Chapter Text
“Peter! I’m home!” You call out as you lock the door to your apartment and place your keys in the bowl by the door.
There is movement in the kitchen.
You were exhausted after the twelve hour shift in the emergency room but Rio was the doctor on duty with you and Aunt May brought you coffee when it was her shift so you could make it through.
“I’m going to pass out, wake me up when it’s dinner or breakfast or whatever food time it is.” You yawn as you kick off your shoes and make your way towards the shower. You take off your glasses and rub your eyes as you yawn once more.
You expect to hear some sort of quip from your husband but you don’t and that is enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
Peter often joked about how if your hair could, it would puff up like the cat you named yourself after; how you had a cat sense the way he had a spidersense.
You keep walking to your bedroom.
If you can get to the bedroom, you can get the metal bat.
You’re out of the Black Cat kevlar and if it’s just a burglar, you don’t want to risk an identity leak. It would be catastrophic for Peter if that were to happen.
Through the living room…
More than if the world found out he was Spider-Man.
Past the hall closet…
The footsteps followed you but you maintained a steady course.
Almost there…
Your sense of danger, the coldness that creeps down your spine, you spin around just as your nails elongate just long enough to be sharp but not fully released.
The Green Goblin is before you and he merely cackles as catches your wrist and held up a pumpkin bomb in your face.
Everything went white and all you could hear before it went black was the ringing in your ear.
You wake up to the sound of traffic and the cold wind tearing through your scrubs.
You blink the stars and flashing lights out of your eyes as you try to regain your bearings.
“Qu-Queensboro Bridge.” Your palms started to sweat as you looked down at the traffic underneath you.
As accustomed as you are to soaring through New York with Peter as Spider-Man and Black Cat, you don’t want to be this high up when you have neither your grappling gun or your kevlar and leather suit or your husband to catch you.
You heard the cackling and the shrieking of the hoverboard before you ducked, one of the Goblin’s batarangs (okay so they weren’t your father’s but they were a knock off) ricocheted off the supports where your head was.
“The itsy-bitsy spider went up the water spout. Down came the Goblin and took the spider out.” Green Goblin let a missile fire from his hoverboard and blew up part of the Queensboro Bridge, causing multiple car accidents and the cable car to snap.
You feel your heart clench as you see there are children on board the car and hear their screams.
“NO!” You can’t jump, you don’t have your grappling gun nor do you have rope or anything else to hold on to.
The cable car falls a few feet before Goblin snatches the cable up and holds it, and the civilians in the car, hostage.
Goblin holds the cable in one hand as he stalks towards you.
“You son of a bitch!” You hiss at him.
You can’t fight him.
If you engage, he’ll drop the kids.
“Such words from a lady.” Goblin tuts, backing you closer and closer to the edge.
“I am no lady.” Your mind is running a thousand miles per hour, calculating how you can stall this, how long Peter can make it here so Spider-Man can save the day, without antagonizing the Goblin into dropping the children.
“I just want to do a little pest control.” Goblin cackles.
Your heel finds the edge of the bridge.
“I find mosquitoes to be a pain in the ass.” You quickly glance down to the children crying before coming back to the grinning face of the Goblin.
“Spiders, Missus Parker. I want to kill a Spider.” Goblin reached for your throat.
You could feel the anticipation, could feel time slow down as if a coin had been tossed into the air.
Heads: you fight the Green Goblin and out yourself as a mutant superhero with none of your tools to help you fight or fly. The children’s deaths are on your head. You fall from grace. The peace you painstakingly carved after the anguish of your childhood shatters. Peter, your family, your life that you fought and clawed for is destroyed in the aftermath.
Tails: you play the damsel in distress and Spider-Man shows up to save the day, both of your secret identities are protected. The children are saved. The Goblin is defeated once again.
You call it just as time speeds up and the Green Goblin has you dangling in his iron grasp, your feet over the bridge, your hands grasping into the Goblin’s desperately gasping for breath as he holds you over oblivion.
You hear the thwip of Peter’s webs and you find yourself relieved that he’s here.
It’s going to be okay.
Peter came.
It’s going to be alright.
“Spider-Man!” Green Goblin roars. “This is why only fools are heroes because you never know when some lunatic will come along with a sadistic choice: let die this innocent woman who’s only fault was being your nurse…” You could feel Goblin loosen his grip and then tighten once more. “Or suffer the little children.”
You whimper, not because Green Goblin would drop you, but because you would never forgive Peter if he were to save you over the children just as he would never forgive himself if he saved the children over you.
He had already taken on the death of Ben, he would break into something he wasn’t if you were gone.
Your eyes, sight fading on the edges as lack of air starts to get to you, find the whites of his mask and you try to convey everything in a single look.
“D-don’t-” you gasp out.
You can hear the children call out to your husband to save them.
“Make your choice, Spider-Man. See how a hero is rewarded.” Green Goblin mocked.
You could feel the anticipation…
“Don’t do it Goblin!” Spider-Man, Peter, yelled at the Goblin.
Heads: Peter saves the children and loses you.
“We are who we choose to be.”
Tails: Peter saves you and loses the children.
“Now choose!” Green Goblin opened his fists and let go.
You make a call.
“No!” You hear your husband scream.
The odds of landing heads or tails in a coin toss is fifty-fifty; a fair coin has no bias and both sides have equal chance of landing face up.
You are weightless as you fall.
