TROUBLE !
i. cats always land on their feet

THE SENSATION OF ENDLESS malfunctions spiralling through her limbs in a multicoloured ray of perplexing sensitivity had been one of the most abnormal experiences in the fourteen years Felicity Amber had been alive. One moment, she and her blonde companion Gwen Stacey were on the verge of having their heads caved in by the second villain of the week, before a swirling oval of chromatic coils suddenly materialised behind them, engulfing them both in before they had a chance to prevent it.

The sequence after had left her swirling with nausea as the suit encasing her skin itched at her burning flesh, a frightening warmth flooding through her veins, like a tsunami of constant heat. Wether or not a scream had rippled past her throat, she didn't know. At intense speeds her body had been sent barrelling through a tunnel of infinite dimensions, sending shockwaves of uncertain adrenaline through her as her body descended into the nothingness of vibrance and colour.

The cosmos of endlessness around the two girls expanded into realms of limitless destinations before a smaller tunnel born of teal and lilac forced them inside. A blazing sheet of illuminated white blindfolded their sights, burning the illusion of emptiness through their vision as they plummeted downwards into a web of electric blue, separating the two as it spat them out into the blacked out city of Brooklyn. The sky, which had been coated with stars dazzling amongst the darkness of night, had rewinded into a cycle of amber and blue, grey and black; the rewind of time to one week prior.

a frantic yelp slipped from Felicity's throat as she landed upon the pavement of a Brooklyn sidewalk. Strings of curses echoed through her lips as her chest heaved, overwhelmed by the flurry of expression in her journey there. She was in New York City—Brooklyn to be exact. But not her Brooklyn. The streets here were cold and scattered with scheming mice amongst the dusty floors of the desolate city, not like the normal busyness of her and Gwen's New York.

At the remembrance of her gifted best friend, she turned to glance over her shoulder in expectancy. However, no sign of the white and black suited heroine appeared nearby. She was simply alone in a place she couldn't understand. "Gwen?" She called out in curiosity, though no response followed. An exasperated sigh dripped from her lips as she pushed herself to stand to up straighter, gazing around at her surroundings as she did so.

Where the short-haired blonde had somehow been transported to, Felicity wasn't able to identify her whereabouts as her feet tapped against the concrete pavements. Dressed in her familiar skin-tight black suit that adorned her skin, partnered with the diamond-shaped mask disguising her eyes, Felicity Amber stood out like a diamond flushed in coal. Around her waist, the weight of her grappling hook rested securely on her diamond-crested belt. Glancing around once more to examine if anybody was nearby, the girl unsecured the grappling hook before aiming up towards the top of a nearby building in hopes of getting a better view of her surroundings.

Within seconds she was pushing herself over the ledge of the roof's wall before turning to gaze down at the row of buildings and streets within her eye-line. Few people strolled down the streets, idle as their eyes remained locked motionlessly on their phone's in their hands, allowing a blue hue to paint their features, completely oblivious to the mask vigilante's lingering gaze as they left her sight. A scowl threatened to paint her lips as she continued to remain sightless of her friend. Surely Gwen had been there when they were banished into the void of endlessness. Hell, it had been the fifteen year old who had attempted to prevent them from vanishing. Yet she was nowhere to be seen.

Only when her gaze locked onto a glimmer in the distance did her mood change. Through a darkened store window, a large twinkle reflected off of the glow of moonlight glistening through, attracting her attention as she tilted her head in curiosity. Staring back at her, a large necklace made of expensive, elegant rhinestones taunted her as it rested in the safety of  the 'Delicate Jewelers' store. It's notable shine gleamed, the only rival to it's magnificent design being the crescent moon radiating waves of silky moonlight.

Sinking her teeth into her bottom lip, Felicity narrowed her gaze as she attempted to will herself away from the gem; a battle she was sure to fail. If Gwen was there, no doubt would she reprimand the girl with a shake of her head before dragging her away whilst stating, 'that's not what hero's do, Felice!" But Felicity Amber was far from a hero. And besides, what Gwen didn't know couldn't hurt her, right?

