The Invincible Spider-Man
Chapter 43: The Spider and The Cat
Peter was stunned, as Felicia stared back at him, just as shocked.
"How do you know who I am?" she asked, but Spider-Man didn't respond. That's when it all came back to her.
"Parker? Is that you?" she asked inquisitively. "That cat scratch wasn't from a normal cat, was it?" she asked, as Peter sighed.
"Can we talk now?" he asked, as Felicia nodded. She sat down on the edge of the rooftop, as Peter sighed and took a seat next to her.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked. "For your "employer?""
"More or less. See, I took the job as intern receptionist around 3 years back when I was sixteen. I only became Black Cat when I got a call a few weeks back," she explained.
"A call from who? Your employer?" asked Peter.
"More like my employer's assistant. He kept referring to the man as "The Altruist"," replied Felicia.
"Doesn't seem like a very altruistic person to me," scoffed Peter, as Felicia nodded. "He wanted that Nanotech Energy Device in exchange for…" she trailed off.
"In exchange for?" asked Peter.
"When I was a kid, I was abandoned by my father. My mother had died at childbirth. So he left me at some orphanage when I was eight and the teachers there always said my dad was dead. Until I got a call from The Altruist, saying that my father was actually alive," she said.
"And you believed him?" asked Peter. "He seems to know everything about you, he may have known how to manipulate you," he continued, as Felicia turned towards him.
"No one can manipulate me. Besides, he sent photographic evidence," she said in a very hateful tone.
"I'm guessing he said he can bring him to you in exchange for the NED?" asked Spider-Man, as Felicia nodded.
Peter sighed, as he came up with an idea. "Okay, where's the device now?" asked Peter.
"I gave it to him. Well, technically he told me to leave it in an alleyway, so he could send someone to collect it," she replied.
"Great. So it's gone?" asked Peter.
"Not necessarily. While working at Oscorp I would manage Oscorp shipments. And Mr Smythe mentioned that the NED gave off a very specific level of energy in the form of radio waves," she said.
"Electromagnetic Radiation. If we can isolate its frequency, we might be able to track it," suggested Peter.
"Precisely. And as I said before, I managed Oscorp shipments. Normally items are shipped in batches, each individual batch going to a specific warehouse. But in a certain batch it mentioned a tracker. But here's the peculiar thing: Every item in that batch was moved to a warehouse in Harlem, but the tracker was sent to the Financial District," said Felicia.
"That tracker must be a device to track the NED's frequency," deduced Peter.
"Exactly. Although we can't take back the Nanotech Energy until The Altruist lets me talk with my father," said Felicia.
"He hasn't yet?"
"Nope. Don't think his assistant, or whatever, has given the Nanotech Energy to him yet. Either that or I've been played," replied Felicia. She took a pause, and the continued.
"Tell you what: How about I help you get that tracker and bring back that Energy Device from The Altruist?" suggested Felicia.
Peter raised an eyebrow. "And what's in it for you?"
Felicia chuckled as she ran a finger down his arm. "I always save my favors for the future," she replied. Peter pulled back his arm.
"Okay, first of all, I am currently in a relationship, so if we're going to work together, you need to stop your…flirtatious attitude," said Peter, a little chuckle in his voice. Felicia smirked as she got up.
"Hasn't stopped me before. Come to this address tomorrow night at 9." Said Felicia, as she gave Peter a piece of paper, and jumped off the building, grappling away.
Spider-Man chuckled to himself a bit as he put on his mask, and shot a web to a different building, swinging off into the night.
"So it turned out to be Felicia, and now she's helping me get the tracker and bring back the Nanotech Energy," narrated Peter to Gwen, as they sat at a café in Tribeca.
"So you both are on a first name basis now?" asked Gwen.
"What, no! Not that way at least. I told her that if we're going to work together then there have to be ground rules. So yeah, let's hope she's going to stop," replied Peter.
"Alright. But are you sure you have to work with her? I mean you could ask Captain DeWolff too," suggested Gwen.
"DeWolff has been super busy with work. We barely even talk nowadays," said Peter. "Like it or not, I have to work with Felicia. But trust me, nothing is, or ever will be going on," said Peter, holding Gwen's hand, as she smiled.
"I know that. I'm just worried that she might make a move,"
"If she does, then the deal is off completely," reassured Peter.
"So, about this "Altruist" guy. Any idea who he could be?" asked Gwen, trying to change the subject which was very clearly making Peter uncomfortable.
"My first guess was Wilson Fisk, especially since he's most likely being paroled soon. But since he still has to be on trial for parole, he can't pull off such an operation," said Peter. "But he could have people on his payroll, who could make it possible," he continued.
"What if it's someone new?"
"That's the worst case scenario, since I haven't fought them yet. Making them unpredictable and dangerous," replied Peter, as he sipped his coffee.
Otto walked back to his cell, when someone put a hand on his shoulder.
"Must say, never expected you to end up here, Otto," said the voice, as Otto begrudgingly turned around, only to come face-to-face with Norman Osborn, one of the most dangerous inmates at Ryker's.
