"You know that's really no way to treat a lady. I'd advise letting go of her arms." Spider-man said confidently as he flipped down and assumed fighting position.
One of the men launched forward at Spider-man. He dodged and threw the man to the side, crashing him into a nearby dumpster.
"You guys really need lessons on how to ask a lady on a date. Letting go of her arms might be a good start."
The men who had been holding Felicia down released her and headed toward Spider-man. They attacked Spider-man, who was now fighting three men. Felicia got to her feet and headed to help him. She pulled one of the men back and punched him.
Spider-man noticed that this girl in black was helping fight. The first time he saw her he had thought she was some girl headed to a costume party or maybe she was some kind of performer. In New York, anything was possible. But the wheels turned in his head as he fought off the two remaining men. "Look lady, you better get out of here while you can," Spider-man pleaded but somehow he knew she wasn't going to listen.
"No, I wanna help." Felicia insisted as she knocked the man to the ground.
One of the gangsters had jumped onto Peter's back trying to strangle him. "You'd be more of help," he grunted between breaths as he threw the man off his shoulders, "if you'd leave and I didn't have to worry about you."
Felicia now started toward Spider-man to help him fight the two remaining men; the others had come to, but had decided to get away while they still could. Peter got hit in the face by one of the men while he was looking the other way, fighting the other man. Felicia grabbed the gangster by surprise and threw a punch that knocked him out cold. Then she used her leg, slashing the other man's knees and taking his legs out from under him. He lay un the ground, Felicia put her foot on his neck so that he couldn't move. "I can handle myself."
"Yeah, I see that." Peter noted, impressed by this woman's skills. He tied the two men up with his webbing. "But then again, I seem to remember you needed a little rescuing a moment ago."
"Are you kidding? I had those guys right where I wanted them," The Black Cat insisted brazenly. "If you hadn't interrupted me, none of them would have gotten away."
"Hmm," Spider-man mumbled as he threw the two tied up gangsters into the trash can. "Let's put these men where they belong. We'll let the cops deal with them. Now I think that its time for you to get home. These alleys aren't safe at night."
"What?" Felicia shrieked angrily. "I'm not just any little girl. I'm the Black Cat. And I'm working to keep the streets safe."
Peter rolled his eyes under his mask. Great, he thought, New York needed another nutcase in costume prowling the nights. "Just stay out of trouble," He sighed as he launched a web to swing away.
But before he could take off, he felt himself being pushed against the wall. Felicia had him pinned to the wall. She twisted his one arm behind his back, her other arm straight across the back of his neck, holding him to the wall. Peter tried to force his way free but was surprised by the incredible strength that his beautiful adversary possessed. "Listen, Spider-man," She whispered into his ear while suppressing a sly smile, "I want to help you. I'm strong and I'm dangerous. Very dangerous. And if you try and stop me, I won't hesitate to take you down."
Peter had managed to get his feet free and he propelled himself upwards using the wall, flipping right over the Black Cat. He held Felicia's wrists and now he forced her back to the wall. "Look, Kitty Cat or whatever you call yourself…"
"Black Cat," Felicia corrected, seductively licking away a trickle of blood from a cut she had received during the fight. She didn't struggle to get free. Though Spider-man was strong she figured she probably could break through his grip. But she had no desire to escape.
"Right. Black Cat, then. You're definitely strong and the outfit it's," Peter glanced down at her tight black suit, "it's, well, killer. But there's a lot more to being a Superhero than strength and good outfit. You've got a lot to learn."
"Then teach me!"
"Look, its not all fun and games. It's a responsibility; it takes over your life and eventually it probably will take your life. You've got to be ready for the worst. If I had a chance to go back, start over, knowing what I know now, I'm not sure I would choose to be Spider-man." Peter sighed, confessing things he had never told to anyone else, thing he could never tell to anyone else.
"I'm prepared to accept that challenge. Let me join you!" Felicia insisted.
"I work alone. And if I were you, I would seriously reconsider the life you are planning to live," Before Felicia could protest. Peter had swung away and out of sight.
