THE NEXT DAY, Clint sent Kate to retrieve their trick arrows from an NYPD facility in Manhattan. She ended up taking Pizza Dog with her to speak with a group of LARPers in Central Park, who were first responders.

The older archer went to go talk with Kazi. Despite being a maniac, Clint was able to have a sorta civil conversation with the Clown, only when the Tracksuit realized he had no weapons or leverage. He was demanded to convince Maya to stop her crusade against the Ronin.

Y/N went out and stopped crime as he usually did to pass the time. In the process, he found out from a few Tracksuits and thugs associated with them that there was going to be a sale between the Manfredi Crime Family and their boss. Y/N figured that boss was Kingpin.

He'd have to keep tabs on that.

Later that day, Clint regrouped with Kate at Grills's apartment, a firefighter he met at a LARPing event and one of the people Kate went to for help retrieving the trick arrows.

"There's our guy." Grills exclaimed when Clint came in. He held a pan of treats. "Snickerdoodle? They're still warm."

"Okay." Clint simply nodded.

"Come on in."

He went further inside and saw Kate with another woman, Missy, who was fitting a costume onto her.

"Hey, Clint. How was your day?" Kate asked.

"Hi!" Missy greeted.

"My, uh...my day's been fine. How are you doing?"

"Great, yeah." Kate nodded as Missy removed the robe. "Better than yours, I'd say."

"So did you, uh, get my gear?"

"Yeah, yeah. They're on the way. They should be here any minute. Yeah, relax."

Missy put a leather chest piece over Kate. Clint looked on in confusion.

"What?"

Kate chuckled and looked at herself in the mirror. "Not gonna lie, I look pretty good as a Viking."

"You know, I made this myself." Missy said.

"No way!"

"By hand."

"Could I hire you to make my next one?"

"Oh, yeah. I would love to."

"Hey, wait a second." Grills spoke. "What if that's our deal?"

"What deal?" Clint asked.

"We get you the arrows and info, and you get us materials for a new costume."

Kate shrugged. "Okay, how about enough materials to make costumes plus...three more? I know a couple of people who could use some help with theirs. One of which..."

The raven-haired girl went to her bag and pulled out a bundle of clothing. Immediately, the red-and-blue fabric stood out to them.

"...belongs to Spider-Man."

Grills went over and took the costume. He noticed it was ripped up, but was still in awe at the piece.

"You're kidding." He said.

Y/N had left the torn suit at their safe house while he'd been using a backup. Kate figured getting it fixed up and sewn with better material by the LARPers would be a good thing. Thankfully, the suit didn't have a tag saying Property of Y/N L/N, so his anonymity was preserved.

"Not kidding." She replied. "But he might not let you do a fitting because...well...you know his deal. But the dimensions are all there."

"Dude got must've gotten messed up pretty bad." He remarked as he examined the costume. "But fixing up Spidey's suit..." He grinned and looked at Missy.

"We're in." She told Kate with a smile.

"Hey, Orval, you hear that? We gettin' new costumes." Grills called out to the hallway. "And we got Spider-Man's threads!"

He peeked out of a room. "For real?"

"Uh, Kate..." Clint turned to her. "I asked you to simply retrieve my arrows, not stage a play."

"Uh, we're a...we're a guild." Missy corrected.

Clint let out a sigh. Suddenly, his phone vibrated and he looked at the message. It was from Laura.

The rolex wasn't destroyed at the avengers compound. The transmitter is signaling from this location: 3715 GODFREY RD

"Okay." He muttered then looked at Kate. "I gotta go."

"We gotta go." Kate replied. "We're in this together, right?"

"Well, you're gonna have to change." He butted as he began to walk out.

Another woman, Wendy, came in at the same time. She held the duffel bag of trick arrows.

"Hawkeye." She greeted.

"Oh, hi."

She held up the bag. "Arrow Retrieval Mission complete."

"Oh, yes. Thank you so much. Appreciate it."

He tried to grab the bag but the woman pulled it away.

"This is my bag."

"Uh...okay."

"You didn't bring your own bag?"

"No, I mean..."

"My wife gave me this bag. It's embroidered. It says Bombshell."

"I...I can see that, that it's very important to you."