"Get the Hell away from me, Osborn. You belonged in here since the start," spat out Otto.
"Now now, let go of old grudges. Now, a little bird told me that you're trying to break out of here," he replied. "Maybe I can help,"
Otto scoffed. "Never in a million goddamn years," he said.
"I think you're letting emotion cloud your judgment. We're on the same side here. We both want to get out of here, we both want this city to fear us, and most importantly, we want Peter Parker dead," negotiated Norman.
"Hmm…are you done throwing girls off of bridges?" asked Otto.
"Are you done failing in every aspect of life?" countered Norman. Otto was enraged.
"You can try all you want to get in my head, Norman. But even if I have a plan to escape, there's no way in Hell I'm working with you or for you," said Otto, as he walked away.
Instead of walking to his cell, Otto walked to a different hallway, and entered the cafeteria. Crossing the cafeteria, he walked into the courtyard, where Mac was working out.
"Did you and Quentin tell Norman about our plan?" asked Otto. "I had specifically asked both of you to keep it under wraps," he continued. Mac got off the bench press.
"I didn't tell anyone, anything. Neither did Quentin. Besides, Osborn's a sleazebag, why the Hell would we tell him?" replied Mac, as Otto stared at him, and walked towards Max, who was just leaving the courtyard.
"Max, we must start working on de-powering these collars. Meet me back at my cell," he said, as Max nodded.
Otto took a different path to his cell so as to not draw any attention. Max was already waiting for him.
Both of them entered the cell, and Otto took out a small toolbox.
"Now, the work begins," said Max.
The next night, Spider-Man was in a battle with another villain.
"Stay still, freak!" he shouted, as he shot a sticky adhesive from a large, cannon-like gun, which had tubes that connected to a pack slung on his back.
"Come on, Trapster! I've got better things to do than fight you," protested Peter, as he continually dodged the projectiles.
"And hey, shooting sticky stuff from my hands is my thing! And I don't even use a gun!" mocked Spider-Man, as he grabbed a car door and used it as a shield against Trapster's projectiles.
"Quit talking and stay still!" shouted Trapster, as he continued to aim at Spider-Man, who continued dodging his shots. Eventually, Peter jumped high in the air and precisely shot a web at the muzzle of the gun, blocking it. The gun started to vibrate.
"What's happening?!" asked Trapster.
"Eh, the web is creating an influx of pressure in the gun, causing the tubes to overload, yada-yada-yada," explained Spider-Man, as he flipped away.
The pack slung on Trapster's bag exploded, trapping him in the adhesive.
"Come on!" he yelled, unable to move as if he were a statue. Spider-Man chuckled as he walked up to him.
"I'll give credit where it's due, this adhesive is actually pretty cool. If I could integrate this into my webbing, that'd be pretty sweet," he told himself, as he took a little bit of the adhesive and pocketed it.
"Hey! You're stealing from me now!" said Trapster, but Peter simply webbed his mouth and swung on up to a building.
"Almost 9. I should head to wherever Felicia told me to," said Peter, as he checked the paper.
"52nd Floor of Ditko Towers, in the Financial District," he told himself, as he started to swing towards it, but his mind was clogged with thoughts again.
"What if she's robbing this Ditko Towers place, and wants to frame me? What if this is some trap, and she's working with, or for The Altruist? What if there is no Altruist and she's leading me on some wild goose chase? Or in this case, a cat chase? Is there even anything known as a cat chase?"
The questions swirled around in his head, as he reached the apartment. The window was open, and it led to a lush apartment, with modern architecture and tons of paintings, with a couch and a large television in the living room, along with a dining table nearby.
Peter slowly entered the place. "This… can't be where she lives, can it?" he asked himself.
"Glad to see you could make it," said a voice, and Peter turned around to see Felicia in her Black Cat costume.
"Before you ask, yes most of the paintings are stolen. There were more, but I sold them and bought this place," she joked, as she walked past him and sat at the couch. "Take a seat," she said.
Spider-Man took a seat on the couch across her, being extra-wary about his Spider-Sense. "So, where's this warehouse? Like, where in The Financial District?" he asked.
"Want to cut to the chase already? I make it a point to know my partners. People I work with, I mean," said Felicia.
Peter sighed, as he nodded. "Fine."
Felicia smiled. "Great. So tell me, why do you do what you do?"
Peter explained everything about how he got his powers, Uncle Ben's death, and how he chose to use these powers for good. By the end of the story, Felicia had a bit of a genuine expression of sorrow.
"I'm truly sorry for all of that," she said, without a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
"Yeah," said Peter, as an uncomfortable silence followed. "What about you?" he asked.
"Back at the orphanage, the people were…not very good, to say the least. Eventually, I ran away when I was 12, and started to live on the streets. That's when I learned that the world works only one way. You can't give too much, but you can certainly take a lot," she said. "I got the intern job at Oscorp, well by assuming a fake identity to pass the interview," she explained, chuckling a little.
"Well, our life policies are completely different," joked Peter, as Felicia laughed.
"So, who is this girl who is in my way? The person you're dating, I mean," she joked, as Peter jokingly rolled his eyes.
