny piece of something expensive that would have looked fabulous in her collection.
She did see him against the brownstone despite how well-camouflaged he is with his suit. All those twisted feelings of concern and worry annoyance and anger claw their way up her throat, slowly cutting off her supply of oxygen. As Cat lands silently on all fours, she isn't entirely sure what she plans on doing when she gets up to this big, stupid gargoyle.
Felicia wants to yell at him. She wants to scold him. Cat wants to...make sure he's okay. He was really not okay the last time they talked, but that isn't her problem. Her problem is this hunched form watching over the night like he is the world's protector.
" Itsy-Bitsy-Bitch!" Felicia hisses out as her palms make contact with his back and she shoves him forward with all her strength.
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Post by KittsMitts on Sept 17, 2024 18:10:13 GMT
Even as the wind shifted and soft padded feet landed on the rooftop, Kaine did not move. Black Cat was impressively silent, and if his spider senses hadn't alerted him, he doubted he'd have realized she was there. He was too focused on his own prey to worry about the self-proclaimed hunter coming up behind him. She was even more stubborn than he thought if she was coming back after last time. But he knew what to expect. Some banter and flirting and forwardness. She was already getting close, hands coming up to touch him again. He hated he still remembered how that felt-
THWUMP!
Kaine feels the hands on his back and the unexpected force knocks him forward before he can process what just happened. With a swing, his body automatically rights itself before he falls - though his fingers are now attached to the lip of the rooftop where he'd been perched. Pieces of old brick and sealant sprinkle down with scratching sounds under his hands. He looks up and blinks blankly. He doesn't even look angry as his voice comes through forceful and a little hoarse from the unexpected exertion. Mostly, though, he sounds completely bewildered.
"What the hell?"
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Post by Nomz on Sept 17, 2024 18:41:20 GMT
For a moment, everything happens as Felicia expects. Her hands make contact with the stupid Spider's back without him moving to stop her at all. Her confidence that he will remain where he is rushes away as he tips forward, taking her anger with it. A gasp of surprise forces its way out of her throat and Cat is rushing to the rooftop edge.
One of her hands reaches out to clasp around his wrist as if he may need her to prevent falling to his death. Grey eyes take him in quickly, checking for any obvious wounds, and her face is pinched in concern. Pale, messy hair hangs over her shoulders, framing her face as she watches him.
"Are you okay? What the hell was that? You weren't supposed to fall," Felicia calls to him in worry, keeping her voice pitched low. Her fingers tighten around his wrist as she pulls on him, using her other hand to keep herself planted securely on this side of the rooftop's lip. "Come on, big boy, get back up here. Are you injured? I won't do that again if this is what happens. I was just so angry at you. I'm sorry, honey."
If he lets her, Cat will keep her hand on his wrist and assist in pulling him back up onto the rooftop proper. Not that he needs her help. Probably.
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Post by KittsMitts on Sept 20, 2024 4:48:59 GMT
Was his Sense broken? Even hanging off the edge of the roof with the hand of the person who'd pushed him on his wrist, he still felt absolutely no threat coming from her.
The pressure on his wrist doesn't hold him up any more than he's holding himself up, and the concern on her face confuses him further. 'That's weird. Why'd she push me if she didn't think I'd fall?' He's stunned silent by her complete turn around, her words being taken in fine but processing like molasses as he struggles to put pieces together. "Did you call me Itsy-Bitsy Bitch?" he asks low, baffled. The effort of hanging is negligible, but he doesn't resist when she tugs at his wrist and braces herself to help him up and over. He tries to follow the trail of her emotions: She was angry. She was concerned. She was sorry.
What was going on?
He moves back onto the roof with an amount of grace a person his size isn't meant to have, padded feet landing smoothly and silently. He straightens up and looks down at his would-be attacker... "The fuck you do that for?" Yeah. No room for tact.
