[Agent Morse, after all this time, these are the only findings you have? I'm beginning to question your investigative skills.]
[Hill, don't talk down to me like that!]
Bobbi Morse snapped back through the comms with clear irritation in her voice.
[You have no idea what it feels like being chased by a literal lightning storm!]
[Seriously! I thought I was going to be fried on the spot!]
Maria Hill, cool and professional as ever, replied dryly:
[So your current theory is that Skye has developed the ability to manipulate electricity?]
[That's what the evidence suggests!] Bobbi insisted.
[But leave that for now—something else just came up.]
[Lizard sighting. Midtown High again.]
[You're one of the closest agents. If you're free, check it out. Gather whatever intel you can.]
[Are you kidding me?!] Bobbi groaned.
[I'm already undercover and standing outside the Ghost Spider Club!]
[Then good luck with your infiltration.] Hill said without sympathy and cut the line.
SHIELD had bigger problems than isolated Lizard sightings in New York. Unless the creature rampaged through Times Square, Hill wasn't about to mobilize a task force.
Bobbi pocketed the comms device and took a deep breath. She pulled out a small compact mirror and inspected her appearance. The disguise was perfect—she looked like a perfectly average high school student.
"Let's go, Bobbi," she whispered to herself. "You're not a rookie."
...
"Hello~ Anyone inside?"
A soft, cheerful voice called from the front door of the clubroom. Ned Leeds, the chubby tech-savvy kid, perked up at the sound and darted to the entrance like a puppy greeting a guest.
He opened the door and peeked out, his eyes going wide.
There stood a blonde girl in stylish athletic wear, twin ponytails bobbing behind her, and a white baseball cap cocked to the side. She looked like she walked out of a fashion magazine.
"Oh—hi there, gorgeous!" Ned grinned, throwing the door wide open. "We're open! You here to join?"
Bobbi smiled politely. "Actually, I'm looking for Jessica Ye. Is she around?"
"Aha! A fan of the Knight herself, huh?" Ned chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "You just missed her. She and Gwen Stacy stepped out a few minutes ago."
"I see…" Bobbi played along and then asked more deliberately, "How about Jack Kadere or Skye? Are they in?"
"Oh, yeah, they're around!" Ned said quickly, gesturing her inside. "They're… um… kinda busy though…"
Bobbi followed his gesture and peeked into the main room—just in time to witness Jack Kadere slamming two cards face-up on the table.
"Pair of twos!" Jack declared with the confidence of a man who thought swagger could bluff probability.
Across from him, Skye— future codename Quake—arched an eyebrow, unimpressed. "A pair of twos? You're bragging about that?"
Jack leaned back in his chair, smirking like he'd just won the World Series of Poker. "It's not about the cards. It's about the vibes."
Skye frowned at her dwindling stack of chips. "Statistically, I should've won three hands ago. This is ridiculous."
Jack's smugness only grew. His spider-sense, normally used for dodging gunfire or sensing danger, was proving suspiciously effective at reading people. Micro-expressions, heartbeats, finger twitches—he was picking up tells like a human lie detector with caffeine in his veins. Vegas would've banned him after one round.
"Full house," he announced in the next hand, tossing down three eights and two jacks.
Skye groaned.
"Flush," Jack said the next round, dropping five red cards like a magician revealing the final trick. "Spades, baby."
Skye and Mary Jane, sitting to his left, exchanged a look of shared defeat. They weren't just losing—they were getting demolished.
"I don't get it," Skye muttered. "You don't even look at your cards half the time."
Jack tapped his temple. "All in the head. Or maybe the wrist. Honestly, at this point it's muscle memory."
Another hand, another win.
"Royal flush," Jack said coolly.
Mary Jane blinked. "Seriously? That's like a one-in—"
"—650,000 chance," Skye cut in flatly. "Of course he got it."
Jack just winked and raked in the chips like a villain at the end of Act One.
Skye leaned toward Mary Jane, whispering behind her hand. "Next round, no matter what, we don't let him deal. I don't care if we have to stage a distraction or fake a Hydra attack—we have to throw him off his game."
Mary Jane smiled conspiratorially. "Or… we just switch sides. If you can't beat the poker king…"
"...you might as well stack his chips," Skye finished with a groan.
Jack, without looking up, casually muttered, "You two know I can hear you, right?"
They both froze.
Jack grinned wider.
Jack was already reshuffling the cards with an annoyingly smug rhythm. "Alright, losers pay up," he said, tapping his cheek.
Mary Jane laughed and leaned in to plant a quick kiss on his face — a light-hearted, American-style gesture of fun and not romance. They weren't involved that way, but in this game, a playful kiss was the agreed-upon forfeit.
When it was Skye's turn, she rolled her eyes and leaned forward to kiss Jack's other cheek — only for him to suddenly point at his lips with a cheeky grin. "C'mon, Skye. Kiss here instead. You're special."
"Huh? What?" Skye blinked, then raised a brow. "Jack, Gwen and Jessica literally just left — and you're already acting bold like this?"
Still, she smiled. There was a gleam of amusement in her eyes. Despite the teasing, she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
Standing nearby, Ned Leeds practically turned green with envy. He watched the scene unfold while gnawing on a metaphorical lemon.
Man… I wanna play this kind of game too, he thought bitterly.
Too bad no one wanted to be his opponent — not Peter, definitely not Flash. And MJ had made it very clear she'd rather eat glass.
Actually, now that he thought about it…
Where was Peter?
The last anyone heard, there had been another Lizard sighting at Midtown High. Ned's cheerful expression faded with worry. Please don't tell me Pete went to check it out himself…
Meanwhile, a new voice chimed in from the side of the room.
"Mind if I join your game?" said a bright, confident voice.
Jack turned to see a tall, athletic blonde dressed in a trendy outfit — and immediately recognized her. Bobbi Morse.
She looked younger than he remembered her from any S.H.I.E.L.D. file — probably deep undercover, playing high school student. That explained the disguise.
Jack gave her a casual smile. "Of course. Beautiful ladies are always welcome."
With four people, the game could get even more chaotic — and that was exactly his style.
Bobbi sat down, eyes sharp but friendly. In her mind, this was a golden opportunity to assess Jack Kadere up close. Based on what she'd observed, she was already confident she could outplay him.
Poker's just another form of battlefield strategy, she thought. This'll be easy.
Jack shuffled the cards again, oblivious — or perhaps entirely aware — of her intentions.
....
Meanwhile, twenty minutes earlier…
Behind the athletic field at Midtown High, a slithering green blur moved through the foliage, perfectly camouflaged by the hedges and shadows.
Glinting yellow eyes flicked open in the darkness.
"Thompson…" a guttural voice hissed lowly.
"Let's see where you're hiding…"