"He'll get it back to you." Kate chimed in. "Yeah, I'll make sure of it. I promise."

Wendy was hesitant at first but ultimately gave it to Clint. He started to make his way out.

"Thank you, thank you." He said. "Beautiful bag."

• • •

IT WAS NIGHTTIME and the two archers stood on a rooftop. The older man had binoculars and surveyed the apartment building across the street. About a minute later, Spider-Man joined them.

"Whoa, you watching that place like a hawk." He jested as he crouched down beside them. "Get it?"

"You think you're funny...but you're not." Clint butted.

Kate chuckled. "Was that worse than my Hawkear joke?"

"It was equally as bad." He replied.

"Anyways, you wanna tell me what we're doing here?"

"Something very important to me is pinging inside that apartment." He answered. "It was stolen from a black-market auction. I need it back."

"From the same auction the Tracksuits ambushed?" Y/N asked.

"I think so."

Clint kept looking through the window of one of the rooms.

"No lights, no movement. This is our chance."

Kate sighed. "This would have been easier if we were on a higher rooftop."

"That's what you think." Clint said.

"Yeah, exactly. That's why I said it."

"Kate, you always wanna prioritize a quick exit over a quick entrance so when things go sideways, and they usually do, you have an exit strategy."

Y/N nodded. "That's so cool. This is like Splinter Cell or something."

Clint ignored his remark and continued. "This is why I chose this spot. It's got good sightlines for all my exits. Entry should be easy. Think it should take me about three and a half minutes to get in. So, if any of you see anything out here, just give me a signal. All right?"

He put the binoculars down and looked to his left, only seeing Spider-Man. His brows furrowed after noticing that Kate was gone.

"Uh...where did she go?" He asked.

"Oh." Y/N pointed toward the street.

A car honked and Clint looked down to see Kate crossing the street. Clint shook his head and looked at Y/N.

"And you let her?"

"She can handle herself, Barton. Ease it a little." Y/N replied.

Clint let out a huff and spoke to her through his earpiece.

"Kate? Kate?"

"There you are." She replied.

"You were supposed to be lookout."

"Yeah, but of the two of us, who do you trust there not to get distracted?"

"That's not fair. It's not my fault that you're inability to act like a grown-up helps you get your way."

She scoffed. "Nope, it's not. But it is what it is."

Y/N overheard their exchange. He shrugged after Clint glanced at him.

"All right." He exhaled. "I need you to use your grappling hook arrow to anchor yourself in. Propel down the side of the building to the window. If it's locked, break in quietly."

"Yeah, love all of that. Great plan, just a slight tweak though."

"She's gonna go through the front door." Y/N told Clint with a chuckle.

"No, she's not. She isn't—"

"Good evening, sir." Kate spoke to an old man about to enter the building. "Can I help you with your bags?"

"What are you...?" Clint looked in the distance. "No, no, no. Don't...don't engage."

"Yup. The front door." Y/N said again.

Kate helped the man and entered the building. After some time, Clint looked through his binoculars again.

"Where are you?" He asked.

"Oh, relax, I'm taking the elevator."

"That's always the easiest." Y/N remarked. "Especially in times where my web-shooters run out or something."

"See? The least complicated plan is sometimes the best plan."

Clint rubbed his face and sighed. Through the earpiece, they heard Kate speaking with the old man.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" The man asked.

"Oh, I, uh...I'm sorry. I wasn't talking to you." Kate chuckled. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Please don't do this." Clint said.

"I was talking to an Avenger. Two of them in fact. They're in my ear."

Clint shook his head. "Maybe you should stop talking."

The old man was starting to get weirded out by the girl. He took his bags back and exited the elevator while Kate stayed inside to get to the desired floor.

Clint and Y/N kept tabs on Kate as she snuck into the room. They overheard her curse and shoot an arrow.

"What was that?" Y/N asked her.

"I don't know. There are, like, strobe lights attached to the wall."

"What do you mean, strobe lights?" Clint asked.

"I don't know."

"What else do you see?"

"Okay, what am I looking for?"

"A watch, vintage Rolex. Belongs to someone I used to work with."

"Is that the whole story, Clint?"

"They've been out of the game a long time but their identity is still attached to that watch."