She hummed breathily, her hands flexing to reveal steel talons at the ends of her gloves, creating the illusion of claws at the end of her fingertips. An instalment she herself had made on the suit—retractable claws that allowed her to ascend up and down walls with minimal struggle. The claws were specifically designed from steel, durable and sturdy. Pushing herself over the ledge of the building, the talon-like claws buried into the sides of the walls, allowing her to slip down quickly and land amongst the field of shadows avoiding the dim street lights.

Like a magnetic field drawing her in, Felicity camouflaged herself amongst the darkness of the evening in attempt to get closer to the jewellery store. Once closer, she snuck a hairpin from the back of her silver ponytail, slipping it between her fingers before twisting it into the thick, metal lock that remained latched on the store's front entrance. a loud click! resounded from the lock as it unhooked itself limply, allowing her the liberty of sneaking inside.

To her satisfaction, rows of dazzling jewels and gems decorated the interior in an alluring arrangement. When the newly familiar glint of the rhinestone necklace that rested upon the neck of a mannequin, which has only the bodice and lower neck, a pearly grin fought at her lips as she approached cautiously. Lightly her hand traced over the pendant, sighing in familiarity at the cold temperature of the untouched jewels before reaching to unclasp the necklace. Carefully she lowered the item into the small pouch attached to her the side of her belt, feeling the small weight begin to increase as her eyes gleamed at the row of nearby rings, utterly mesmerised by the sight before her.

It hadn't taken much longer before her small pouch was over spilling with rivers and vines of gleaming gems intwined with chains of silver and gold. Before making her brisk escape from the heist, she made sure to detach the security camera above. It wasn't as though anybody would be able to tell who she was, not whilst she was in her suit, but she'd rather cause an uproar of chaos after finding out where she was. Disposing of the camera on her way out of the building, she turned to slip back into the night and carry on her search for Gwen until a youthful voice called out to her.

"Um... you know that's called stealing, right?" Felicity paused, having had the curtesy of closing the door of the store, her hand remained over the handle as her head whipped to look at whoever had spoken. To her astonishment, a young boy, who couldn't have been any younger herself, stood watching her with raised eyebrows.

His irises swam with rich golden brown, twinkling with curiosity under the glow of the nearby lamppost. His lips remained tugged into an inquisitive line, matching smoothly with the tender radiance of his brown skin. Adorning his upper body sat an oversized red sweater layered under a smaller castleton green jacket that hugged him warmly. He continued to watch her in anticipation, his head slightly tilted as he noticed the emerald green eyes glistening back into his own.

"Where the hell did you just come from?" She questioned with furrowed eyebrows, leaning backwards and away from the strange boy before her, who continued to narrow his eyes back at her though he appeared slightly dumbfounded by the interaction.

Gesturing with a thumb over his shoulder, he pointed to the nearby tunnel multiple feet away, "right over there." He stated like it was obvious, "but then I saw you... and you know stealing's illegal though, don't you? You'd be a pretty bad criminal if you didn't." He judged, folding his arms as though he were mimicking a police officer.

Felicity raised her eyebrows, unimpressed as she spoke back with high levels of sarcasm invading her tone, "wow, see I really didn't know that." She mocked, brushing back a strand of hair from that fell in front of her eyes. "But I do know it's rude to spy on people." She scoffed back, tilting her head with a look of challenge.

The boy's features scrunched faintly, "not of it's for the greater good. And it's not spying, it's observing and Bertrand Russell said that facts have to be discovered by observation, not by reasoning." He debated, "Also, I'm pretty sure robbing a jewellery store isn't a very hidden place to commit a crime." He pointed out, mocking the previous way she had nodded her head only moments prior. "Who are you anyway?" He furrowed his eyebrows curiously.

"Who am I? Who the fuck are you, Mr Bertrand Russel?" She responded swiftly, "I'm the black cat. Nice to meet ya." She introduced, her tone laced with energetic curiosity, "-you got a name, Bert?" The presence of a smirk rose over her lips for the phantom of a second.

