Author's note: Comment and enjoy.
******
Three weeks had passed since Gwen's first day at Aether Biotics, and a strange, rhythmic harmony had settled over her life. To most, Gwen Stacy was a model of overachieving youth: a top-tier student at Midtown High by day and the best laboratory assistant in Manhattan by evening or so Dr. Miller said.
Midtown High had become a place of quiet observation. While her classmates struggled with the complexities of organic chemistry or the nuances of American history, Gwen sat in the back of her classrooms, her pen moving with a steady, idle grace.
How can someone can be so ignorant about geography, Leo remarked one Tuesday morning as their teacher droned on about the event of sokovia. Why do they ask where it is or if it in america? Aren't Midtown supposed to be full of genius?
"No, Leo," Gwen thought, resting her chin on her hand. "If they were all geniuses, Flash and his goons wouldn't be there."
Valid argument, Leo conceded, his voice humming with a hint of dry amusement. I have already completed the worksheet he gaved for you. You just have to write the answer.
"You're a lifesaver," she whispered internally.
I know, he acknowledged.
By 3:30 PM, the school was over. At Aether Biotics, Gwen had become Dr. Miller's best assistant. She was the one who never spilled a reagent, never mislabeled a vial, and always had the PCR results ready before they were even requested. She didn't bother cataloging the machines anymore—Leo had pointed out that in five years, the hardware would be obsolete—but they spent their hours studying the flow of the lab. They learned how a billion-dollar facility breathed, how it managed its waste, and how it protected its secrets.
However, the "secrets" part was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. The industrial thefts across New York had escalated from simple hardware heists to targeted data breaches. Dr. Vane had responded by turning the restricted wings of the building into a technological fortress. Laser grids, thermal motion sensors, and biometric scanners now guarded the path to his private office and the main server room—areas Gwen, as a mere intern, had no business entering.
They rely so heavily on the visible spectrum and heat signatures, Leo noted as they walked past a reinforced security door. They believe that if they can see a threat, they can stop it. Quite cynical, really, considering how easily those sensors can be lied to.
******
One Thursday evening, the lab was bathed in the cool, blue glow of standby lights. Gwen had stayed late to monitor a delicate protein incubation that didn't finished on time and Dr. Miller didn't trust anyone else to handle. The building was nearly empty, the silence punctuated only by the distant hum of the ventilation system.
Gwen was adjusting the temperature on a centrifuge when Leo's presence suddenly spiked. He didn't just whisper; he felt like a tightening of her entire nervous system.
Gwen. Stop. Be still.
She froze, her hand hovering over the dial. "What is it?"
Someone. Behind the pillar near the East bay. It is not a security guard. Someone is hiding.
Gwen felt a rush of adrenaline, but Leo immediately dampened the surge, keeping her heart rate steady.
Do not look toward them. Walk calmly to the staff restrooms. Now.
Gwen did as she was told, her movements rhythmic and casual. Once inside the restroom, she locked the door and leaned against the sink. "Leo, if someone is out there, we can't just walk out. Vane's new sensors are everywhere in that hallway. The lasers, the thermals—if we move, we're caught."
I have been preparing for this, Gwen, Leo replied. Since we saw the new security upgrades, I have been iterating a new form of our external layer. I call it 'cloaking.'
"Invisibility?" Gwen whispered.
Nearly. I can manipulate the biomass to bend light around us, but more importantly, I can regulate my outer temperature to match the ambient air exactly. To their thermal sensors, we will be a ghost—no heat, no shape. But it requires full body coverage. Are you ready?
"Let's do it."
The biomass surged. It didn't just form clothes; it flowed over her face, her eyes, and her hair, creating a sleek, secondary skin. For a moment, Gwen felt a strange sensation of being "unplugged" from the world, and then her vision shifted. She could see perfectly, but when she looked in the mirror, there was nothing. No reflection. Just the empty restroom. Well if you look close enough there some distortion but nothing if you don't actively search for it.
Done , Leo said, his voice now sounding as if it were coming from every direction. Stay close to the walls. Your footsteps will be muffled by the soles I've designed. Let's see who else is working late. But know that someone with sense sharp enough you can be spotted.
******
Stepping back into the hallway was surreal. Gwen watched a security guard walk right past her, his eyes passing the space she occupied. She felt like a phantom.