"Hmm. And if the Tracksuits find out about it?"

Clint paused for a second. "It would blow their cover. Goodbye, friend."

Kate kept looking. After a minute, she reported back. "Got the watch."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Great."

"Wait a minute..." Kate said. "Clint, someone's taking notes on your family."

"What?"

"Clint Barton, wife, Laura, daughter, Lila, age 14, son Cooper, age 16, son, Nate. What..."

"Kate, get out of there." Clint said.

"What? Why?"

He realized. "That light's an alarm. It's a silent alarm for people who can't hear. It's Maya's apartment. I'm going—"

Suddenly, Y/N's spider-sense went off. He turned around and saw a slender figure in a tactical suit charging up their gauntlet. They shot at Clint but Y/N reached out and grabbed the node, which shocked him.

"Argh!"

The assailant charged Clint and started to fight him. Meanwhile, Kate encountered someone else in the apartment.

"Maya's here." She informed.

"Yeah. I can see that." Clint replied as he dodged the woman's attacks.

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

Y/N recovered from the shock and stood back up. "She's on the roof with us."

"No, Maya is definitely here!"

Clint grunted as he hit the woman in the stomach and put her in a chokehold. "Then who the hell am I fighting then?"

She elbowed Clint and threw him off. Y/N webbed her foot to the ground and was about to engage her, but his spider-sense blared even louder.

He looked back...and saw a purple-green blur dashing toward him.

A/N: *PROWLER MUSIC* SCREEECH

Spider-Man was immediately grabbed by the neck and thrown into a roof vent. Y/N groaned and opened his eyes, seeing the masked man charging him with his claws. Y/N quickly moved out of the way and forced him to stab the vent.

The Prowler removed his hand from the vent and looked back at the crouching Spider-Man.

"Hi! I don't think we've met."

The assailant didn't respond and charged his gloves, where it shot out a green energy beam. Spider-Man leaped out of the way and then web-zipped toward him, landing a punch across his masked face.

Y/N tried landing a back kick, but Prowler trapped his ankle with his hand and flung him onto the roof's parapet. The concrete broke under the teenager upon impact.

"Argh..."

Prowler then tossed him across the rooftop into another roof vent. Y/N recovered quickly, flipping onto the top of the vent as his assailant shot the ground with his beam. Y/N dove at Prowler and tackled him, where they rolled across the floor.

Y/N punched him a few times before Prowler grabbed his hand. He tried to hit him with the other but he trapped it as well. Prowler tightened his grip and his claws pierced his web-shooters, disabling them.

Prowler kicked Spider-Man off of him. He kipped back up and charged his energy boots, where he sprinted at Spider-Man and landed a swift punch at his chest.

Clint had brought his assailant to the floor, giving him a chance to grab his bow. He shot an arrow at the apartment building across the street and formed a zip line.

"Get on the zip line." He told Kate.

There was a pause in her fight with Maya and she traversed the zip line with her bow. Maya ran out onto the balcony, seeing the fight going on across the street.

She noticed the mercenary and assassin battling Hawkeye and Spider-Man. Knowing that her Uncle must be involved in it, the girl went back inside her apartment and let it be.

Kate rappelled down the line and was about to attack the assassin, but she noticed the archer coming and jumped up to kick her. Kate fell to the floor.

"Ugh...that hurt." She groaned.

Once she got up, the assassin cocked her pistol and aimed it at Kate. Clint immediately got in front of her, which is what she wanted.

Before she can shoot down Clint, Y/N noticed. Mid-battle with Prowler, he grabbed a chunk of concrete from the floor and threw it at the assassin's gun. It knocked the pistol out of her hand.

"Spider-Hawk." Y/N muttered to himself before engaging Prowler again.

Kate and Clint battled the now unarmed assassin. She kicked the older archer away and Kate tried to punch her but missed.

The assassin quickly attached a line to her belt and threw her off the building.

"No, no, no..." Clint muttered and ran over to the edge.

Y/N saw this in his peripheral vision and his eyes widened. Before he can yell out for Kate, he saw the assassin about to attack the distracted Clint. He immediately left Prowler and dove at the assassin.