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Post by Nomz on Sept 20, 2024 5:21:58 GMT
"I- well you, technically I was-"
Felicia sputters uselessly as the Spider comes to stand in front of her. She, unsurprisingly, does not wear embarrassment well. Her face flushes a deep red and her lips struggle to form a pout. She takes a deep breath before trying again.
"I was angry," she says quietly, like a child admitting they stole a cookie before dinner. "I was angry because I was worried about you after how you left last time and I couldn't find you and I didn't know what happened. I was very confused. That didn't sit well with the worry and I got angry about how damn confusing you are. You weren't supposed to move."
Her hand squeezes his wrist unconsciously as she looks up at him. She doesn't wear chastised well either. Those big grey eyes turn on him in a mixture of apology and frustration.
"I'm sorry. I really didn't expect you to move. You were supposed to stay still and then I would complain about how frustrated you made me. I'm really sorry, Spider, but, are you hurt?" Her voice is softer, slower and less stressed. Felicia's free hand reaches to touch his pectoral and then his shoulder, touch fleeting and light. It's clear she's checking him again for injuries. "You don't look like you're bleeding, but I know some first aid."
Any anger that may have remained drains away as she looks at him.
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Post by KittsMitts on Sept 28, 2024 3:06:31 GMT
Kaine stares blankly. His lenses have never been wider in front of her, and his inner web of her emotional journey starts to add new points. Particularly when she starts practically giving a report like she did something wrong? She had been angry, that much was clear. But... angry because she was worried? Angry because she was confused and worried... That he understands than most everything she's said. Now the little bit of ashamed, and the concern, were back. Kaine looks at her not like he's angry or sympathetic, but like she's grown an extra head.
She squeezes his wrist, and her other hand finds him, but it doesn't feel like it did the other day. It doesn't send his mind immediately to images he'd rather forget. Now, it just is. He doesn't stop her. If anything, without meaning to, his muscles tense in a way that almost imperceptibly leans into her hand as it searches for injury. He shakes his head. "It's gonna take more than an unexpected swing to hurt me," - her search would confirm he wasn't hurt. But he still had questions.
If you didn't think I'd fall, why push me? Why didn't you register as a threat before you tried to push me off a building? Why did I lose focus when you came closer? There is, however, one question that sticks out and nags at the edge of his mind too strongly to not voice."... What? Why were you worried?"
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Post by Nomz on Sept 28, 2024 4:09:12 GMT
Any other night, Felicia would have rolled her eyes at him. Tonight, she just takes comfort in his words and the idea that she hasn't hurt him. The hand on his shoulder slinks down to his bicep where is rests and stays.
"With how you left last time, how could I not be worried?" She sounds... almost confused again and he finds that Felicia has a nervous habit. Across his wrist, he feels her grip tightening for a moment and then loosening again. It is an even tempo.
"You weren't doing so hot, Big Guy. Even I could see it through your mask." She lowers her eyes to his chin for a moment, giving her neck a break. She seems to be gathering herself, sorting out her thoughts on the fly. When she speaks, her voice is still soft and low and just a bit pleading.
"I'm glad you seem better now. Don't run off like that again if you can help it. I don't do well with worry and making me worry about you and then just leaving is kinda unfair."
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Post by KittsMitts on Sept 28, 2024 5:54:57 GMT
His weight shifts, angling slightly towards the hand on his arm. It's a comfortable, familiar motion – and once again one he isn't aware of. His lenses narrow into what is clearly a furrowed brow expression. He knows how he left, but why did that bother her? Her wrist tightens like clock work. It doesn't bother him - she hadn't tried to stop him moving away last time.
His brow softens and with it his lenses return to neutral. "I don't run. Told you I had to go, Cat..." It's the first thing that makes sense to him to say. "I get why you were worried now... But I still don't get why you care." The callous words are genuine and without sting. His tone amps up with confused energy when he continues, "How is it unfair? No one... You don't have any reason..." He can't finish the thought, so he leaves it there. It's a natural enough conclusion, but the way his sentence cuts off leaves the assumption clear enough. You don't have any reason to give a shit about me. No one does.