Guided by Leo's heightened senses, they ghosted toward Dr. Vane's private office. The restricted door was already ajar—a silent alarm for anyone who knew the protocols. Gwen slipped inside, her heart thumping in her chest despite Leo's attempts to calm it.
At Vane's primary terminal, a figure was silhouetted against the glow of the monitor. It wasn't a bulky mercenary or a corporate spy. It was a woman, dressed in a sleek, charcoal-black suit with white fur trim at the collar and wrists. Her hair was a striking, silvery white, cascading down her back as she worked the keyboard with lightning speed.
She wasn't stealing a microscope. She was stealing Vane's personal drive.
She is highly skilled, Leo whispered. Her heartbeat is remarkably slow for someone committing a felony.
Gwen moved an inch closer, a floorboard creaking almost imperceptibly under her weight.
The woman froze. She didn't turn around immediately. Instead, she tilted her head, a playful smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.
"You know, I usually have better luck when I'm alone," the woman said, her voice a sultry, confident purr. She looked directly toward where Gwen stood, though her eyes couldn't possibly track the invisible girl. "But I feel a draft. And the air in here just got very... cold."
Gwen held her breath. How could she know?
"Don't be shy," the woman continued, finally turning around. She wore a mask that highlighted her piercing eyes.
She has an acute and uncanny intuition, Leo warned. She cannot see us, but she knows there someone. Engage or retreat?
"Who are you?" Gwen asked, her voice distorted by the biomass mask to sound deeper, more androgynous.
The woman laughed, a light, melodic sound. "A girl's got to have some mysteries. But since you asked so nicely... you can call me the Black Cat. And you? You're a very interesting shadow."
"You're stealing from the wrong people," Gwen said, stepping forward.
"Oh, I think Vane has plenty to spare," Black Cat replied. She tapped a final key on the terminal, and a 'Transfer Complete' message flashed on the screen. "And honestly, the data he's hiding on this drive? It's far too interesting for one man to keep."
Gwen lunged, she moved like a blur. But Black Cat somehow predicted it? Sensed it? She didn't fight like a brawler; she moved like liquid, twisting out of Gwen's grasp with a backflip that defied gravity.
"Ooh, fast!" the Cat teased, pulling a small sphere from her belt. "But I have a date I can't be late for."
She slammed the sphere onto the floor. A cloud of thick, violet smoke erupted, filled with micro-filaments designed to clog sensors. Gwen felt Leo instantly filter her air, but the visual distraction was enough.
Gwen dived through the smoke that atached itself to the biomass, her invisible fist grazing the Cat's shoulder. She felt the impact—the woman was solid, well-trained, and incredibly agile. They traded a flurry of blows: a kick blocked by Gwen's forearm, a strike from Gwen that the Cat parried with a silver-tipped claw.
"You're not a guard," Black Cat noted, her voice coming from the ceiling. She had hooked a line to a vent and was pulling herself up. "You're something new. I like that. We should do this again when I'm not on the clock."
"Stay where you are!" Gwen shouted, leaping toward the vent.
"Catch me if you can, Shadow-Girl!"
With a wink and a feline salute, Black Cat disappeared into the ventilation shaft. Gwen landed on the desk, the violet smoke clearing. The room was silent once more.
******
Leo dropped the cloak as the building's internal alarms finally began to wail. Gwen stood in the staff room, her white blouse and dark slacks reappearing as if they had never left.
"She's gone," Gwen panted, her heart racing. "Leo, she only took data. Why? There are prototypes in the next room worth millions."
I do not know, Gwen, Leo replied, his tone thoughtful and dark. But the data she targeted was stored on a disconnected partition. Vane was hiding it even from his own company. Whatever the 'Black Cat' just stole, it wasn't a patent or a formula. It was something more personal.
"We need to know what was on that computer," Gwen said.
Agreed, Leo hummed. But not tonight. The guards are going crazy. We must return to the lab and be the 'startled intern.'
As Gwen ran back toward her station, she felt a lingering sense of exhilaration. She had met someone who played the game as well as she did.
She called you 'Shadow-Girl,' Leo noted as they reached the lab. I find I quite like the title. Though 'Partner' is still my preference.
Gwen smiled, her breath catching as the first security guard burst through the door. "Me too, Leo. Me too."