🔹Peter POV🔹

Perching on the edge of a tall building, I watch for any signs of trouble. My Spidey sense had been throbbing dully the moment I crawled out my window, and I doubt it was because Aunt May had told me not to go out on a Sunday evening. The city is as serene as a regular New York night — taxis carrying drunks home from bars, people hurrying home from work, thugs patrolling the streets — everything is normal.

"Mr. Parker, I'm detecting movement in the alley to your left." Karen's voice echoes in my earpiece.

"Okay, do a quick scan please, Karen."

"You don't have to say please, Mr. Parker."

"You don't have to say Mr. Parker," I shoot back. "Call me Peter."

Karen chuckles — can AIs chuckle? — and scans the alley. "There's one heat signature. X-ray shows it's a human. Identification is unknown."

"Threat level?"

"...high. They seem to be producing a lot of heat around them. Perhaps they are an Enhanced?"

"Let's find out." I jump from my perch and swing down into the alley, dropping down in front of the person.

The figure in front of me glances up at me sharply, her eyes flashing. "Oh. It's the Spider-Boy." Her voice sounds familiar, but I can't quite place it.

"Oh come on! I'm Spider-Man, not Spider-Boy!" I wail. "Why can't people ever get it right?"

"Perhaps it is because your voice cracks every five words." The girl smirks.

I bite back a retort and take a moment to look her up and down. "Woah."

The girl has a black mask covering most of her face, and dark brown hair hangs past her shoulders. She's wearing a black leather bodysuit that is lined with dark stones that shimmer like fire. Her suit hugs her body, accentuating her figure. She reminds me of a killer biker lady that gave me an ice cream cone when I got her bike back for her. She arches her brow at me. "Like what you see, Spider-Boy?"

"U-Uh n-no," I stutter.

"Peter, you are lying. Your heart rate increased and your pupils dilated," Karen states, matter-of-factly. "You find her attractive."

The girls lips pinches together as she frowns. Her hand glows a warm orange.

"Karen, what-"

"It appears you insulted her."

"Uh, sorry. You're hot." I blurt out, not wanting to start a fight. Aunt May would kill me.

"Oh?" The girl laughs, her hands both glowing orange. "How ironic that you say that."

"W-Why is that?" My Spidey sense throbs stronger.

"Because I like to play with fire." Yellow and orange flames flicker to life in her hands, illuminating her face. Her brown eyes sparkle in the firelight, their warmth catching me slightly off guard.

"Should I activate Enhanced Combat Mode?"

"No, Karen!" I take a step back, repositioning myself in case the girl attacks. "Who are you?"

"To some, I am a destructive fire from hell that sets their lives ablaze and turns them into ash."

"And to others?"

"A comforting flame that flickers softly and brings light to the darkness."

I ponder what she said. "And which of the two will you be to me?"

She smiles. "I'll let you decide. My name is Wildfire. Want to be partners, Spider-Boy?" She extinguishes her flames and holds her hand out for me to shake.

"Uh, sure?" I hesitantly shake her partially gloved hand. It's warm to the touch, contrasting greatly with the chilly December air. Even with my heating system, the suit doesn't keep all the cold out. "Fire Chick."

She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest. "Slight problem, Spider-Boy. I'm new around here and have no idea who's on what side. Care to fill me in?"

"Peter, I'm picking up reports of a robbery in progress at the Apple Bank. If we go now, we can stop the thieves." Karen plays a video from the security cameras, showing thieves sneaking into the building

"That'll have to wait, Fire Chick. Someone's robbing the bank."

"Which bank?" Wildfire tilts her head in confusion.

"Apple Bank." I wait for her to respond, but she simply stares at me in confusion. "You don't know where Apple Bank is?"

"I told you I'm new here."

I sigh. "Just follow me. Wait, can you fly or anything? I swing from buildings, so can you even keep up?"

"Dunno." Wildfire's feet begin to glow and she floats up into the air. "I guess we'll see."

"Right. Let's go." I shoot a web towards the corner of the building and swing around the edge, momentum carrying me out over the street. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Wildfire soar up over the buildings, her eyes following my every move. It's a bit nerve wracking, knowing that a total stranger is studying you and picking you apart with their eyes. Especially when they're hot.

"Your heart rate is spiking Peter. Being around this girl seems to be affecting your health."

"Come on, Karen," I sigh. "Can you run a check on her? She said her name is Wildfire."

"Of course." Karen searches while I swing from building to building, occasionally flashing a picture or newspaper clipping in my peripheral vision. "There's multiple reported sightings of her in the United States. Her first appearance was in Chicago a few months ago. She saved a family from a burning house but supposedly made the flames hotter. The fire department hates her."

I can't help but chuckle at that. "So, Fire Chick is a bit of a pyro. Great. How ironic."

"Her powers are pyrokinesis and extreme temperature toleration. She got dumped in a freezer by some robbers and was apparently unaffected by the subzero temperatures. She fights with mixed martial art styles, it's quite random and spontaneous. She's has some superhuman strength. She's a little weaker than you, Peter."

"Pyrokinesis? So she controls and manipulates fire."