"What're you doin out here, anyway?" He changes the subject with words that move too quickly, betraying the underlying nerves. Anything to get the heat off.
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Post by Nomz on Sept 28, 2024 6:08:36 GMT
Felicia shakes her head a bit at him as he lets his words hang. She steps closer into his personal space and looks up at him again, ignoring how sore her neck will likely get.
"I just do," she insists. Felicia knows she cares. It took her the better part of a pint of ice cream and Mamma Mia to sort out her feelings. Now, she just has the aftermath. "Sometimes, that's all there is to something. I care and it's your fault, so."
Cat shrugs and her eyes fall to his chest this time, stretching the muscles in her neck. The hand on his bicep squeezes just a little bit and she flinches, remembering too late that this is her bruised hand. Healing or not, testing her grip strength was clearly a bad idea. Her fingers loosen, now just resting against him.
"I was on my way to do a job for someone when I noticed you. Call it good luck that I managed to see you at all. For a Spider, you blend into the shadows amazingly." Felicia speaks as her next thought hits her. "Wait, why are you out here? Is this a bust? Are you staking someone out, gorgeous? Who's the hit? What's the plan?"
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Post by KittsMitts on Sept 28, 2024 6:42:03 GMT
Her stepping closer has the hackles raise like before, hyperaware of where she is. But this time they lower. She is not a threat. Otherwise his sense would have had him dodging her the moment she brought her hands anywhere towards him. If there was anything he could trust, it was his instincts. It was the only thing.
"How is that my fault?" He cranes his neck to keep looking at her. He was used to looking down from this proximity, but not at anyone he'd plan on letting stay without his fist finding their face. Or worse-
She winces and his eyes immediately draw to the source. He looks quizzically at her hand, and then her. He doesn't need to ask out loud for her to interpret that, but she wouldn't be able to see his mouth start to move before she answers his last question.
A job for someone? That piques his interest, but her praise of his stealth pushes that question to the backburner for the moment. Well yeah, he was pretty damn stealthy. Way sneakier than Peter, or even that Ghost Girl. He stops preening metaphorical feathers in his head when she accurately figures out what he's up to. Wasn't hard to surmise, this part of town, this locale... But still. "Lucky guess." He sniffs, playing it off, and moves his head to glance down over the lip of the roof where he'd just been dangling. "You picked a hell of a night to be on this street." He turns to his actual vantage point, expecting her to follow - or at least observe.
"Hammerhead. Maggia Enforcer. Formidable, but doesn't play well with others, so he usually does jobs alone. Tonight's no exception. He'll be cocky and hardheaded- literally. Got no reason to suspect I know a thing. According to the plans I swiped, we've got an armored truck pickup over here. Three potential routes, all leading to this point. He could come at it from there, there, or there." As he speaks, he points out every location with precision, not noticing that he's not moving the wrist her hand is around. "This is the closest spot, and best vantage point for miles. Most likely, I'll be right on top of him. He's not exactly a 'switch it up' kinda guy, either. Keeps it classic. Doesn't make him any less dangerous. Just a bit more stupid."
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Post by Nomz on Sept 29, 2024 1:57:51 GMT
She looks up at him from under her eyelashes as he asks her how it could be his fault. Felicia's chance to reply is stolen by her flinch and she can read his new question.
"I got in a fight," she starts and warmth creeps up her neck. Felicia feels silly, exposed under his gaze and nearly under his chin. "No one else was around and they needed help. They redirected my punch and I hit a wall. It's fine."
When he tells her that she made a lucky guess, a smirk curls her lips. Just a little. Her injured hand trails from his bicep to his ribs, across his abdomen, and to his other arm. Cat hasn't noticed that she's still doing her best to hold on to him as he talks.
