Chapter 3

Back on patrol, the pair of heroes continued looking for more trouble they could put a stop to. It wasn't long before they came across a jewelry store with its front window completely smashed. Luckily the thieves hadn't cleaned the store out. There was still plenty of jewelry still there, including some pieces lying around and outside of the busted window.

Off in the distance, Spider-Man could see a pair of masked individuals running away as if their life depended on it. In no time at all, Spider-Man and Black Cat took off after them.

As the thieves continued down the street, one of them grabbed an unsuspecting woman and brought her into a nearby alley. Spider-Man cursed under his mask. They had to get to that woman and get to her quickly.

"What the hell are you doing with the skirt, Lenny?" one of the masked pair asked.

"I just want to have a little more fun, Marv," answered Lenny.

"We don't have time for this, man."

"Of course we have time. Just keep a look out for me while I have some alone time with this fine looking lady."

The young woman didn't say anything during the exchange between the two men – she was just too frightened. Having her mouth covered didn't help matters either. Lenny dragged her a little further into the alley, while his friend Marv acted as the lookout.

As Marv was standing guard, he felt a light tapping on his shoulder. He turned around and found no one there. Even as he continued to look all around him, he saw no one at all.

Next, Marv heard a high-pitched voice say, "Hey! How about a nice Hawaiian punch?" As he turned around, Spider-Man's fist came flying at his face and Marv didn't have a chance. That one punch left Marv unconscious.

"I guess he doesn't like it very much," Spider-Man said as he picked the guy and webbed him to the alley wall along with the stolen jewelry.

Back in the alley, Lenny was forcefully kissing his captive and groping her when he heard someone clear his or her throat. Turning away from his victim, Lenny saw what appeared to be a woman coming toward him.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Lenny commented, leering at the newcomer.

"Someone who wants to have a little fun," Black Cat said as she approached Lenny while playing with the zipper on the front of her costume.

Black Cat and Lenny were now face to face with each other. Lenny could not take his eyes off of the Black Cat. All he could think about was that he had two beautiful women with him that he could have the time of his life with.

"Do you need a little help with that zipper, gorgeous?"

"Sure thing, lover boy," Black Cat replied, guiding Lenny's hand to her zipper. Once his hand reached its destination, Black Cat drove a knee into Lenny's groin, followed by a double-fisted uppercut.

Black Cat went quickly over to the woman and asked, "Are you alright?"

The woman, stunned at what she had just witnessed, spoke with a trembling voice. "I'm fine, thanks to you." Her eyes widened as she looked over Black Cat's shoulder. "Look out behind you!" The woman exclaimed. The guy had gotten back up and was making his way over to the two women.

Black Cat swung her leg around and delivered a roundhouse kick to Lenny, knocking him on the ground once more. Lenny wobbled his way back onto his feet but it wasn't for long. Black Cat gave him a couple of punches to his stomach and another kick – this time to the head. The man lay on the pavement immobile. But the Black Cat wasn't finished with him yet.

She rained punches on his face, punctuating each word, "No woman… or person for that matter… deserves… to be treated… that way! Do… you… understand?"

The man couldn't answer – he was out like a light. In her fury, she kept pounding on the man, asking the question over and over again.

After checking on the frightened woman, Spider-Man approached his partner cautiously. "Okay, Cat, I think the guy has had enough."

But Black Cat either didn't hear him or just ignored him while continuing to hit the guy.

"Cat! I said that's enough!" Spider-Man exclaimed, pulling her off the man.

She struggled like a thing possessed. Her struggles ceased when she finally realized what she was doing.

"Are you going to be alright?" Spider-Man asked.

"Yes. No. I'm not sure. I'll wait for you at the top of one of these buildings. I… I really need some air to clear my head," Black Cat replied and went to the rooftop.

Spider-Man moved the guy Black Cat had been pounding on to where his friend was webbed up and brought the young woman with him. While webbing the battered and bruised man next to his friend, the wall crawler noticed that the other man had finally come to.

Marv turned around to see how beat up his friend was – he felt sick looking at him.