The boy nodded slowly, only now coming to terms with the fact that the girl before him resembled the embodiment of mischief as her emerald eyes twinkled with a look of playful amusement. "I'm mi-actually I shouldn't tell you my name. for all I know you're a serial killer who's going to kidnap me and lock me in your basement for the rest of my life." He stated bluntly, shrugging his shoulders as he released a sigh.

"Serial killer?" The girl backtracked in protest, "if I was a serial killer, you'd already be dead by now, smartass." She grumbled, a gloved hand falling to her hip as she narrowed her eyes at the boy before her. Suddenly, the boy's phone lit up with a pale hue, attracting both their attentions as the boy glanced downwards at the device, sparking an amused laugh to bubble in Felicity's throat, "What, does mom want you home so soon? Past your bedtime, huh?"

The boy let out a small scoff, "Funny."

Felicity grinned mockingly, "i do try." She responded, a light lift to her shoulders before she spun on the back of her heel. "Well nameless, i'd love to stay and chat, but I've got places to be." She sighed outwardly, giving him a tight lipped smile as she stepped backwards towards the cloak of shadows lingering from the nearby buildings.

"places to burglarise?"

The silver-haired girl let out a hum, "don't get ahead of yourself, stranger." She laughed humourlessly, beginning her descent away from the boy who continued to watch in inquisition, "and don't keep your mom waiting!"

The boy let out an inaudible mumble, watching the hue of watercoloured emeralds until they left his sight alongside the radiating atmosphere of exciting mischief. He stood, perplexed, as though he had expected the masked fiend to return. The mental image of the unknown girl printing onto his mind in a permanent illusion. Her skin was milky as it reflected under the hazy glow of the nearby streetlight, allowing a tender glow of amber to illuminate the rosy pigmentation of her skin. His mind replayed in a constant loop, one that refused to drift from his mind no matter how much he attempted to distract himself, of the troublesome emerald brightening her eyes; a loyal match to the sheet of silky moonlight laced into her ponytail, the gleam highlighting her sharp features under the New York moon.

He glanced down to the phone in his hand, eyes rendered wide at his mother's impatient message that appeared on his lockscreen. Tripping over his untied shoes, he glanced back to where the black cat had vanished to, before shoving his phone into the pocket of his jacket and setting off back to his residence.

From the top of the jewellery store, Felicity's lips fought back at the amused grin the strange boy had brought of her as he looked around in hopes nobody had heard his outward cursing. A sigh pushed past her lips as she moved backwards, standing back up straighter and pushing the short interaction to the back of her mind, her blonde companion catching her attention once again.

The search for Gwen had begun to get tiring as she navigates her way through foreign streets that had once been all too familiar, only to end up back on top of the jewellery store. However, just as she was about to through up her hands in annoyance and give up, a ripple of coolness drifted down her back—the feeling of being watched. The air grew suddenly tense as the sound of distant cars fell silent amongst her investigation, attempting to figure out what the hell was watching her.

The presence continued to close in, moving swiftly as though they were part of the noticeable breeze that being on top of the buildings created. Only when the sense of movement radiated behind her shoulder did she reach out behind her, grasping a slender arm before shoving the figure over themselves and onto the floor before her as she lodged her knee into their abdomen, sharp claws only second away from the throat of Gwen Stacy.

The masked hero stared back up at her in disbelief, groaning faintly, "What the hell? Did you actually just fucking judo flip me?" She questioned as she pushed the silver-haired girl away from her lightly, sitting up as she did so. Once away from the lethal talons threatening her throat, the blonde pulled off the mask she wore to reveal a very questioning Gwen.

"Gwen!" Felicity gleamed, "I thought you were gone and I was trapped alone here forever with some strange boy!" She rambled as she moved forward to embrace her blonde-haired friend, wrapping her arms around the girl's neck whilst Gwen's hands patted her back comfortingly, "-Where the hell have you been?" Felicity asked, her voice holding a foreign seriousness as she showed her concern for the spider-woman. "Wait, how did you find me?"

Gwen raised her eyebrows as she pulled back, her eyes flickering to the glimmering items inside her best friend's pouch. "It's you, Fel. Where else would you be?" The blonde chuckled faintly.

"I could name a few places, like back home." Felicity dejected, emphasising on the word as she glanced at the girl opposite her, the two continuing to stand upon the building's roof. "So, Gwenny, how are we gettin' home?"