You don’t scream.
You gasp and cough for breath as you flail.
You see Peter running towards you and leap.
No! No! Peter! Don’t! You want to scream but your throat hurts from being squeezed and held twice in less than two hours.
Peter thwips his webs towards you and pulls you once he has you; he’s holding you tightly as he swings back towards the cable car.
“Hold on to me, Kitty Cat.” He whispers in your ear.
You wrap your legs around his waist so he can have both arms free.
And sometimes…
Peter grabs the cable-
… in a one and six thousand toss…
-Peter webbed the bridge-
… a coin can land on its edge.
-Peter did it.
“I got you! I got you!” Peter calls out to the children below. “Just stay still!”
You look up at the bridge.
Dozens of civilians are watching in awe and horror as Spider-Man holds you and the children.
Dozens of civilians with their phones out recording the scene.
But your eyes do not stay on the cameras.
No.
Your eyes fall on the webs connecting to the bridge.
You see some of the webbing start to fray and hear the children whimper.
You hear the scream of the Goblin’s hoverboard as he starts to make rounds.
“Spidey,” you warn but it’s moot; Peter knows Goblin is coming back, you know Peter knows Goblin is coming back but because you are in your scrubs and not your kevlar, you shouldn’t have the senses you have.
You are a civilian in this situation, not Black Cat.
As hard as it’s going to be, you will have to let Spider-Man fight alone.
“I need you to climb down.” Peter tells you, voice straining under the weight of all he’s carrying.
More of the webbing starts to snap and you all drop a few feet more.
You cannot help it as a shriek falls from your lips.
You cling to Peter; he is the love of your life, the light in the dark, your hope for humanity. If you are going to die tonight, you at least want the comfort of being held in his arms.
A fleeting, intrusive thought came into your mind: if you were to die tonight, would your father and his children come to your funeral?
“Kitty, you can do this.” Peter murmured before changing to his Spidey voice. “Hold on tight and go quickly.”
“I love you!” You whisper into his chest before you grab the cable.
If you die tonight by some psychotic gremlin, you at least want to tell Peter that one last time.
“I know.” Peter said as started to climb down.
It’s with sweaty palms and a body full of adrenaline as you climb down a foot, then another. Then another.
You can hear the Goblin come round once more.
You hear Peter yell at you to hurry.
You can hear the Goblin cackling as he prepares to sideswipe Spider-Man.
“Hang on!” Spider-Man yells just before the Goblin smacks into him.
Spider-Man and the cable are knocked around and it’s all you can do to hold on.
You scream out as you fight tooth and nail to hold onto the cable, your palms and fingers digging into the metal.
Growing up, you wanted to be just like your older brother. You did everything you could to be just like him. Your coach had told you that you qualified for the Olympics your sophomore year of high school.
Neither your father nor your brothers showed up to your tournaments.
Alfred was the one in the stands clapping for you as you flipped and spun and landed with the grace of a cat.
Alfred was the one to film each of your victories and to take your picture of your medals.
Alfred was the one to wipe the tears away once the spotlights were off you and you could break down and cry.
You had pushed yourself so hard for a family that didn’t see you, stretched yourself so thin to be noticed and they hadn’t cared.
They couldn’t be bothered to show up.
Your last thoughts, and that would not be tonight, would not be about the people you left behind.
You grunted as the cable stopped whipping back and forth only for the Goblin to once again return and this time, collide with Spider-Man, forcing him to let go of the cable and the webs.
You cry out, not because you’re now falling, but because the other half of your soul just got an uppercut to his chin and his head whipped back so fast you thought it would snap.
You hold on tight to the cable as you fall.
You trust Peter with your life.
You know he will catch the cable.
You know he will save the children.
And he does catch the cable once more.
The Green Goblin and Spider-Man whipping the cable car back and forth is not enough to get you to let go but the sudden stop of the fall is. Through no fault of anyone but the Goblin and inertia, your grip is loose and you cry out as you fall.
Wind whips through your hair as you fall.
The car is getting closer and closer and you reach out; you land and feel pain in your ribs and shoulder as you roll over the side but you are holding onto the car for dear life.
You can see the children in the car and the two adults with them; it must be a school trip or a birthday party.
There is a little three year old crying.
“It’s okay.” Your voice shakes as you try to calm their tears. “Spider-Man is going to save us.”
“Promise?” A six year old asks.
“Pinky promise.” You say, holding onto the car roof with both hands.
You look up and you see Green Goblin once again fly towards Peter.
A small smile forms on your lips as you see the New Yorkers on the bridge throw things towards the Goblin.
The New Yorkers, the people you and Peter swore to protect, now it’s their turn to protect you.
Their distraction allowed Spider-Man to set the cable car on the barge below.
You stand on shaking legs as you assess the children for injuries, your breath hitching as your chest radiates in pain as your muscles spasm.
“I told you Spider-Man will save us.” You smile to reassure the children.
You feel the anticipation and another metaphorical coin flip. You don't know the outcomes of either heads or tails this time. When coin lands, you cannot help but feel dread as the ringing in your ears fade.
This would surely be on the news...
The odds of your family noticing you now, after all this time, are low but not impossible.
You just hope that the people you left behind are creatures of habit and don't pay attention to you.
Gotham, the following day…
Bruce Wayne has the news on as background noise in the cave when he hears your name and he nearly chokes on his coffee.