Felicia didn't mind that he didn't want to work with her. He would change his mind. With the back of her hand, she wiped the blood and sweat from her face. She had never failed to bring a man helplessly to his knees.
***
There was a spring in Felicia's step the next morning as she walked to class, clutching her books closely to her chest. Her feet barely seemed to touch the ground. And she could not help but replay the events from the night before over and over in her head.
Before entering her chemistry lecture hall, she stopped in a corner to touch up her make-up. She searched her purse for her cosmetic mirror and her concealer. Never one to wear much make-up, her mom had always said there was a fine line between "trashy and trendy", she needed to make sure that none of her cuts and bruises from the previous night showed. She wouldn't want anyone to get suspicious. As she was examining her reflection she couldn't help but over hear two students passing.
"So I was cornered by ten men. I was able to fight off most of them but then one of them pulled out a gun. Of course I refused to tell him anything, so he said that he was going to finish me off…" The one boy said to the other, dramatically enacting the scene.
"So what happened?" The other boy asked.
"Then out of nowhere this, this angel fell from the sky! This woman in black fought off all the men. She was incredible! And hot, I mean really hot! It was like god answered my prayers."
"Damn, are you serious? I wish women would fall from the sky when I needed them. So are you still working for that gang?"
"No way," the boy replied. "I'm through with being a thug."
Felicia smiled as she heard this.
"Nope, I'm flying straight as an arrow from now on. I'm sticking to gambling and hustling. No more crime." The boy insisted. Felicia's smile fell slightly. She gazed at her watch and decided she was fashionably late for Chemistry.
As always, the room lit up when Felicia entered. Today she seemed even more radiant than usual. She took her usual seat near the back and pulled out her pink pen and notebook.
Debra rolled her eyes as she saw Felicia walk in. Debra was also sitting close to the back. She knew that Peter would probably stroll in late and would be more likely to take a seat at the back, near the door. Doc Connors began his lecture. Twenty minutes into class, Peter quietly walked through the doors and attempted to sneak into his seat before Doc Connors noticed. He was almost next to Debra when Doc Connors turned around.
"Parker, so nice of you to show up." Doc Connors replied.
Peter turned red as the whole class turned and stared at him. He was surprised that Doc Connors knew his name. Considering that there were over a hundred people in the class, and that Peter had only been to about a quarter of the lectures. Doc Connors must have noticed his frequent absences. He would have to make a better effort of getting to class.
"So Parker, why are you late today?" Doc Connors asked. Peter blushed even redder and looked down at his feet. Why couldn't Doc Connors just let it go? No, he had to make a scene.
"I, um…" Peter stuttered.
"What was that?" Doc Connors asked as a few members of the class laughed.
"I over slept. I'm sorry." Peter then sat down, hoping he wouldn't have to answer anymore questions.
"You seem to have a habit of over sleeping. Have you heard of this invention? It's called an alarm clock. I highly suggest you invest one. Ok, now back to Quantum Theory. As I was saying about the electrons…"
Felicia felt bad that Peter was embarrassed. She sent a wave over her shoulder and mouthed, "Hi Peter". Then she turned back to her notebook and continued doodling the face she dreamed lay under the Spider-man mask.
Debra looked over at Peter. He was disheveled as if he had run out of bed, threw on a pair of clothes and darted to class without even looking in a mirror. He had truly over slept. After his encounter with the Black Cat he had rescued a woman from a car wreck and then stopped a burglary. It had been a long, tough night and his body ached.
Debra noticed that Peter had a bruise around his eye and another around his neck. "Peter," she whispered over to him.
Peter turned to Debra. She rarely talked during class. "Yeah?" He replied, hoping that Doc Connors wouldn't yell at him again for talking in class.
"Where did you get that bruise around your eye?"
"Oh," Peter put his hand up to his eye. He hadn't realized that he had a bruise. "I, um, ran into a door. It was really clumsy of me."
"Mmm," Debra murmured disbelievingly. She then asked, "And then how did you get that one on your neck?"
To be continued…