Cat got up, her entire body felt like she'd been carrying thousands of rocks on her back, it was stiff and cold. "Did it work?" She coughed.
"Looks like it..." Peter was studying their surroundings, but he made no attempt to get up and investigate properly.
"Did Edith come along? We need her!"
"She could've fallen somewhere around us... but I can't see..."
That's when Cat realized it was pitch-black, the only reason why she was able to see him was thanks to her mutated eyesight. "EDITH!" She yelled out.
A light ignited several feet ahead of Peter, the A.I.'s voice was like music to her ears.
"Hello, C.C."
"Holy shit!" Peter jumped when he saw Cat's eyes in the dim light, the greenish reflection coming from them was unnerving. "You've always been able to do that?"
"Do what?"
"The Gollum eyes," he said with a weird voice.
She was amused by his comment, but also a little insulted. "You never noticed 'cause I wear goggles at night, precisely so I can protect them from bright stuff," then she added in a quiet voice, "Peter thought it was cool, not ugly."
"I never said it was ugly," he was quick to correct. "It caught me off guard, that's all. But it's lucky, I didn't bring a flashlight or my phone, and we need to see where we're walking to get out."
"Grab Edith," she requested in a cold voice. "I'll get us out."
The mention of his seemingly perfect variant made Parker desperate to get back to her good graces, but he was only making things worse. "You can teleport, though..."
"I know," she struggled to ignore her increasing heartbeat. She couldn't wait to see her friends again. "Get up, let's hope Mouse is in good hands..."
***
E.D.I.T.H. was able to track M.O.U.S.E. and Cat was delighted to find out he was in the city. The place where he was, though, she didn't identify it.
"Maybe it's Kate's apartment?" Parker suggested.
"She said she'd move out," her eyes darkened. Maybe Kate had decided to stay in case she came back, Cat didn't want that. "We should be careful."
***
Breaking into the apartment was easier than they thought it'd be. The window had been left unlocked. Parker walked into the building like a normal person, she'd forbid him from using his powers in this universe.
"So... is this Kate's apartment?"
"No," she couldn't hide the smile that formed on her face. "This place screams Peter Parker."
The young man looked around hesitantly. "It does..?"
"Oh, you wouldn't know," she brushed it aside. "It's like trying to hear your own voice. But look," she pointed at the picture on the nightstand. "That's us."
Parker grabbed the photograph and stared at it with a strange look in his eyes.
"My first birthday party," she told him. "That's my old dream team."
"Yeah, I remember them," he looked at her.
Cat beamed, it was nice being able to remember her youth. "Look at how young we look! Man, that was a good night. I had my first kiss at that party."
Parker was saved from having to hear how happy she'd been with his variant when the front door opened. Peter walked into the apartment with his head down, he was fixing his camera, swearing under his breath. He closed the door with a kick, and Cat shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She hadn't made any noise, but the young hero froze at the movement.
Peter's head snapped up and his eyes widened. "C.C?!"
Her smile grew. "Webs!"
"Holy shit!" He forgot about his camera and rushed to her, he hugged her tight. "You're alive!"
The young man lifted her off the ground and squeezed her as close as he could. Cat laughed and returned the gesture, she was also half-crying. When he put her down, he handed her the camera and cupped her face, examining the scars that were left where the inhibitor used to be.
"'M—phine!" She tried to speak with his hands still pressing her face.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" He exclaimed in shock. "You just vanished— and I just, I didn't—"
"You didn't know if I'd died," she moved his hands away from her.
"Yeah," his gaze softened. "I thought I'd never see you again."
She gave him a little sad smile. "I know how that feels."
Peter realized what she meant and understanding washed over him, he couldn't imagine going through five years of not knowing without going a little crazy, no wonder she'd changed after the blip!
"Where have you been? You have no idea—"
"Yes! Exactly!" She squeezed his wrists, giving him a look. "I need to know what happened after I disappeared."
"Sure! One question, though," he pointed at the ceiling, Parker had jumped as soon as he heard Peter walking into the home. "Is Peter three up there, or have I gone completely crazy?"
Parker spoke from above them. "Hi Pete, I'm not a hallucination."
She scowled. "He wants to ask you for a favor, but if I can give my opinion, it'd be best to send him back empty-handed."
Peter looked up at the older version of himself with confusion. "You okay, man?"
Parker jumped off the ceiling and landed next to her. "Cat can't go back to her apartment, and you two don't fit in here."
Peter looked at her with a guilty expression. "That's right— we need to talk, C..."
"I can sleep on the couch," she offered quickly.
"The couch's not even large enough to fit the two of you in a sitting position," Parker pointed out.
