Present time:
Doc Connors scrambled furiously to test the antitoxins he had developed. None were successful so far. He stared back to the corner of his lab where Spider-man lay unconscious on one of his lab tables. Doc Connors had hooked him up to an IV to keep him hydrated and he had also lifted his mask up past his mouth and nostrils to help him breathe. The mask still covered most of his face. He wanted to respect Spider-man's identity. But that might not be possible as his options narrowed.
Doc Connors peered back into his microscope. The poison was not responding to his current serum. He knocked a beaker of his lab table out of frustration. He couldn't let Spider-man die. Not after all he had done for him, not after all he had done for the city. Doc Connors decided he couldn't do this alone, yet at the same time he couldn't risk putting Spider-man's identity in jeopardy. Hesitantly, he picked up his cell phone to call for help.
***
Two Years Earlier
Spider-man swung through the broken windows of the building. He managed to take out one of the armed men guarding the hostages. Two other men, who had been patrolling through the hostages and collecting the wallets and jewelry, noticed the attack made on their confederate and turned to face Spider-man. They drew their guns but Spider-man managed to sling his webbing out and to snatch both weapons. His spider sense blared and out of the corner of his eye he saw a third man take aim at him. Just before he could fire, the Black Cat swooped down and took the man out. Peter sighed a breath of relief. He then attempted to cover up his gratefulness with an overly stern voice, "I should have known you'd show up."
"It's good to see you too," Black Cat replied.
The men had regained their bearings and though unarmed, charged toward Spider-man and the Black Cat. Together they took the men out. Spider-man then tied them up with his webbing. Felicia turned toward Spider-man, "There're more of them. I saw some men take a hostage into the next room over there." She pointed to the closed doors at the other end of the ballroom.
Peter nodded at her. The two of them darted towards the room. The hostages began to whisper and stir. Peter warned, "Everyone stay down. It's not safe yet!"
"Spider-man!" Jameson exclaimed as he lifted his head from the ground for the first time.
"That means you too, J.J." He replied as he ran to the doors that the Black Cat had pointed to.
Spider-man kicked down the doors to the room revealing two men with guns pointed at a woman. Peter recognized that the woman was Mrs. Hardy, the very same woman he'd be introduced to earlier that night.
Peter and Felicia stood unmoving, not wanting to cause the men to hurt Mrs. Hardy. One of the men yelled out, "Spider-man! Stay back or I shoot her."
"Roger, that'll be enough" the leader of the gang said to the other man. He then shouted toward Spider-man, "We were expecting you, Spider-man, but not this young lady."
"It's a party so I thought I'd bring a date." Spider-man replied.
"I'm the Black Cat and I demand that you release the hostage." Felicia insisted as she took a few steps closer to the men.
The man holding the gun to Mrs. Hardy's head tightened his grip causing Mrs. Hardy to let out a cry of pain. Felicia stopped her approach.
"I wouldn't come any closer if I were you, pretty girl. Our business is almost done here." The leader replied. The man opened the window, revealing a helicopter outside hovering several feet away. "Come on Roger. Let's go." He then fired a mechanism that shot out a steel cable which hooked onto the helicopter.
The leader leaned toward Mrs. Hardy's ear, "Consider this your last warning, Mrs. Hardy. The next time you mess with the Kingpin you'll suffer a lot more." He then knocked the gun against her head, giving her a large wound on the side her face and causing her to fall to the ground. Felicia suppressed a gasp of concern. "Farewell Spider-man, have fun on your date." The man fired his gun at Spider-man and the Black Cat several times before he and his accomplice climbed out the window and were carried away by the helicopter.
Felicia and Peter frantically dodged the bullets. They then ran towards the window. Peter glanced out the window but the helicopter had already disappeared into the distance. Felicia lightly shook her mother, "How are you Miss?"
Mrs. Hardy rubbed the side of her face and replied with irritation, "I'll be fine."
Just then the police burst in, "Everybody freeze!"
Spider-man looked over at the Black Cat, "It looks this party just got busted. Would you like a ride?"
"I'd love one."
Felicia held on tight to Spider-man as they both swung away. She savored the feel of his body as she clung against him. They landed on a nearby rooftop all too soon for Felicia's tastes.
"Sorry for the hurried exit. Like I said before, the police and I have never really gotten along." Peter said as he gently put Felicia down on the roof top. "I wanted to thank you for, um, for helping out."
"Oh, I did more than help out. I saved your life back there," Felicia teased.
"Did not. I could have taken them all out. You just made it a bit easier." Peter smiled beneath his mask.
"Did you really mean what you said before?" She asked as she put her hand on his chest.
"I did. I really am thankful that you showed up," Peter answered.
"No, not that," The Black Cat smirked, "Did you really mean what you said about me as your date?"
"Maybe. I'm sort of dateless tonight." Peter replied.
"No you're not." She pulled up Spider-man's mask and kissed his willing lips. He embraced her and returned the kiss.
Felicia wanted more than anything to stay there with Spider-man. But she knew that if she didn't return to the party her mother would think she'd been captured or killed. "I have to go," Felicia muttered reluctantly. "But we'll continue this date another time." She turned and looked one more time towards Spider-man before she jumped to the next rooftop and was gone.
Peter stood still, the cold wind blowing against him, as he contemplated being deserted by a woman yet again that night. There was something familiar about the situation, as well as these two women.
To be continued…