"Hammerhead. You're here for that idiot?" The Cat looks over the area that the Spider has pointed out, taking her time to familiarize herself with the options open to them. "It is a good spot. He's working alone, which is preferable. Is it just cash in the truck? How many people are we expecting to see?"
It's clear that she's already invited herself along.
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Post by KittsMitts on Oct 5, 2024 21:39:08 GMT
He nods, noticing her warming expression but not acknowledging it. Getting in a fight, helping someone because there was nobody else around to step up, so fuck it had to be them... There's no judgement on his face, and he relaxes knowing it was something as simple as that. He also does not acknowledge that her hand hasn't left him.
He doesn't look surprised that she knows about Hammerhead, but her reaction makes a smirk pull at the corner of his mouth for a moment."That idiot needs to be off the streets," he answers. "Doesn't matter how."
He looks down at her, taking her in while she talks. His eyebrows raise a millimeter when 'you' turns into 'we.' He looks back out to the streets, deciding to answer her questions first."Could be, if they've already made the sale. Looked like weapons, maybe drugs. The inventory was coded, just numbers of stock. But it's gotta be something the Maggia doesn't want other people making a payload off of - 'least not on their turf," he answers. The content hadn't been as important as getting the route and getting out with as little trace as possible. If he caught a few stray targets today, he wouldn't be mad at it, but -"There'll be at least two others, armed, defending the truck - we can incapacitate them and leave them for the cops. That takes them out of the equation. But they don't matter as much as the big guy. Could be a useful distraction or a liability..."
He looks back down at her."You sure you wanna do this? How cool are you with dodging bullets?"
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Post by Nomz on Oct 7, 2024 16:57:40 GMT
Felicia nods, humming under her breath as Spider confirms what could be in the truck. Nothing of true value to her. When she and Peter would run into these situations, she often left him to handle it on his own. That was due to her confidence in his ability to survive just about any and everything. Hammerhead would never pose a true threat to him.
"At least three total opponents. Two easily put down and even tucked into the truck for safe keeping," she says easily, stepping closer to him to look out at the streets a bit more. The drop isn't that far down and the proximity of the buildings offers her multiple ways out if she needs them.
She blinks in surprise when he asks his last question, tipping her head to look straight up at him. Her hands squeeze his wrist and bicep even as she frowns up at him.
"I wouldn't still be here if I didn't want to help and bullets don't scare me." She doesn't add that she can't just bounce back from a gunshot, that those types of wounds can put her down for weeks if they hit the right place. Instead, Felicia rests her chin on his arm, looking up at him with a little smile. "Why, are you worried about me, handsome? You gonna make sure the little kitty cat gets out of the scuffle just fine?"
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Post by KittsMitts on Oct 8, 2024 6:07:37 GMT
There is an emotion between proud and impressed that Kaine can't quite place, but it's how he feels when the little Cat sums up his words. He leans over with her, surveilling the scene. He'd memorized the area by now, but still he scanned. Methodically and thoroughly, he hit every point of interest with heightened precision, only slight tips of his chin indicating his analysis. Still clear for now. Were they late, or was he just feeling more anticipation now that there was someone else with him? He'd been patient this long.
Kaine's eyes follow Felicia intently, reading her response. Looking for truth, loopholes, or both. She squeezes. He tenses – what once read as anger was now clearly nerves. He wasn't sure of the source, but given how hyperaware he was of her presence now, it wasn't a surprise how he wound tight when her chin landed on him. Her words landed softly in spite of the near tease.
"Yes."
Like most things Kaine chooses to express, it is said simply and with conviction. He doesn't specify what he's answering, and it could be the answer to both questions. Even from behind his lenses, she would feel his eyes searing into hers. The message was clear, to him. Whether he was worried or not, the big bad Spider would make sure she made it out fine. He lets that rest a prolonged beat.
"... I'm used to working alone."He asks no follow-ups and offers no clarification, turning his head back (leaving her in his periphery and out of his direct line of sight taking considerable effort) to the idling streets below. His energy shifts as something in his areas of interest begins to stir.
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