"What do you mean I can't call Edith?"
"The configurations have been modified."
Cat pinched the bridge of her nose, she got out of the car in a hurry.
"I can't go to Talos because he's an idiot, I can't call Fury cause by the time he gets here it might be too late," she entered the hotel. "The universe really wants me to team up with Spider-man, huh?"
"You want me to call his personal number?"
"I'll just go to his room."
***
Cat went to Ned's room and knocked on it desperately, the boy opened with a wild look in his eyes.
"What! What?"
"Peter's not in his room," she said. "Did he come back from the mission?"
"Yeah, he was talking to MJ."
Cat left him standing there and went to MJ's room. She knocked loudly again, but no one answered. She kept knocking until Flash came out of the room next door.
"How many times do I gotta remind you I'm strea—"
"Go back to your room before I crack your head open!"
Flash ran back inside, Ned approached her worryingly.
"C.C. what's going on?"
"It was all fake," she pulled her hair —now its usual color— in distress. "All of it. Mysterio—" she slammed her fist against the door one last time and left it there. "He put thousands of civilians at risk... Peter and all of you at risk! I'm gonna kill him!"
She moved away from MJ's room, a glow of determination in her eyes. Ned tried to stop her.
"Hang on, C.C!" He followed her to her room, only her laptop was out and she immediately started to type on it furiously. "You were on the news!"
"What?"
"People saw you throwing rocks at that thing!"
Cat pushed the laptop away and rubbed her forehead. "Right... it's okay, Ned. I changed my looks before I went out."
"It looked cool! I mean, you saved the world!"
"I didn't save anything, those monsters were fake," she said patiently, "I just said that, remember?"
"Oh... right," Ned's shoulders fell.
Cat fell back on the bed, her laptop slipping to the floor. One arm went up and covered her eyes. Ned caught the laptop before it crashed and then sat next to her, patting her knee.
"You thought you were helping... it's not your fault."
"It's never my fault," she mumbled, "never the hero's fault, but we're the ones ruining everything... things would be better if we didn't exist."
"C'mon, don't say that," Ned said worryingly.
She picked on a noise coming from the hall: Two people hurriedly sneaking towards Peter's room. Fearing that it could be Quentin, she sat up on the bed and tried to pay extra attention.
"Hear that?"
Ned frowned. "No?"
"Stay here."
Her mask appeared as soon as she stood, Cat changed her hair back to white and her eyes to purple, and she seized the spear from her belt. Ned followed her from a proper distance, and he made sure there was no one around as she moved toward Peter's room.
The door was closed, but she could hear shuffling and heavy breathing inside. She stormed in and the second she saw movement Cat pressed a button at the base of her spear to extend it.
"HANDS Uuuhhh—!" Her voice stuttered at the sight of Peter and MJ.
"You're going to kill me," the boy stated plainly, he was still in his S.H.I.E.L.D suit.
Cat lowered her weapon. "I thought you were Beck!"
"C.C!?" MJ gasped.
"Wait, so you know about Mysterio?" Peter circled the bed and stood in front of her.
"Yeah! I came over to tell you he's trying to steal Stark's tech! We have to work outside S.H.I.E.L.D 'cause I don't know who else is in it and Edith isn't responding!"
"I handed it over to Beck," Peter said anxiously.
"You— WHAT?"
Peter lifted his hand, then he realized her mouth was already covered so he whispered. "Stop shouting or the teachers will come!"
"Let's move on to the next problem," Cat pointed at MJ. "What the hell?"
"I could be asking the same!" The girl responded.
"I had to tell her," Peter replied.
"He didn't tell me, I figured it out," she pointed at Cat. "This is new, though."
Cat tilted her head. "Really?"
"I always knew you were weird but like, in a homeschooled way, not in a secret agent kinda thing..."
"Well, if you really think about it they're kind of the same..."
"Look, Ned," Peter spoke. "I need you to call May, get her to call Mr. Harrington, say she wanted me to stay with family in Berlin until this all blows over, okay?"
"Got it. Easy."
"Tell them I had to leave too. Pepper needed me back in the city for an emergency meeting."
"Yeah, I'll tell Betty you asked me to take your bag so they're not left behind."
"Wow, you guys lie with such ease," MJ pointed out.
Cat looked at the bed and saw a strange metal-looking thing. "What's that?"
"I broke it a few hours ago when I was fighting Beck's illusions. MJ found it and brought it."
"You got proof!" The young woman gasped. "That's great! We can go to Fury now, he'll believe us if we show him that thing! Mouse, send me the coordinates to Europol's headquarters in Berlin."
"On it."
"Woah, what was that?"
"My assistant," Cat opened the window, she pressed the side of her watch and the nanotech began to cover her S.H.I.E.L.D suit.
"Your assistant is a mouse?"
"It's called Mouse," she corrected. "Tony thought it'd be funny 'cause it matches my name. I don't think it's funny."
"I think it's nice we match."
"Your name?" MJ frowned.
"Copycat," Peter clarified. "That's her real name. Well, the official one, anyway."
"Why does your assistant sound like Dylan O'Brien?" Ned asked in awe.
"I had a crush on him and Tony thought it'd be funny to use his voice," Cat let out a short, silly laugh. "It's kinda funny."
"We gotta go," Peter reached her side, he put one foot on the edge of the window.
"Wait, wait, wait," MJ grabbed something from the bed. "The projector. You're gonna need this."
"Mouse scan that thing over."
"On it."
"Don't tell anyone about this, okay?" Peter put the projector away as soon as her A.I. finished. "Anyone who knows is in danger."
"Hey wait— one last question," MJ looked at her. "Are those your real eyes?"
She smiled, but the girl couldn't see it. "If I want them to be."
The boy jumped out, Cat went stealth and flew right after him.
"Do you realize," she spoke through the coms, "this is once again Tony's fault and yours... and as usual I'm the one that's gotta help you fix it?"
"C'mon, Copy, you can lecture me later..."
"I won't lecture you. I'm always too happy about making it out alive to yell at you properly."
"That's true," he laughed a little. "I'd missed you, Cat. We're a good team."
"Any team that has me it's always good."
She secretly seconded his statement, though.