Spider-Man tackled her and they struggled on the ground. She tried kicking him off but Y/N kept pinning her down. Suddenly, he was shot with a green electrical blast by Prowler.

For the first time during the fight, the mercenary spoke in a modulated voice.

"Focus on me, youngin'."

Clint had cut Kate down and told her to leave. He turned back around and engaged the assassin once more after she got up. Spider-Man recovered from the shock and kipped back up to continue the fight with Prowler.

The mercenary charged Y/N and tried to slash his face with his claws, but the web-slinger quickly weaved.

Spider-Man kneed his stomach and then landed a left hook kick at his face. After uppercutting the Prowler, the mercenary grabbed his shoulders and held him up. His claws pierced into his biceps.

"Argh!" He grunted.

Suddenly, the Prowler was struck by an arrow that pierced through a crevice in his armor. He dropped Spider-Man and groaned in pain as he pulled it out.

Behind him stood Kate, who had come up via the escape. She aimed her bow at the mercenary.

Without a single word spoken, the Prowler quickly raised his arm and was about to shoot her with an energy beam.

Y/N sprung into action and grabbed his arm, causing him to shoot the floor near her instead. Still, the force of the blast sent Kate flying and rolling by the edge of the rooftop.

Y/N gritted his teeth as he held Prowler's head and hit him against the nearby vent. He hit him against it once more but the mercenary charged his boots and accelerated backward, hitting the web-slinger against the wall.

The battle ensued. Clint continued fighting the assassin. Y/N engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Prowler but was ultimately hit with an electricity blast that sent them to the ground.

Once Kate recovered, she looked on at the scene before her. The archer immediately grabbed a trick arrow from her quiver and, out of instinct, shot it on the ground near them.

The sonic blast sent everybody flying back. Their ears rang and both the heroes and attackers were disoriented. In Prowler's case, the blast short-circuited his suit, and couldn't use his energy capabilities.

Kate shot normal arrows at Prowler, who rolled away from the bolts and then jumped off the roof. The mercenary wasn't going to be fully effective now, so he decided to flee. Using his grappling hooks, he swung away from the scene.

The assassin recovered from the blast and engaged Clint again. The man dodged her attacks and was able to remove her mask and goggles, revealing a blonde-haired girl. She quickly jabbed her Widow's bite into his neck, electrocuting him.

The assassin stood over the downed archer, but Kate was behind her with a bow aimed at her head. She turned around and stared directly at the young woman.

Kate contemplated whether to shoot and even after the blonde tauntingly shook her head, she still didn't.

The assassin stuck a grappling hook to the ground and quickly ran off the rooftop, leaving the three heroes alone.

Clint removed the nodes on his neck that electrocuted him. At that moment, Y/N recovered from the Prowler's sting and let out breaths of exhaustion.

"Who...who the hell were they?" Kate asked them.

"You don't want to know, Kate." Clint breathed out.

"We cannot work together if you don't tell me what's going on."

"We shouldn't be working together. You're not my partner." He shot back. "Do you underhand that? You never were."

Clint looked back at Y/N, who held his side and breathed heavily. He pointed at him then at himself as he spoke to Kate.

"You shouldn't even be around us. You see what's happened?" He added. "Someone has hired a Black Widow assassin and a high-tech mercenary. This has gotten very real, very quickly. You need to remove yourself from this case."

"I'm not." She butted. "Look, I know that tonight didn't go as planned, but I chose to be here. I understand the risk, I understand all of that."

"I'm not gonna do it! You hear me?" He exclaimed. "You hear me?"

Kate sniffled, not knowing what else to say. Clint went up to her and took his bow back.

"Go home, Kate. It's over."

He walked away and stopped near Y/N. He gave a look, like one a father would give when scolding a teenager.

"Handle herself?" He scoffed and held up two fingers. "Twice she was almost killed. On our watch." He glanced at her then back at the young man. "If you really care, you'll distance yourself from her until this all clears up."

Clint left through the fire escape. Y/N looked down then at Kate, who was still dejected from her idol's rejection.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Like...emotionally or physically?" She asked as she wiped her eyes.

"I guess both."

Kate shrugged and inhaled. "Are you?"

"Nothing a nap won't fix." He replied as he rolled his shoulder.

