GLISTENING DIAMONDS.
003. ❛ the cat and the spider ❜

"YOU'VE BEEN BUSY," Steve remarked, his gaze shifting to Tony's young recruit, concealing the fact that he himself had also had recruited a young teenager.

"And you've been a complete idiot. Dragging in Clint. Rescuing Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave, a safe place. I'm trying to keep..." Stark sighed, his frustration evident. "I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart."

"You did that when you signed."

"Alright, we're done. You're gonna turn Barnes over, you're gonna come with us, now! Because it's us! Or a squad of J-SOC guys, with no compunction about being impolite." Threatened the billionaire, unaware that Steve was silently signaling Diana to prepare for action. "Come on."

Diana nodded in response to Steve's signal, flexing her fingers and causing her retractable claws to unsheathe. "We found it. Their Quinjet's in hangar five, north runway."

With a wink at Scott, Diana watched as he shrunk down and swiftly made his way towards the shield. Steve held his hands up, allowing Clint to shoot the webbing off. At the same time, Diana skillfully threw a rope at the Spider boy's feet, which coiled around his ankles and unexpectedly tightened, causing him to stumble and drop the shield. In an instant, a miniature Scott caught the shield.

"Whoa. What- What the hell was that?" Rhodey exclaimed, looking bewildered at the sudden turn of events.

"I believe this is yours, Captain America," Scott stated, returning to his normal size and handing the shield back to its rightful owner. Meanwhile, the young blonde, Diana, approached and stood beside the two men.

"Oh, great. Alright, there's two on the parking deck. One of them's Maximoff. I'm gonna grab her. Rhodey, you want to take Cap?" Tony declared before taking flight.

As a diversion, Diana swiftly threw a diamond at War Machine's head, creating a distraction. She then noticed Spider-Man swinging towards the terminal. "I got him," she announced, confidence in her voice as she sprinted after the agile young hero.

PETER SWUNG THROUGH the rafters of the terminal, relentlessly pursuing Sam who was flying backward, firing shots at the nimble teenager. Suddenly, Peter stopped on a high beam, his spider-senses tingling as he sensed an object hurtling towards him.

Reacting swiftly, Peter caught the object and immediately threw it back at the Winter Soldier, who was attempting to hide behind a nearby wall. "Hey buddy, I think you lost this!" Peter quipped with a grin.

Taken off guard by Peter's distraction, Sam countered with a powerful kick, sending the young hero tumbling off the beam. But Peter quickly recovered, firing a web at Sam's wings, causing him to crash onto the ground. With his opponent immobilized, Peter deftly webbed Sam to the railing.

"Those wings carbon fiber?" Peter asked in awe, admiring the advanced technology.

"Is this stuff coming out of you?" Sam responded, his confusion evident as he observed the unknown spider-themed hero.

"That would explain the rigidity-flexibility ratio, which, gotta say, that's awesome, man," Peter exclaimed, completely engrossed in analyzing Falcon's gear.

"I don't know if you've been in a fight before, but there's usually not this much talking," Sam remarked sarcastically, offering some advice to the talkative young hero.

"Alright, sorry, my bad," Peter chuckled, acknowledging his excessive chatter. He swiftly swung down from his perch, aiming to disarm Sam. However, before he could proceed, Bucky intervened, causing both adults to crash onto the next floor, where Peter deftly trapped them.

As Peter focused on his captives, he failed to notice a blonde figure arriving at the scene. "Guys, look, I'd love to keep this up, but I've only got one job here today, and I gotta impress Mr. Stark, so I'm really sorry," Peter declared, readying himself to shoot a web. But before he could act, the girl gracefully leaped onto his shoulders, spinning around his body and deftly bringing him down to the floor. She landed with a poised stance.

With a smirk, the Black Cat made her presence known, standing protectively between Peter and her teammates, her hands raised and poised for action. The red-suited boy slowly rose to his feet, shaking off the dizziness from the fall, attempting to appear composed despite his embarrassment.

"Who are you?" Peter tilted his head, puzzled by the presence of this girl who was not mentioned by Stark when briefing him about Cap's team.

"The name's Black Cat, but you could call me Cat. Nice to meet ya," Diana grinned, her eyes scanning Peter's physique, she had no doubt that he was just as good looking underneath the suit as he was in it. 

After the introductions were set, the Black Cat wasted no time. She lunged at Spider-Man, delivering the first punch that caught him off guard, causing him to stumble backward.