Spider-Man turned Marv's head so that they were facing one another and said, "Let this be a lesson to you boys. When your friend comes to, tell him he has Spider-Man to thank that he's still breathing. If the two of you cross my or my friend's path again, you may not be so lucky."

He turned to the woman they had saved. "Call the police. Have them send an ambulance right away."

"Thanks, to the both of you for your help," the woman thanked Spider-Man.

"All in a day's work, ma'am."

"Is your friend going to be alright?" The woman looked toward the sky, the direction Cat had disappeared.

"I really hope so," came Spider-Man's reply as he spun a web line and made his way to the rooftops.

He found Black Cat sitting on the ledge of one of the buildings adjoining the alley. He sat beside her and gently asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. I think I want to go home now," Black Cat replied.

As Spider-Man helped her up, he noticed that she was a little shaky. He put one arm around her waist, fired a web line and made his way toward Felicia's apartment.

In no time at all, they were back at Felicia's apartment. Landing on the balcony outside of Felicia's apartment, Spider-Man released his hold on her, putting her down and asked, "Are you feeling better now?"

"A little bit. You really know how to show a girl a good time," Felicia replied while removing her mask and leading the two of them into her apartment's living room.

"When you're with the Amazing Spider-Man, you'll always have a good time," he said as he took off his mask. Peter grabbed Felicia by the shoulders and made her face him. He asked with concern, "Do you want to talk about what happened in the alley?"

She looked pleadingly into his eyes. "Do we have to?"

"Not if you don't want to, but I think it would help you to feel better."

Peter led Felicia over to a couch and sat down next to her. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze to encourage her to talk.

"You remember when you told me about what happened to you on the George Washington Bridge?" Felicia asked. Peter nodded. "I guess you can say I felt the same way that you did. When I saw what that guy was doing to that girl in the alley, I just lost it. All I thought was that I didn't want someone to have to go through what I did. When I had the guy beaten, I just couldn't stop hitting him. I just…" Felicia didn't finish what she was saying as she began to cry.

Peter put his arm around her and hugged Felicia close as she continued sobbing.

"Everything is going to be fine, Felicia. Let it all out," Peter consoled his friend.

After several minutes, Felicia stopped crying and wiped what tears remained in her eyes away and composed herself. "Thank you for being here, Peter. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't there to stop me. Thanks for helping me through this."

"Any time, kiddo. I'm always here for a shoulder to cry on – and boy, did you cry on my shoulder." The two of them burst into laughter after that.

"What am I going to do now?"

"Talking to me was a start but I think you may need to talk to a professional. If you want, I can help you find someone."

"That would be great. Thank you for everything, Peter."

"You're very welcome."

"Mary Jane is really lucky to have you."

When Felicia said that, Peter slowly got up from the couch with a sullen look on his face.

"I miss her so much. I don't know how she feels about us since she left, and I don't know if she will ever come back."

"You two will work things out. Just have faith," Felicia told Peter, giving him a hug.

"I'll try. We can get to work finding you a therapist tomorrow after I'm done teaching for the day," Peter said, sounding a bit more chipper.

"Good, where do you want to meet?"

"I'll come here after school." He glanced at the time. "I really should be going since I have an early class to teach."

"Take it easy, Peter, and have a safe trip home," Felicia said giving Peter a kiss on the cheek.

"I will," he replied as he pulled his mask over his head and went out to the balcony. With a quick hop onto the railing, Peter waved back at Felicia, jumped off while spinning a web line and swinging on his way home.

She spoke quietly to his retreating form. "I do hope you can work things out with Mary Jane, Peter. But I can't deny how much I really care for you. If I'd had these feelings back when we first started going out together, maybe things could've been different. Just know that I will always hold a special place in my heart for you, Peter," Felicia said as she watched him disappear into the night.

Turning back into her apartment, Felicia locked her balcony doors and got ready for bed. She fell asleep knowing she had a great friend that would always be there for her.

The End


AN: Thanks again to htbthomas and Jenn1 for their assistance. Please review but no flames.