"I can't just give up on this, Y/N." Kate told him. "I can't remove myself."

"Clint has a point, Kate. The stakes aren't what they used to be. You got a Black Widow and some cyborg guy with panther claws after us. You being around—"

"I saved you."

"And I thank you for that."

"Nothing happened to me—"

"Yet." He butted and looked down. "I feel like it's only going to be a matter of time."

She shook her head and got closer. "Y/N, you know me. You said it yourself, I can handle it."

"Not to this extent. This is a far cry from blubbering assholes in Adidas. Now that assassins are in the mix...there's a chance Kingpin's involved now."

"And if that's the case, I want to be there. With Clint...with you. You two can't do this alone."

"We can. But not you."

"You have to trust me! You don't have to worry about me like your friends from before—"

"And I don't want to lose you like I lost them!" He exclaimed.

There was a beat after his shout. Kate stared at him in silence and Y/N took a breath, thinking for a moment before speaking again.

"I...I'm starting to believe maybe I made a mistake. I was blind to what my goal is and what I have to do."

"What do you...?" Kate asked.

"You need to distance yourself from me. I can't be near you while this mercenary is tracking me. I won't be able to live with myself if anything..." He gestured toward her but wasn't able to finish his sentence.

"Y/N..." Her voice trembled, knowing what he was inferring. "You can't push me away."

"Maybe that's what I should've done." Y/N said, and after Kate tried to touch his masked face, he turned away.

She watched as the web-slinger went over to the edge of the roof and perched onto the parapet. He looked in her direction but not directly at her.

"I'm sorry."

Y/N leaped off the building. Since he wasn't able to use his web shooters, the vigilante traversed the rooftops using long jumps. Kate looked on, on the verge of tears after the words were exchanged.

• • •

THE YOUNG ARCHER went back to her apartment. The place was still vacant, burnt, and damaged. Kate looked around and noticed that one of the windows was open. That's when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Kate Bishop."

The lady quickly grabbed a bottle from the table and threw it at the blonde. Yelena Belova caught it before it can hit her face.

"Hi!" She held a pot in her other hand. "I made macaroni if you want some."

"I'm sorry. What?" Kate asked confusingly.

"Well, I was starving and you took forever. So I wanted to make food."

"What do you want?"

Yelena walked toward the table. "Relax, Kate Bishop. I just want to talk, okay? Are you really not hungry? That fight was so long. Exhausting." She pointed at the pot. "It's really tasty. Really tasty."

"Yeah, I know what boxed mac and cheese taste like." She muttered. "It's...it's delicious."

Yelena went into the kitchen and grabbed the lone fork from the drawer. "You have one fork?"

"I'm one person."

"That is so weird." She found another fork and walked back to the table. "Kate, this is not cutlery. This is not cutlery."

"I'm not going to have dinner with you after you tried to kill me and then broke into my house." Kate told her.

Her mouth gaped. "I did not try to kill you. I put you on a wire to remove an obstacle."

"Your other friend didn't seem to care." Kate mentioned the Prowler.

"Ah...that guy." Yelena sat down. "I apologize on his behalf, sometimes he acts on a whim. But I'm sure he wasn't going to hurt you unless you hurt him."

"I shot him with an arrow."

"Well then, I could see why he tried to hurt you." She replied. "But I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. I don't have any weapons on me."

Kate didn't respond and stared at her.

"Okay, I take that back." Yelena added. "I don't have any weapons currently in my hands."

After a pause, the blonde glanced at her Widow's bites on her wrists.

"That's a lie also." She corrected. "Come on, take a fork. Eat. Please, my daddy says it's good for you."

Kate didn't want to. Yelena kept sitting down.

"You're probably thinking...What? This is crazy. I'm going to have dinner with the enemy? And she made some really good-smelling macaroni. But in all honesty, if I wanted to kill you—"

"You would have already." Kate interjected.

"Right as you opened the door."

"I probably wouldn't have time to shut it."

"No." Yelena chuckled.

"I would've been dead."

"Uh-huh."

"Okay...yeah." Kate nodded, then sat down at the table.

Kate didn't eat much. Yelena sat across from her and ate the macaroni from the pot. After the raven-haired girl said she didn't want anymore, the blonde took it all for herself.