Peter's head snapped up as he saw her leg swinging towards his head, he shot a web around her ankle and yanked it down hard, slamming her into the floor.

Diana inhaled sharply, momentarily winded, but swiftly recovered, skillfully evading the web projectiles aimed at her. Extending her hand, she unleashed her grappling hook rope once again, this time wrapping it around Peter's neck. With a forceful tug, she pulled him toward her, causing Spider-Man to faceplant into the floor, leaving him coughing as the rope loosened.

With a determined effort, Peter flipped himself back up, delivering a powerful kick to Diana's stomach. Not giving her a chance to retaliate, he shot a web at her hand, pinning it to the ground. "Gotcha," he declared, his voice filled with triumph.

Undeterred, Diana extended her other hand, swiftly slashing through the web with her razor-sharp claws. She quickly stood up, shaking off the remnants of the webbing, and charged at Peter once again, her movements agile and calculated.

Caught off guard by her speed and agility, Peter found himself momentarily on the defensive as Diana gracefully dodged his punches and strikes. She moved with a dancer's grace, her every movement fluid and precise. Peter could sense the fierce determination in her eyes as she relentlessly pressed forward.

With a quick extension of her hand, Diana's grappling hook rope shot out once more, wrapping around Peter's wrist this time. She yanked hard, trying to throw him off balance, but Peter instinctively used the tension to swing his body in a wide arc, landing a solid kick against Diana's side. The impact sent her staggering, momentarily disrupting her attack.

Seizing the opportunity, Peter shot several strands of webbing, attempting to immobilize Diana. But she swiftly evaded his sticky assault, her reflexes honed to perfection. Sensing an opening, she lunged forward, gracefully ducking beneath one of Peter's punches and sweeping his legs out from under him.

Spider-Man's body collided with the floor with a resounding thud. Before he could react, Diana straddled his torso and pinned his hands above his head with her gloved one. Her gaze met his, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

Peter's heart raced as he found himself in such close proximity to the enigmatic Black Cat. His mind raced, grappling with a mix of excitement and confusion. However, he managed to maintain his composure, returning her gaze with a determined expression.

He looked up at her and studied her features. Her long blond hair was tied back with two pieces of hair left out in her face. Her hair frames a face that exudes confidence and seduction, with high cheekbones, a slender nose, and full, luscious lips. She wore a black skin-tight suit with silver outlines all over along with a diamond-shaped black mask around her eyes.

Her eyes. Man, her eyes. Peter thought he could get lost in her slightly almond-shaped eyes that were a vibrant shade of green, reflecting her mischievous nature. It's almost like he's seen them before.

Diana's red lips curling into a smirk as she stared into the white mechanical eyes of the boy's suit, "You like this position, don't you?"

The next thing peter noticed about the Black Cat was that she spoke with a slight German accent, adding a touch of intrigue to her voice. Her accent carried traces of the country's distinct intonation and pronunciation, infusing her words with a unique cadence. Her vowels had a subtly softened quality, with a hint of roundedness that hinted at her German heritage. When speaking English, there was a subtle lilt in her speech, a gentle rise and fall that reflected the melodic nature of the German language. Though her accent was not overpowering, it added an alluring quality to her voice, captivating listeners and evoking a sense of her background and cultural roots. 

From underneath his mask, Peter was blushing heavily and he was glad the girl couldn't see it. In less than a second, Peter managed to free his hands and flip the two over so he was now hovering over the girl.

"Not as much as I like this one." He spoke up confidently as he pinned her hands above her head with his gloved one.

Peter's voice was filled with a mixture of playfulness and determination as he confidently held her gaze. Diana's eyebrows arched in surprise, her playful demeanor momentarily faltering. She chuckled, her voice dripping with a hint of seduction. "Oh, I like you."

Peter felt shivers going down his spine at her comment. She tilted her head to the side at the boy, a playful tone in her voice, "What's a matter? Cat got your tongue?"

Before their playful banter could continue, Sam's RedWing swooped in, delivering a swift smack to the back of Peter's head. Momentarily disoriented, Peter turned around instinctively, shooting a web at the device, his plan at destroying it failing as it flew to the window, the boy still attached to it.

Diana let out a snort as he crashed through the window with a shriek. She walked over to the edge of her floor where she could see Sam and Bucky webbed to the floor, "How's it going boys? Not making out are you?"