𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒 | parker²

xii. a sticky situation

"Sure thing," Karen responded, keeping her voice low.

Karen tuned into the two men's conversation. One was the seller from the bridge and another was someone that neither Aster nor Peter knew. They were both sitting on a bench, facing opposite ways as they spoke to one another.

"He's up front. Main deck."

"I hate this guy."

"It's the guy from the bridge, right?" Aster nodded at Peter's question. "Who's that other guy?"

Aster narrowed her eyes at him when he craned his head to the side, giving them an unobstructed view of his face. "He looks familiar..."

Peter glanced over at her. "You recognize him?"

"No. If I saw him before I'd know," Aster murmured, trying to figure out why his face struck familiarity in her head. "Just something about him..."

The seller from before stood up. "Just keep me posted."

"There's no record of him in my criminal database," Karen reported. "Incoming call from May Peter. Should I reroute to your heads-up display?"

"I can't talk right now. I'll call her back."

The spider on the front of Peter's suit detached itself, crawling from his chest to the top of his head with a soft squeak. "Hey, dronie." Peter's name for the drone made Aster smile. "Keep an eye on that guy. We can't let anybody get away this time."

Lifting into the air, the spider drone hovered by the porthole. Peter turned to Aster and his masked eyes narrowed questioningly. "Do you have enough traction to climb up the side of this thing?"

Aster smirked, lifting one hand and flicking her fingers out. Sharp silver claws popped out of her suited fingers, shining in the sunlight reflecting off of the water. "Since I'm Black Cat now, I made a few adjustments. Took some inspiration from Black Panther."

She could practically see Peter's amazement through his mask. "Sick." 

Aster took the lead, climbing up the side of the boat with Peter right behind her. She sunk her claws into the side of the ferry with every move until she reached the roof, trying to keep the wind from blowing her long blonde ponytail into her face as she did so. Both of them crawled to the edge and peered down at four men on the front deck.

"Who's the guy on the left?" Peter quietly asked Karen.

"Mac Gargan. Extensive criminal record, including homicide. Would you like me to activate Instant Kill?"

"No, Karen! Stop it with the Instant Kill already!"

A puff of air left Aster's nose as she stifled a laugh. 

"White pickup truck," the same man from the bridge said. A slim crew member nodded back, scanning his surroundings before walking away.

"Dronie, scan the ship for a white pickup truck," Peter whispered, taking the words right from Aster's mouth.

The tiny drone beeped in confirmation that it found the truck, along with the weapons inside. Aster couldn't help but smile. "Dronie, I love you."

He squeaked in response.

Peter shook his head in disbelief. "Oh, this is too perfect. We got the weapons, buyers, and sellers all in one place—"

"Incoming call from Tony Stark."

Aster and Peter shared an alarmed look. "No, no, no. No, no, don't answer—!"

"Mr. Parker," Tony's voice flowed through both of their comms. "Got a sec?"