Yelena acted friendly as she discussed her current stay in New York while Kate timidly responded here and there.

"Sometimes you're funny, Kate Bishop." Yelena remarked.

"Do you say my whole name to point out that you know it?" Kate abruptly asked.

"Yes. I know a lot about you. Mother, Eleanor. Lives on Park and 41st. Father, Derek, deceased. Very sad. And you recently walked into traffic to save a dog, which I'll admit is pretty cool and you got a few points from me on that."

She continued. "Attends Empire State University. GPA 3.8. Sophomore, double major. Ended up destroying their bell tower which lead you to do community service at the shelter in Chinatown—"

"Right, okay. We get it. Thank you."

She opened her arms. "I didn't even get to mention that friend of yours that you met at the shelter. Y/N. Weirdly, there's nothing on him. Not even a driver's license. Tell me, Kate Bishop, does the mystery turn you on?"

Kate brushed off the remark. "What are you doing in New York? Is it to talk to Clint?"

"No, no, no." Yelena shook her head. "I'm here to kill him."

There was a beat. Kate and Yelena stared at each other.

"I have a question for you." Yelena said. "What is it? Why do you risk your life for him, Clint Barton? How has everybody forgiven him for his past?"

"He the saved the world." Kate answered.

"No. My sister saved the world." Yelena said coldly. "Natasha Romanoff, she saved the world."

Kate was surprised after learning that she was in fact the sister of the Black Widow. They continued speaking about who Clint really was, with Yelena trying to convince Kate that the archer was a murderer only out for himself.

Kate refused to believe that Clint let Natasha die. Like the rest of the public, she didn't know about Vormir and the events that transpired. Still, Yelena kept trying to drill the fact that Clint was a ruthless killer into Kate's head. In a way, the blonde was justifying what she was about to do.

"It will not be difficult for me to complete this assignment." She said.

"Wait a minute, somebody hired you to kill him?" Kate asked. "Did they hire that other guy too?"

"Aaron Davis has his own mission. And that's to deal with the Spider-Man. We prefer not to cross paths during assignments, but coincidentally, they were just in the same exact place tonight."

Kate shook her head. "All I'll say is that if someone out there is telling you that this is the right thing to do, then maybe you should ask yourself what kind of person hired you. The people you're after...they might not be perfect, but they're good."

"The deal with the costume-wearing acrobat and my colleague doesn't involve me. My focus is on Barton." She emphasized. "However he convinced you about how he is or how many people think or call him a hero, truth is it doesn't matter. We are defined by what we do. Not by nice words. Like it or not, there is no escaping this."

There was yet again silence. Yelena looked back at the brunt clock and then at Kate again.

"So...where is he?"

"I don't know." Kate replied.

"Okay." Yelena nodded and leaned over the table. "Thank you for the girls' night, truly."

Yelena got up and walked toward the open window. She looked back at Kate before leaving.

"Oh. And, Kate Bishop, do not get in my way again. Tell that to your spider-friend too, or else I'll just have to make Davis's job a little easier."

Kate watched as Yelena deployed a grappling hook and rappelled out of the window. The girl scoffed, rubbing her face as she looked down.

• • •

SPIDER-MAN HAD BEEN chasing the lead on the deal Fisk was going to do with the Manfredi Crime Family. During this, he also watched his back in case the Prowler came after him again.

He traveled to a port in Mott Haven. Via a transmission from a corrupt police officer in the force, Y/N decoded a message where he let his colleagues know to ignore what was happening there. That's when he knew something was up.

Y/N perched on a streetlight and looked across the street at the warehouse. His phone suddenly chimed and he looked at the message. Surprisingly, it was from Kate. They hadn't spoken since the night before.

Kate
Cyborg guy has a name. Aaron Davis. Works with the girl trying to kill Clint

Y/N
Thanks

Y/N wondered if he should write more, but ultimately decided to leave it at that. The information was useful and he'd look into it later. He put the phone away and swung toward the warehouse.

The large shutter doors of the building were opened. A group of men stood by a truck and watched as a couple of cars drove up to them. Roderick Kingsley got out of his vehicle and was joined by Fisk's enforcers.

