Spyder and The Avengers

Chapter 30 - The First (Mr. Man-Katniss)

I gasped, my breath coming in short bursts. "Are you frickin' serious right now?"

Peter nodded excitedly. "You bet I am! Just stay on your toes. Good luck."

Suddenly, he sprinted away from me into a wall... and passed right through. I knew better than to contradict his actions, but I still couldn't help but feel ticked.

I mean, I figure out his secret identity and he doesn't seem to care. He gives me some weird little "heads-up" that ends with him disappearing. And my head was pounding like cra-

The floor opened up beneath me.

I fell for about five seconds before I got my bearings and shot a web up to the ceiling. I gripped it, breathing heavily.

"What... the heck," I squeezed the strand. "Was... that?"

Had I not been hanging onto my web, I would have had a fifty-foot fall to the cement floor below.

Well, on top of a thin mat, next to... was that... no... for some weird reason, it looked like Agent Barton was standing next to the mat, observing me while casually nocking an arrow.

Stay on my toes.

He glanced up. "Oh, come on. That was supposed to be a real fall, not some last-minute save. Wait, never mind. I got this."

The Man-Katniss pulled back and released the arrow. I prepared to swing out of the way, but it whistled past me and struck the wall above me.

I smirked. "You missed."

He shook his head, grinning, and pointed at the arrow. "Hawkeye never misses."

The arrow had sunk deep into the wall. Around it, strange lights were rippling out. Suddenly, the arrow beeped and the floor above me slammed shut, snapping off the end of my strand.

"Aw, crap," I cursed quietly, air whooshing past my ears. Should have seen that one coming.

I flung out another web and turned my fall into a diagonal swing. Unfortunately, I was heading straight for the wall of the rather dull room.

Meanwhile, Hawkeye was doubled over, laughing. "Oh, that's great!"

"Wanna see something even better?" I calmly asked him as I hurtled towards my imminent doom.

He looked up at me, wiping a tear from his eye. "Sure... Why not?"

I grinned. "Well, then here we go!"

Before I finished saying "go," Mr. Almighty Male-Katniss was strung up to the ceiling and I was standing triumphantly on the mat, trying to look professional. And trying not to laugh, but I was epically failing. At both.

Oops.

Hawkeye's bow clattered to floor. I looked up. He seemed frozen in shock.

"B-but no one e-e-ever..." he stammered, snapping out of his stiffness.

The agent began to struggle against the bonds.

"Hey," I told him, milking it and not caring in the least. "Let me educate you. Science 101: Spiderweb, in mass quantities, is even stronger than steel. So good luck trying to rip it."

"I wasn't trying to tear it," he said, drawing a pencil-thin metal rod. "I was just reaching for this."

Lightning-fast, the agent pressed a small button on the side of the tool. A laser beam shot out and he began hacking at the webs.

Dang.

In about three seconds flat, he somersaulted to the floor and stood up, brushing a stray web from his shoulder.

"Wha- But... H-how?" I stuttered, baffled.

Mr. Katniss winked and drew his bow from the ground. "I'm an Avenger, honey. Strategy. It's what I do."

Quicker than I could follow, he nocked an arrow in his bow and fired at me. I didn't have time to leap out of the way, so I did the only thing I could:

I caught it.

He seemed somewhat surprised, like when you click the power button on the remote but the television remains off, but Barton rapidly nocked another and fired again. And again. And again.

Unfortunately, I couldn't catch any of the barrage of arrows, but I did manage to dodge them, mostly. His last one grazed my thigh, and I yelped.

"Ooh," he said. "Sorry."

Having a sudden eureka moment, I swooned and fell to the floor. "Hawkeye- too awesome... Can't d-do it... Too mu-much coolness," I said weakly, lying on the ground.

He walked over, suspicious.

I upped my game. "No! Do n-not come near me... Unfit- too puny..."

Mr. Katniss-with-an-ego accepted it like a toddler accepts candy. "Well, I suppose I am pretty-"

Tragically, he was cut off as I shot to my feet, whipped the laser out of his hand, and bound him tight in webs like a cocoon.

I left his face clear, so he could admire my handiwork.

"Aww," I crooned, stroking the webs. "Does cute widdle baby want his ba-ba?"

A flurry of emotions crossed his face: shock, understanding, rage, and then... nothing.

He looked at me, his face a mask of calm, as if calculating how worthy I was.

Suddenly, Agent Hawkeye burst out laughing. "Fury," he said loudly. "I give her an A-plus!"

I glanced at him quizically. "But what does Fury have to do wi-"

"Well done, Spyder," Fury's voice boomed, echoing around the room. "But the next one may not be so easy."

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<·<Pepper_B_Parker*Alias:_Spyder*Position:_S.H.I.E.L.D._agent>·>

I swear, Hawk-Dude... If you're reading this...

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<·<Clinton_Barton*Alias:_Hawkeye*Position:_S.H.I.E.L.D._Avenger>·>

I am. Yeah. What's it to you?