The fifteen year old frowned, "Not figured that out yet." She sucked in a breath, "I don't know what's happening, but something's wrong with the universe. There's another spiderman here, look." She explained, peering over the edge of the tall building and gesturing a pointed finger towards a nearby digital screen displayed for the public, harbouring a moving glimpse of spiderman swinging through New York.

"I thought you were the only spider... thing." Felicity winced at her own choice of vocabulary, blowing a stray piece of her long bangs from her eyes. "Wait..." she mumbled in realisation, "if there's another spiderman, you don't think there's another Gwen Stacey and Felicity Amber, do you?"

Gwen's lips tugged downwards for a moment, "shit, I hope not. We just need to be careful who we interact with." She improvised, nodding to herself as she spoke. At the blonde's words, Felicity's mind flickered back over to the brown-eyed boy she had recently met. He hadn't recognised the black cat, well at least if he had then he hadn't made a move to identify her. But that didn't mean there wasn't another felicity Amber.

The blonde furrowed her eyebrows, her face scrunched in concentration as she became hyper aware of her surroundings, listening for any motion and sensing for anything that could provide them with a chance to return back to their New York. After a moment Gwen glanced back at the waiting girl, tilting her head in thought, "You ever heard of Visions academy?"

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"IT'S A PRIVILEGE TO HAVE YOU BOTH join our family here at Visions Academy." Principal Morita stated in an appropriately inviting tone as he sat behind the wooden desk, his hands clasped together as his eyes flickered between the two girl's before him. "I'm sure you'll both find your places accordingly. However, I must insure that you respect our rules and follow the required regulations."

In front of the man, Gwen rested in a comfortable blue-cushioned seat. Her soft locks of blonde hair tucked behind her ears, resting to the sides of her fair skin as she nodded intently to the man's words. Her uniform consisted of a cotton grey sweater covering a collared white shirt and navy tie, a plaited skirt that fell to the middle of her thighs over black tights and a pair of teal ballet shoes. She smiled politely, "Of course, Principal Morita, and thank you, it's a pleasure to be joining, truly."

Beside the girl, Felicity smiled tightly, "Do you know if we'll be sharing a dorm, Sir?" She asked, pulling at the material of the tights that adorned her crossed legs. Much like Gwen, the girl adorned the required uniform though her skirt may've been an inch shorter than the dress code and the diamond studs in her ears twinkled a little bit too bright. The top button of her collar had remained undone, allowing a glimpse at the silver necklace hidden under her shirt. Her silvery white hair, which she had received one too many strange glances for, was tucked over her shoulders neatly, away from her face.

The man nodded, his hand reaching out to grasp the first stack of papers that rested upon multiples. "Well, I believe you're in luck, miss Amber." He smiled as he uncovered two new matching silver keys, "Third corridor, room five-seven-four." Principal Morita stated as he held out both of the keys, each one being taken by the girls.

As they stood up from their chairs, they both thanked the man generously with overly sweet grins that could only ever be false. The door swung slightly in their wake, creating a loud creak as it finally shut though the girls had already began walking away. As they did so, Felicia sighed deeply as they strolled down the corridor, "So, when you said you had a plan to get us home, I didn't know you meant that we would be going to school."

Gwen chuckled lightly, temping a piece of blonde hair to fall from behind her ears. "Trust me, Felice this wasn't part of the plan." She dismissed.

"So what are we doing here?" The green-eyed girl questioned in confusion, giving a civil head nod to the countless students of the Vision Academy who passed by her—most of which carrying distasteful looks as they glanced at the sheet of strange coloured hair that fell down her back.

A thoughtful expression coated her features as she spoke, "Honestly, I don't know." Gwen responded, "I just know we're supposed to be here. For one reason or another." She explained, "We just need to figure that out first. But I have a feeling that's gonna be easier said than done."

Felicity could've laughed at the sheer idiocy of the situation. Of course the two of them of all people would end up in an alternate dimension. Maybe it was Karma for being a cat burglar, or maybe it was the consequences of her actions finally coming back to gnaw at her skin. In an attempt to lighten the atmosphere, she nudged Gwen lightly, "Well, it could be worse." She commented, earning a look surprise from her companion, "-you could be roommates with somebody else."

