Seeing double

The next night, Gwen sat on a rooftop across from the construction site where the prototype she’d hoped to steal back for ESU – minus the AI that powered it – was hidden. All kinds of thoughts went through her head – did Fisk have any intentions of using it? Gwen had figured out Fisk’s intent for the project’s AI, but the robotics that had gone into the prototype were very impressive feats of engineering. Fisk likely had intentions for that, too, Gwen reasoned, and they likely weren’t altruistic ones.

Still, Gwen was excited. Despite the games Black Cat liked to play, Gwen always had fun working alongside her. The two clearly had chemistry, and if Gwen knew Felicia, it wouldn’t be long before the thief made a pass at her. And the more Gwen thought about it, the more enticing the idea of reigniting her relationship with Felicia sounded.

On the other hand, Gwen thought, Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take some time to myself right now. The love of my life just left town, and I’m not sure the best reaction to that is a rebound relationship... my life’s complicated enough as it is. As much as I like Felicia, she does bring her fair share of drama. And now, she’ll be bringing along a twin sister...

Gwen’s phone buzzed, and she took it out of her pocket, assuming it was Black Cat and/or Nightcat texting her an ETA. She looked at the message and sighed sadly as she began a text conversation:

**MJ: I miss you**

**Gwen: I miss you too**

**MJ: I’m sorry for texting you out of the blue like this, but I’ve been thinking about you lately**

**Gwen: Don’t worry about it. I’ve been thinking about you too**

**You have no idea how many times I’ve picked up the phone and written you something before deleting it instead of hitting send**

**MJ: Good, so it’s not just me. I know I’m doing the right thing for my career here, but it’s hard not being with you**

**Gwen: Ditto. I really wish I could have come with you**

**MJ: So do I**

**Gwen: Are you seeing anybody?**

**MJ: Yeah, another model. I really like her, but it’s nothing serious. You?**

**Gwen: No, Felicia’s back in town, though**

**MJ: Uh-oh**

**Here comes trouble**

**Gwen: LOL you can say that again**

**MJ: You planning on getting back together with her?**

**Gwen: Maybe. She is insanely fun**

**MJ: That she is**

**She infuriates me to no end, tho**

**Gwen: Ha! That sounds about right**

**And get this – she has a twin sister, who’s also a thief**

**MJ: Oh god**

**Gwen: They’re coming to help me on a job tonight**

**MJ: RUN**

**RUN FAR FAR AWAY**

**Gwen: LOL**

**MJ: Seriously though, if it’s what you want I think you should give her another chance**

**Gwen: And why would you think that?**

**MJ: Come on, don’t make me say it. We both know why**

Gwen smiled smugly. It was great, being able to text MJ like this again, even if they were no longer together.

**Gwen: No, I don’t**

**I’ll need you to explain it ;)**

**MJ: Fine. I want you to be happy**

**Satisfied?**

**Gwen: Extremely satisfied**

**I knew you still cared :P**

**MJ: This. This is why I moved from New York to California – your constant need for validation ;P**

Gwen chuckled loudly. She was really having fun chatting; hopefully she & MJ would be able to do it more often.

“What’s so funny, gorgeous?” A familiar voice called out. Gwen looked over her shoulder to see Felicia – or Felicity, she had no idea which – and sent one last text message.

**Gwen: Gotta go – time to get to work. But I enjoyed chatting again. Let’s text more often**

**MJ: I’d like that. Say hi to Felicia for me, and tell her to go fuck herself. She’ll know what it means**

“Texting someone, huh? Is it Red?” the sexy thief asked, peering over Gwen’s shoulder at her phone screen. “Go fuck myself, huh? Heheh... classic Red. I gotta admit, I miss her. Anyone ever tell you that you have great taste in women, Spider?”

“I thought you two couldn’t stand each other,” Gwen remarked.

“Naaah. The vicious insults are signs of friendship,” Felicia smirked. “Think Betty and Veronica.”

“I guess that makes me Archie, then,” Gwen pointed out.

“I guess it does,” Felicia agreed. “I wonder who our Reggie is... or our Jughead...”

“We’ll talk about that later. Right now though, we should probably come up with a game plan. I have no idea what we’re going to find down there...”

“Spider... Felicia... how did you two ever survive without me?” Felicity interjected as she hopped onto the rooftop to join the pair. “I did some recon. Sent in a drone – hacked the lab’s security cameras. Managed to roughly map out the place and came up with a great infiltration route – all we gotta do is follow this little guy,” she continued, motioning towards the drone she mentioned.

“Damn, Nightcat... that’s impressive,” Gwen complimented.

“Isn’t it, though? You think Felicia’s a master thief... you haven’t seen anything yet,” Felicity teased.

“Pfft. Don’t flatter yourself, Felicity. I can pull of heists like this blindfolded,” Felicia scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“Hey, you’ve got a very important role in this plan,” Felicity teased in a mock condescending tone. “You’re the decoy if we run into any muscle. Wouldn’t want anyone doing trying to mess up Ghost-Spider’s gorgeous face, or her smokin’ body... and let’s face it, I’m the pretty one.”

“It’s cute you think that,” Felicia teased back. “But I guess you’ve always been insecure, considering everyone knows how much better I am between the sheets than you are.”

“That so? I think we’ll have to test that, soon,” Felicity suggested. “I think the Spider here should be the judge.”

“Ooh, I like that idea,” Felicia agreed with a sly grin. “You up for it, Spider?”

“Uhhhhhhhhh... I really don’t know how to answer that,” Gwen stammered awkwardly, blushing deeply. I am so glad I’m wearing the mask right now. “We should probably get to it before... aww, crap. I knew this seemed too easy...”

Out of the corner of her eye, Gwen had noticed Mac Gargan, in full Scorpion gear, standing around at the construction site. Fisk must’ve hired some extra security; Gwen figured that something like this was coming, but she really really hoped that, for once, that the Kingpin would slip up.

“Looks like I’ll be the decoy tonight,” Gwen told her partners. “Gargan’s an idiot, so I’m pretty sure I can get him to leave his post. I’ll draw his attention, you two do your whole thief thing.”

“Got it,” acknowledged Felicity. “But make sure Scorpion doesn’t hit you in the face. Or your body. Basically, don’t get hit – you’re too hot for that.”

Felicia looked at Gwen, nodding in agreement. “For once, I agree with my twin. It’s nice to see my intelligence rubbing off on her... I am the smart one, after all.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Gwen remarked before leaping off the rooftop, ready to take on Gargan.