He joined the main man, who stood by the truck and had his hands folded in front of him. He had greying hair and looked like he was in his early 70s.

"Silvio." Kingsley greeted.

Portrayed by Bill Nighy

The head of the Manfredi Crime Family, known as Silvermane, didn't greet him back and simply stared at him.

"Where is Wilson?" He asked.

"He could not be here. He had some business to attend." Kingsley replied.

"So, what? He sends you? A patsy?"

"I wouldn't say patsy."

"He should be here handing me the money. Not you. What I'm about to give him...people would kill for. Armies around the world would go to war for it. Does he not get that?"

Roderick nodded. "He does, Silvio. And so do I. We want to get this deal done."

Silvermane scoffed. "It's disrespectful. Seeing you here instead of him. It's like I'm handing the vial to a nobody."

"I'm not nobody. Let's get that straight." He replied with a chuckle.

"Really?" Silvermane stepped closer, knowing that his enforcers weren't going to risk getting into a gunfight with his men.

"You were nothing before HAMMER fell, before Fisk rose to power, before you lucked out in finding Osborn as a partner. All you have is a bunch of big letters on a building that you don't even own."

Kingsley stood silent as Silvermane kept chastising him.

"You were like everybody else...the dirt beneath our shoe. Only now you've gotten up a peg...to the stain on our boot. You won't ever have power like the rest of us."

Roderick stared at him, a bit of anger lingering within him. He chose not to act on it and wanted to go along with what he was there to do.

"We have your money, Mr. Manfredi. Let's do the deal." He spoke.

He scoffed and called out to one of his men. They brought a briefcase containing the vial of super-soldier serum while an enforcer brought the case of money.

Before they can conduct the sale, a web line stuck to the enforcer and pulled him to the ceiling. They all looked on in shock as Spider-Man dropped down and landed on top of a gangster.

"Sorry to drop in on your drug deal...or whatever the hell it is Fisk wants." Y/N said.

"Kill him!" Silvermane shouted.

Many of the men fired their guns but Spider-Man was able to avoid the bullets. He webbed their faces in rapid succession and moved on to a couple of unarmed enforcers.

Spider-Man combatted the criminals. Silvermane was guarded by two of his men while Kingsley stood behind one of the enforcers. While Y/N took down one of the gunmen, another shot at him. He dove out of the way and the bullet hit a nearby gas tank.

It exploded and took out the truck as well, the blast sending everybody back. The briefcase containing the serum opened and dropped near Kingsley, the vial rolling to him. The man looked at it, then glanced around for a moment. He quickly pocketed it and ran off.

Y/N kept fighting the remaining gangsters and enforcers. During the scuffle, Silvermane was able to flee as well. Spider-Man dealt with the rest of the criminals until it was just him and the unconscious gunmen amidst the smoke.

He looked around for the two main men, Silvermane and Kingsley, and shook his head upon realizing they escaped. Still, he seemed content that he ruined the illegal transaction.

Y/N heard incoming police sirens. The web-slinger immediately swung out of the area.

One of the cruisers made it in time and parked, where Captain Stacy got out and looked on at the scene. He also saw the faint figure of Spider-Man swinging away.

• • •

LATER THAT DAY, Roderick Kingsley met with Wilson Fisk in his office. He told the towering man of what happened at the port, mentioning how Spider-Man interfered.

Fisk slammed his fist into the desk, cracking the tough hardwood. The man gritted his teeth.

"That little son of a bitch..." He seethed.

"I'm sorry, Wilson." Roderick apologized.

"This was supposed to be a clean sale. I was supposed to have that vial with me right now." After a beat, Fisk turned to Kingsley again. "I knew I shouldn't have sent you."

"Mr. Fisk—"

"It was you and my enforcers! It was up to you to check the area, and watch for that pest or any other threat! I already paid for officers in the area to avoid the area so that was the least you could do!"

Roderick didn't expect Fisk to get angry and him and basically blame him for the botched deal. He was pretty taken aback. But again, those mood swings were a part of his nature.

Fisk continued. "I give you everything and this is how you repay me...with negligence and inexperience. If I could kill you...I would, but the people need a face for that company or else they'd ask too many questions."