"I don't sleep much anyway," she gave Parker a harsh look. "Let's share the bed, Pete, it wouldn't be the first time—"
"Pete's girlfriend—"
"Peter doesn't have a girlfriend. MJ forgot about him, remember?"
"Having you in here will only distract him!" He seemed to be talking from experience. "No, you need to find another place."
Peter interrupted their argument. "He's got a point, C. If Kraven tracks me down, he'll find the both of us— it's better if we're not in the same place."
Cat's shoulders fell. "So you haven't found him?"
"It's not that we haven't found him," Peter grimaced. "We're hiding from him."
She felt terrible, it was all her fault. "Tell me where are the others."
"Well, after I failed to stop you, you know, like every Tuesday," he taunted her, "Kate took Nightcrawler to Harley's place and they did their best, we assumed you were alive cause I saw when Parker saved you from getting hit by a truck, but you went missing after that..."
Peter told them E.D.I.T.H. could not be found either, and when they checked the traffic cameras they saw a weird detonation had taken place, but people didn't know what had caused it, and he wouldn't have known either if he hadn't seen that same thing happening years back when Strange's spell had malfunctioned.
"Edith's tracker died when you left, so we lost track of Russo and Kraven," he sighed. "Kate had to leave the city that night, she's hiding with Yelena in L.A. and they report back to me every week."
"Kurt?" Cat held her breath. "He's..?"
"Rocket picked him up two days after that," Peter looked out the window and pointed at the sky. "He's safe."
She held his hand. "He's okay?"
Peter smiled at her a little, his gaze bright and adoring. "You saved his life, C."
"It was my fault in the first place," her eyes darkened, "Where are Billy and Kraven?"
"Hang on, so Kurt and Kate are fine," Parker interrupted their talk. "What about you and her friend Keener?"
"Kraven doesn't know my identity, so I'm safe as long as I'm careful," Peter shrugged. "I take Mouse with me every night during patrol and get its fleas to follow me around to make sure I'm not being observed."
"And Harley?"
"Well, he has a whole trope of bodyguards watching his every move," he explained briefly. "I don't think he's in danger as long as you stay out of Kraven and Billy's sight."
"If they gave up on finding me, that means they moved on to their next target, and I don't like that," she said in alarm. "'Cause, the next thing was a secret lab full of mutants."
"You mean one that's real?" He frowned, "not another trap to try and lure you in?"
"What are you guys talking about?" Parker inquired, she hadn't mentioned that part of the whole story.
"While I was working for Stark industries I got intel that someone was hunting down mutants, but instead of going and investigating myself, I sent other heroes. They didn't think I'd do that. When Bucky told me Kraven had something to do with the lab I knew it'd been a trap—"
"Kraven was planning to corner her in that place like she'd cornered his brother," Peter added. "But she was smarter than them."
"I wasn't," she made a face, "I knew someone was following me and I still showed them Kate, and they'd already gotten Kurt by the time they went to get me— I only pushed back his plans a couple of hours, but they got me—"
"You got away in the end, again," Peter insisted. "And you took the only mutant they'd caught apart from you—"
"But if they got new ones already—"
"They don't."
"How do you know?"
"I told you, Kate and Yelena keep me posted."
"And how do they know?"
"Yelena's questionable friendships."
"Okay, then what's their plan?" She scowled.
"Well, it's only been a month, C," he raised a brow, "I don't think they'd given up, maybe they're waiting for you to show up at their doorstep, that's what you always do," he put one hand on her shoulder, "but they're one step ahead, and you have no suit and no weapons. It wouldn't be wise to go after them alone."
Parker got to his feet. "Okay, so what do we do?"
"We, are doing nothing," she pointed a finger at him. "You're going home."
"Jane—"
"She's right," Peter said. "Your world needs you. It's got no heroes apart from you, right?"
"No," he said, giving her a reproachful look. "Could use a bit of help, from time to time."
Cat avoided his eyes. "I need a place to stay, Peter."
"We could call—"
"We're not calling Harley," she was quick to reply. "Nor Happy."
"I wasn't going to say any of those," he frowned. "I don't have their numbers!"
Cat tilted her head. "You don't have Harley's number?"
"No!" He exclaimed. "Why would I?"
"You know Kurt—"
"I know Kurt cause he's a mutant but Harley is just a guy— not like I've had any opportunity to introduce myself—"
"Would you like that?" She inquired. "I could help you out, is he the CEO of Stark industries already, or—"
"You're sidetracking," Parker warned them.
"Sorry! It's just that Cat knows a lot of people and she thinks I know them too but..." Peter tilted his head. "Wait. Hang on a minute— I know one!"
"Really?" She questioned, having no clue. "Who?"
"Daredevil!"