"A girl from my school. I've been in love with her since God knows when,"
"Is she as big a geek as you?"
"Oh, bigger," replied Peter.
"Lucky girl," said Felicia, as Peter laughed.
Felicia glanced at her watch and got up from her seat. "Anyways, we should get going," she said. Peter nodded as he got off the chair.
Both of them headed towards the window and jumped out.
They reached the address of the warehouse, which was rather small, but had many Oscorp guards.
Peter and Felicia landed on a nearby rooftop. "This is definitely where the tracker is. No wonder there are so many Oscorp guards," commented Felicia, as she nudged Peter.
"Okay, you attack the guys, I'll get the snipers," she said, but Peter stopped her.
"Wait," he said.
"What is it?"
"These guys are just trying to do their job. A job with good intent, I mean. We can't just take them out," replied Peter, as Felicia thought for a second. Then she took out what looked like a satellite phone and extended a small antenna, pointing it at one of the men. She pressed a button, and the man's walkie talkie pinged.
"What is it boss?" he asked.
"Hello everyone, it's me. The Black Cat. Now, if you want Mr Smythe to live, head to Hell's Kitchen. Hopefully you'll find him alive," she said, through a speaker on the phone.
"What have you done to him?" asked the guard, a little scared as he gathered the others.
"You probably don't want to know," she replied, and cut the call. Peter watched as the guards frantically grabbed their gear and rushed out in their trucks. Black Cat nudged Peter and smirked at him, as she hopped down.
"She's good," thought Peter, as he followed her.
They entered the warehouse, only to see it packed with crates.
"Great. It's gonna take the entire night to find it," lamented Felicia, but Peter struck up on an idea.
"That device you used to…hijack the guy's radio…gave off radio waves right?" he asked, as Felicia confirmed his theory by nodding.
"A form of Electromagnetic Radiation. And even the tracker gives off radio waves at a certain frequency," he said, as he gestured for the satellite phone device.
Felicia handed it to him, and Peter started to aim the device at the crates. One of the crates started to glow a little.
"That one," he said, as Felicia opened it up, finding the small tracker.
"How'd you figure that out? Wait no, I don't think I can handle any more science-y jargon," joked Felicia, as she handed him the tracker.
"Perfect," he said as he put the small device in one of the cartridges in his belt, as both of them walked out.
"So, what's next for the Spider?" asked Felicia.
"Track down the Nanotech Energy and bring it back to Oscorp. What about you?"
"Gonna find my father, and show him why he should never cross a Black Cat's path. Of course, after the Altruist gives me his location, you can take the device," she emphasized, as Peter reluctantly nodded.
"I'll tell you when I'm done with The Altruist. Until then, see you around, Spider-Man," said Felicia, as she grappled up to a rooftop and disappeared.
Spider-Man chuckled as he got ready to shoot a web, when all of a sudden he heard a voice.
"Slow down there big shot! It's my time to enter the story!" shouted the voice.
Peter turned around and saw a man in a red outfit, with two katanas on his back.
"So are you Tobey, Andrew or Tom? Or Keaton or Lowenthal? Or Bubniak or Jordan? Goddamn, there are more adaptations of you than the number of Flat Earthers!" exclaimed the man.
"Wait, who are you?" asked Peter.
"I guess Shadow Strike didn't introduce me? It's me, Deadpool!"
"Wait a minute…Deadpool what are you doing?"
"Oh, Shadow! Glad to see you've joined the conversation,"
"You're not supposed to come till…the next episode!"
"And Covid was meant to end in 6 months, look where that got us. Ehh it's like 4 am and this episode's already too long. Let's circumcise this chapter and continue this conversation later, okay?"
"Fine. Guess I can fit you into this season a little early. And yeah I haven't slept, so let's end it here,"
"There we go!"
So, there you go! Who do you think The Altruist is? And next episode we're gonna have Deadpool…wait, Deadpool what are you doing?
"Calm down, will ya Shadow? I think I'll answer the review section, you head to bed!"
Okay then. Looks like Deadpool is gonna head it this time. Night everyone!
"Alright let's get this done, how long could it be?"
SpideyXBC: On behalf of Shadow, thanks! And I'm pretty sure he took inspiration from TASM 2 with that! (Although we all know that Deadpool 2 is the best way to make a sequel! Well, that and Fifty Shades Darker…oops, better keep it PG-13! Blegh.)
Guest and Teller-Story: Gonna be honest, bald Spider-Man would definitely be a cool idea. I mean, all bald men are basically Gods. Just look at me! I got no hair on my face and I literally stole Lady Death from Thanos!
John John2: We can assure you, Peter will definitely have more friends! (Unlike my pal ShadowStrike here, don't tell him I said that!)
Ware Is Waldo: Thank you! I can assure you with me in this story, the fanfic will be as good as my movie!
chiripa012: You guessed right, man! Of course, if it were up to me I'd create a sort of a love triangle between Spidey, Black Cat and Gwen. But unfortunately I'm not the one writing the story (for now.)
Yours Not-So-Truly,
The Totally Awesome Invincible Deadpool!