Kingsley didn't respond, simply starting at Fisk. Again, he was being berated by a man of power, someone over him, just like Silvermane did. He felt like how Silvio said...dirt under a boot.

"So...Mr. Kingsley, I reckon the serum has been lost?" Fisk asked.

There was a beat. Kingsley nodded.

"Yes, sir. It has."

Wilson shook his head and looked down at the crack on his desk.

"Then get out. You're not needed anymore."

Kingsley obeyed and left the office. As he walked through the hallway, he felt the pocket inside his suit, feeling the super-soldier serum vial. The man smirked.

It was now his. And one day...he'd show him what true power can bring.

• • •

KATE WAS IN her room at her mother's penthouse. She laid down, tired from the constant calling and messaging toward Clint. About a few moments later, she heard a knock at her window.

Y/N was outside, in civilian clothing but wearing his Spider-Man mask. The girl went over and looked at him through the glass.

"Uh...I want to talk." He said.

"What happened to keeping our distance?" She shot back with crossed arms.

He removed his mask. "Yeah, yeah."

"Opening this window might go against your superhero code."

"Please, Kate."

Y/N smiled. With a sigh, she opened the window and let him in. The boy shut it after and removed his mask. Kate walked back toward her bed.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"First off, thank you for that tip yesterday. Haven't gotten around to looking into Davis yet, but I will."

Still crossing her arms, she nodded and looked down. "You're welcome."

"And second..." He let out breath and stepped closer. "I was thinking...a lot of thinking last night. And uh..." Y/N glanced at the mask he held. "Maybe you were right."

She finally gave him eye contact. "Right about what?"

"Trusting you. Knowing that you can handle whatever is thrown at you. I've just been...so used to having to worry about those around me since they couldn't protect themselves. It made it hard for me to accept that you can."

There was a beat. Y/N looked up from his mask and then around the room.

"I mean, look at what you've done. Your determination is second to none. You've achieved so much. You have a lot of dedication and you also show that with how you're willing to help people. With how you did at F.E.A.S.T and with Barton's case."

Y/N continued, remembering the words his father told him.

"You're using your gifts for the betterment of others. You feel like it's your responsibility...and you're using the power you have to fix it. I can't keep you from doing that."

Kate looked up and softly smiled. The man looked back at his hands.

"So, I'm sorry." He apologized. "I shouldn't have tried to push you away."

She went up to Y/N and kissed him. The two parted after a few seconds and looked into each other's eyes.

"It wouldn't have worked anyway. I would've shown up at your door a couple of days later." She replied.

He chuckled. "Ah, so that means I folded first."

"Looks like it."

"You know..." The boy's smile disappeared. "I couldn't really sleep that night after we argued. I think that's when I knew I did something wrong."

"That was then. This is now. Forget about it."

He nodded. "Okay."

Their lips met again and the couple kissed. Their embrace became more feverish as Y/N ran his hands along her waist to her hips. Kate was willing to continue their act of passion since her bed was a mere foot away.

Suddenly, the phone on her desk chimed. The two stopped kissing and Kate turned around, knowing what it was.

"As much as I'd like to this keep going..." She pointed at the phone. "That's very important."

"What is it?" Y/N asked.

"I've been tracking Clint's phone. Since he hasn't been answering my calls or listening to my messages, he gave me no choice."

Y/N let out a snicker. "Eminem should make another track like Stan and call it Kate."

"Yeah, yeah." She waved him off.

"Dear Clint, I wrote you, but you still ain't callin'." He jokingly recited the lyrics. "I left my cell, my pager, and my home phone at the bottom."

"Very funny." Kate chuckled and checked her phone. "Looks like he's in Greenpoint."

"What do you think he's doing there?" Y/N asked.

"I don't know. But I bet whatever it is deals with his new Lone Ranger mission. We should go."

"All right." Y/N started to remove his shirt and revealed his Spider-Man suit.

Kate arched a brow after seeing him and pointed at the costume.

"You had that under there the whole time?" She asked.

He nodded. "Well, yeah."

"So...you were going to...?" She moved her pointer finger toward the bed.

Y/N shrugged. He understood that he was going to have to worry about taking it if they moved to third base earlier.

"Yeah...I could see how that would've been pretty awkward."