"It would appear that way. Her origins and identity are unknown; but based on my calculations, she's from Chicago and is in her teens or early twenties."

"Sweet. Thanks, Karen." I leap from the last building and land in a crouch in front of the Apple Bank.

Wildfire lands behind me, silent as a cat. "What's the plan?"

I shrug. "Stop the bad guys. Save New York. The usual." I push open the doors and stroll into the bank. Four guys are huddling near the vault, their backs turned to me. "Hey! What's up, guys?"

The men swivel and train their guns on me, cursing loudly. The first two start shooting, but I dodge the bullets with ease. They curse even more when Wildfire walks in.

"Wow, you guys kiss your mom with that mouth? We need to fix that." I take aim and shoot webs at them, covering their mouths with the sticky fluid. "There, that's better."

They drop their guns and claw at the webbing on their mouths. The other two start spraying the wall behind us with bullets as we jump out of there way.

A stray bullet clips my arm and I bite a curse back. Aunt May is going to kill me.

Instead of taking cover like me, Wildfire heads straight towards the bad guys, the bullets falling to the ground in puddles at her feet. Her hands glow as she grabs the first man's gun, melting the barrel into a puddle. The man visibly gulps as she holds up her flaming hand, the flames casting shadows on her face. A wild look gleams in her eyes as she deftly knocks the guy out with a single punch. His partner drops his guns and makes a run for the door, but I stop him with a web to the feet.

A fifth man rushes Wildfire from the vault, knocking her to the ground and slicing her suit with a knife. She shoves him off, but not before he shreds the midsection of her suit. Surprisingly enough, the knife barely scratches her skin, leaving a very thin trail of blood droplets in its place. The man flies back, smacking into the wall and sliding down to the floor, out cold.

I climb out from my spot behind a desk and make sure the guys are all tied up for the police. I glance over at Wildfire. "You good?"

"Yeah," she sighs in disdain as she examines her suit. "But this was my last good suit!"

"I could hook you up with Tony Stark if you need a new suit."

Wildfire's eyes light up in excitement — literally. They glow a warm orange now. "Really? Sweet!"

"He made me this suit, so he should be able to make one for you."

"So, do I need a number? Or an address?"

"I'll let him know. He will contact you." I leave my usual note for the police above the robbers — "Merry Christmas from Spidey" — and start to leave. "Come on, our work here is done. We can talk after we get churros."

Wildfire follows me outside and down the block to a little store that is still open. I buy two churros, giving one to her, and then scale the building to sit up on the roof. She joins me, carefully sitting next to me on the ledge.

"So, you're new in town?" I ask, biting into my churro.

"Yeah." She bites into her churro, the crumbs dotting her mouth. "This is really good."

"Are you from Chicago?"

Her face immediately hardens and her hand glows dangerously orange. "Why?"

"Karen did a background check and said you were from Chicago."

She relaxes slightly. Her head tilts in confusion again. "Oh. Who's Karen?"

"Oh, she's my suit's AI."

"You have an AI? In your suit?"

"Uh, yeah? Is that weird?"

"Kinda." She takes another bite of her churro. "So, Tony Stark. Can you get me a meeting with him?"

"I'm sure he will come to you. And I wouldn't worry about getting turned down, he's pretty nice."

Wildfire snorts. "Nice isn't how I would describe a billionaire playboy, but whatever. How will he know where to find me?"

I shrug. "He might figure out who you are and will just show up on your doorstep with a suit."

"Did he figure out you're identity?" Her eyes burn into mine.

I gulp nervously. "Y-Yeah."

"So, who are you?" She leans closer, her eyes glowing softly.

"I-I can't tell you," I stutter out, leaning away from her.

"Of course you can. Your secret is safe with me." She leans even closer, practically on top of me now.

"Then why don't you tell me your name? Your secret is safe with me." I shoot back, leaning towards her.

She jumps back, startled. I guess she hadn't expected me to try the same thing. She recovers quickly, a smirk turning the corners of her lips up. "I guess we shall both remain nameless, Spider-Boy."

"Fire Chick." I take another bite of my churro, which had cooled during our banter.

"Peter, your heart rate is very high," Karen teases.

"Shut up, Karen."

"What did Karen say? Am I making you nervous, Spider-Boy?" Wildfire teases, her eyes glowing softly again.

"Karen said nothing important. She just said you're a terrible flirt."

Wildfire frowns. "But you still think I'm hot."

"Well, you know, you're kinda a pyro. So yeah, of course you're hot."

She rolls her eyes and finishes her churro. "So, you do any patrols or do you just sit around and make Karen do all the work?"

"I do patrols."

"I do all the work, Peter," Karen says into my ear and shocks me through the suit. I let out a yelp.

"That's what I thought. Karen does all the work. Poor under appreciated Karen." Wildfire chuckles and strokes my shoulder as if consoling Karen. She jumps to her feet, a grin on her face. "Well, unlike you, I do patrols. Care to show me around?"

"I guess you don't leave me much choice, Fire Chick." I sigh and stand next to her. "How do you feel about checking out the local drug dealers?"

"Sounds wonderful."

And so we head into the night to find some drug dealers.