Felicia felt her heart stop for an instant as Debra pulled the mask away from Spider-man's face. She had dreamt about the man behind that mask many times before. She imagined him handsome and debonair and one day he would profess his love for her and tear off the mask on his own. Never once after all the years of dreaming did she ever consider the idea that she would know the man behind the mask. She had always imagined the man who was Spider-man to be more courageous and amazing than any man she had ever met in real life. That was why she was so shocked when she recognized the face before her.

At first she couldn't quite place where she knew him from. It didn't help that his face was covered in sweat and contorted from pain. But after a moment, recognition set in. The man before her was Peter Parker. He was the boy who tutored her in Chemistry. The boy who she took to one of her mother's parties. The boy who she toyed with. All along, he was Spider-man. This didn't make sense. Felicia stepped backwards and stumbled as she tried to grasp the truth.

While Felicia was struggling to comprehend the secret she had just discovered, Debra tended to the ailing Spider-man. She wiped the sweat from his face and raised his head to ease his breathing. Doctor Connors noticed a sly smirk on Debra's face. He wasn't sure he approved of Debra' actions but at this point he didn't know what to think. Instead of getting involved in the fight between the two girls he decided it best to focus his attention on Spider-man.

"How is he doing?" Doctor Connors asked.

"I don't know. He doesn't look good." Debra finally responded.

At that exact moment, Peter shook his head and opened his eyes slightly. Doc Connors rushed to his side to check his vitals. "Can you hear me?"

His eyes widen and filled with fear. Peter raised his hand to his face, almost as if out of instinct, to check whether his mask was still on. When he felt that it was not, he tried to get up but Doctor Connors and Debra restrained him. "Don't move. We're here to help."

Peter didn't listen. He struggled against them with surprising strength considering his condition. "I…I have to" Peter tried to speak but his eyes rolled in the back as head and he fainted again.

Felicia had snapped out of her shock when she realized that Peter had come to. "Peter?" She said as she rushed again to his side. But he could no longer hear here. "What happened? Is he going to wake up?"

"Yes, I think he will… in time. It looks like the anti-toxin is working." Doctor Connors replied.

"Should we give him another dose?" Debra asked.

"No, I think we should wait and let the current dose work. But this is good sign. If he hadn't shown any improvements by now, well, I don't know what we could do. For now, all we can do is wait and let the anti-toxin work," answered Doc Connors.

Felicia tried to make sense of everything. How could Peter be Spider-man? And yet, it did make sense in some way. It wasn't anything she'd ever expect but now that she thought about it, it did seem to make sense. And then she felt sick to her stomach. She had never been very kind to Peter. He had always been sweet but he was so easy to use. She remembered the way that she used to tease and toy with him like she had with so many other men. But she did remember Peter being different. He was different because she felt guilty after using him. Because he seemed to genuinely believe that she was more than just a pretty face. He had been able to see deeper into the kind of strong, independent person that she really was. And Felicia had no idea at all at what lay beneath Peter's exterior. He was obviously a much more complicated man that she had every imagined.

Felicia had always thought that she loved Spider-man. It was never even question. The Black Cat and Spider-man were meant to be together. But now, for the first time, she wasn't entirely sure. Everything was happening so fast. She felt an initial disappointment at discovering the identity of her love. Maybe that was to be expected. No great love can ever live up to the romance. And right now she could lose him forever, the last thing she wanted to do was to question her feelings so she pushed the thought from her mind. What mattered now was to make sure that he recovered.

As Felicia questioned her own feelings, she couldn't help but notice Debra's. She'd seen Debra around campus before but she'd always written her off as unattractive, unimportant and unthreatening. In fact, Felicia only noticed girls she considered potential rivals and Debra had never entered her radar. Perhaps she had been wrong. She saw the way that she tended to Spider-man. She'd seen the way that she fawned over Peter. And only now did she consider it a threat. The girl was clearly in love. Felicia felt a growing resentment for the girl that could only come from newfound respect. This girl had been closer to Spider-man. And while Felicia considered the Black Cat to be more Spider-man's type she realized for the first time that perhaps that was not the case. And whatever mixed up feelings she felt, she realized that she was jealous and did not want to lose to Debra. She tried to tell herself that this wasn't a competition, that right now they were all working together to help Spider-man, but that was a lie. Felicia knew that when it came to love there were no truces.

She watched as Doctor Connors and Debra checked on Spider-man, then returned to making anti-toxins or whatever it was they were doing. Felicia began biting her nails. It was a nervous habit she had recently developed. She didn't know what else to do as she waited and watched helplessly. Peter hadn't regained consciousness and she watched helplessly as the other two fretted over his condition.

Suddenly there was a crash of glass and someone had plowed through the laboratory window. Felicia's first instinct was to turn away and shield herself from the glass. She didn't have to look to know who it was. The familiar voice declared, "Spider, I have found you. Now this ends once and for all."

To be continued...

Note: I hope that you enjoy this chapter. It was really hard to write. I will try and post more soon, particularly since school is almost over. And the story is nearing an end as well. Thank you again for all the feedback!