Gwen rolled her eyes in lighthearted amusement as they turned the corner towards the dormitories, "oh, could you imagine?" She joked, lowering her pitch to make the muffled lowness of a boy's a voice, snickering when she heard the girl beside her break out into her own laughter. However, when the distant pair of brown eyes threatened to lock onto her pale green one's, the bubbling of surprise warmed in her throat, promoting her to impulsively shove herself and Gwen into a nearby classroom, which thankfully, was empty.

"Felice, what the hell?" Gwen voiced in confusion as she stumbled lightly into the classroom whilst her best friend was quick to follow in straight after, locking the door securely before moving backwards in a subtle panic.

The younger girl glanced back through the window of the door briefly before groaning sharply, "This can not be happening. Oh my god." She repeated as though it were a sacred oath, and for a moment Gwen almost believed the girl wasn't against kneeling to the floor and praying.

"Wait, wait, wait, calm down." Gwen ordered softly, "what's wrong?" She asked, trying to peer back through the window to see whatever had caused her friend such a fright.

It made sense that the strange boy Felicity had encountered would be at the local school, however, she had been so caught up on finding a way home, that the boy had fallen to back of her mind. To say she was surprised to see the boy almost trip over his untied laces only five feet away was understatement. Wether or not he'd seen her long enough to recognise her she didn't know, but she'd rather not've found out.

Felicity shuffled backwards noticeable, arising a pair of sharp narrowed eyes from the blonde as she matured her voice, "felicity." She drawled, placing her hands on her hips like a stern mother.

The green-eyed girl huffed, pushing herself to sit on one of the many unoccupied desks, swinging her legs lightly as she released a breath, "okay, it's not, like, a big deal or anything, but you know two days ago when we arrived." She winced subtly, "I arrived outside that jewellery store and just bumped," she softened the story, "-into this random boy—a very odd random boy. And now said random boy is stood out there." She dragged her lips into a tight-lipped smile as she watched Gwen's eyes widen slightly.

"Are you kidding?" The blonde questioned rhetorically, "oh god, Felice, don't tell me you spoke to him. Please, don't tell me you spoke to him." Gwen continued to ask, leaning against the opposing desk and glancing around the English literature room with her familiar look of disbelief.

"He spoke to me first!" She defended with a shrug, redirecting her attention to her manicured black nails as a way to distract herself from Gwen's piercing stare. Gwen let out a noise of dejection, promoting the silver-haired girl to sigh, "Gwen, he's gonna recognise me at some point. Who else have you seen with silver hair?"

In return of the judgmental glances and looks of surprise some of the more modest looking students had given her, she could only believe that seeing a silver-haired stranger was extremely unfamiliar to them. Paired with how the boy's gaze had lingered on the locks of pale silver that fell from her ponytail two nights ago, he would be sure to point her out had they interacted.

Gwen scoffed faintly, arms folding as her nails tapped her upper arms in thought. "No, you're right." She paced, "so how the hell do we stop him from noticing." She turned her head in thought, her eyes absentmindedly dancing across the 'most iconic' characters in literary masterpieces until her gaze landed upon the laminated picture of Olivia Hussey's character of Juliet, the female protagonist of Romeo and Juliet, and the dark hair swept over her shoulder.

Gwen turned silent, staring in a lingering trance at the image, and for a moment Felicity could almost see the gears turning in her mind. Curiously, the girl leaned forward, placing her hands on the edge of the desk she sat upon, "Still with me, Gwenny?"

Slowly, the blonde turned back to her best friend with a look of resolution before stating simply, "have you ever thought about dyeing your hair black?"

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authors note !

first chapter done :)
next will most likely be the start of the film's events cause this one was kind of an introduction. I couldn't decide on wether I wanted Felicity to have silver hair like the black cat does in the comics and games and all or black hair so i decided why not just do both lmao. Also went to see across the spiderverse for the first time last night and Hobie and felicity are gonna be besties Idc.