The city continued to rage on as Peter Parker and Felicia Hardy swung to a container port at the docks, agilely running quietly up the colored metal boxes. The two stopped suddenly crouching down out of sight, peering over the edge, looking down at two armed men who walked up the darkened path. The teenagers eyes met for a few seconds, giving one another a nod, before they dropped down simultaneously taking out the two men, silently.
"Not bad, Parker" Felicia whispered peering around the container at a clearing where about 6 men stood conversing around a table filled with weapons. Peter joined her, looking at the maggia members over her head, scanning for a place to strike.
"Hit them directly, I'll cover you" Peter mumbled, to which the girl nodded in agreement, sliding out two small spherical devices. She walked out from behind the container, rolling the two balls towards the men, as they detonated in clouds of smoke, voices sounding up in alarm. The 6 men turned in circles, confused as to what had just occurred, when suddenly out of the smoke, a foot collided with one man's jaw, knocking him out. The fogginess cleared, lifting up, revealing the masked girl, who flexed her hands out, claws erupting from her fingertips. She ran forward, launching off the ground, wrapping her legs around another mans neck, bringing him down. Felicia had only stood up again, when one of the maggia members moved forward holding a gun, however before he could fire, the gun was pulled out of his hand, clattering to the ground. Before he could yell out in bewilderment, his mouth was closed shut, with webbing.
"You have the right to remain silent" The girl mused, flipping forward, yet again clattering him to the ground. At this present moment, Peter swung down, taking out another guy as he reached the ground. Felicia gave him an adrenaline fueled grin, as she turned, now back to back with the boy, facing the last two crooks. In a matter of minutes, the 6 knocked out guys were strung up in a makeshift webbed net, waiting for the police to arrive.
"That was amazing!" Peter Parker exclaimed, letting out a hoarse laugh about to pull of his mask, when unexpectedly the hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end alarmingly, causing him to turn around. The boy had little time to react, as an eruption of bullets plummeted at them.
"Felicia, move!" He yelled, watching as the girls eyes went wide, flipping backwards over a car that sat vacant, Peter following suit. The car jerked with the impact of gun fire, the windows exploding violently. "What the hell is that?!" The boy questioned over the continuous noise, that seemed to be getting closer.
"That would be a Gatling gun" Felicia groaned, ducking her head lower when another round of bullets hit the opposite car doors.
"Did you see the size of that dude!?" Peter strained, peeking around the back of the vehicle, before pulling back when the bullets started flying once more.
"Yeah-yeah." The girl nodded breathy, dropping her head in thought. Her head slowly rose again, a glint of cunning in her eye "Alright, the gun is the only thing stopping us from taking him out. Take away his weapon, and then-" She slipped out two tasing bombs, arming them "then we worry about the size of him" Peter gave an apprehensive nod, taking a deep breath, before aiming his web shooter upwards at a lamppost disappearing into the night sky. The gun fire, hence, moved upwards, trying to shoot the spider out of the sky, who was doing everything in his power to dodge the bullets. Once Peter had an opening he took it, shooting rapid webs at the large gun, held by the equally muscular man. Over and over, Peter swung back and forth, webbing the gun, so that the guy could hardly move his arm. It was then that Felicia flipped forward, handspring after handspring just to show off in her performing way, before attaching the two taser devices to the mans chest. She took a step backwards, Peter landing beside her, as they detonated, the man convulsing with electricity, before slumming to the floor, out cold.
Whilst Peter erupted into an enthusiastic spiral, high on the adrenaline of his biggest taste of fighting crime to date, Felicia had walked over to the unconscious man, sliding out a pair of keys from his pocket. Peters brown eyes flickered to what she was doing, a sudden sinking feeling in his chest.
"What are they for?" He queried moving forward, as the girl held up the silver keys with a smirk.
"Everything the Maggia owns. They keep it in a penthouse down in Tribeca" The keys flew into the air, the girl throwing them playfully, before catching them again.
"We need to hand that in" Peter spoke immediately, not even thinking about how he'd exactly hand them into the police station. Felicia stopped in her tracks, turning to him, her eyes almost piercing his.
"To who? The cops that probably have an arrest warrant out for you by now? Technically everything in that penthouse belongs to me. I stole most of it. The paintings, the jewels. Really, I'm just taking back what is mine" She shrugged, nudging the large man on the floor with her foot to make sure he was still unconscious.
"What?! That's not how that works. Felicia, you stole that stuff. It's not yours. " It was then that the truth of the matter began to occur to Peter. When Felicia Hardy's personality ended and the Black Cat's began. "Wait...is what this was about the entire time? The Maggia have no way of finding out your identity do they? Gwen wasn't a threat at all?"
"Sorry, Parker, you just needed a little... push. I couldn't take out those guy's on my own. Thanks for the help, I really mean it" She gave him a nod, ready to take off with her grappling hoot, aiming at the nearest buildings from the docks.
"Felicia! Wait! Does Gwen know?" Peter took a few quick steps forward, making her turn, lowering her head slightly.
"Of course she doesn't"
"Well, what if she found out, what'd do you think she'd say?" He mumbled, pulling off his mask, to look at her directly. Her eyes narrowed, trying to analyse what he was trying to say.
"You'd tell her?" There was a defense building up within her vocal chords, as she spoke. Not exactly threatening, but not exactly peaceful either.
"No, because I don't blackmail people, Felicia. But maybe just think about how she'd feel if she knew what you were doing now." He looked back up at her, and her eyes weakened for just a second "You've stole all that stuff, and that's wrong, alright, I get that yet-"
"You still helped me" She uttered almost inaudible, swallowing a lump that had formed in her throat.
"I did, because-because I knew you a long time before Black Cat was created. This is your time to go straight, Felicia. That key. But that's your decision, not mine." Peter turned, aiming his web shooter upwards, ready to take off, when suddenly her voice rose into the night sky
"Parker!..." Felicia called, her eyebrows knitting together, as she bit her lip. She slowly slipped out the key from her pocket, outstretching it out in her hand "here"
"You remember that time we went to that fair on coney island?" Peter Parker asked turning his head to look at Felicia Hardy, the two of them lying on top of a roof on city hall, looking up at the night sky sprinkled with stars. Felicia let out a hearty chuckle being reminded of the memory, her hands resting on her stomach.
"Right, and we rode that roller coaster, and Harry threw up everywhere" Her nose wrinkled up at the thought, as she heaved out another laugh. Felicia would never address the reason they drifted apart, Peter knew that, and was okay with it. But now, here they were, talking like they used to. That was enough.
"Gwen asked me round to her house for dinner" Peter put out in the open a few minutes later, sitting up with a frown. "What's her parents like?" Felicia's eyes trailed off into the beautiful city scape of twinkling lights, as she thought how to answer the question.
"Her moms real sweet. She'll like you" She nudged him playfully, causing him to shake his head, fighting a grin. "Mr Stacy...well...he's straightforward, direct. But I think it's just cause he cares." She nodded with a small melancholy smile, looking down for a few minutes in thought.
"Okay...I-I just don't want to mess this up" He breathed airily, scratching the back of his head with anxiety.
"Oh, you better not, cause that's my best friend. Mess with the cat..." She held up her gloved hand, flexing her fingers, as the metal talons shot out "and you'll get the claws"
"Noted" The boy nodded, his eyes taking one more look at the city he called home, before his gaze fell down to his watch, with a groan "My Aunt May is gonna kill me!" He stood up grabbing his bag, placing his mask back on. Felicia stood up, brushing down her black leather jumpsuit. Peter took a final glance at the girl, still a little overwhelmed that she was Black Cat. "I'll see you..tomorrow...or today seeing as it's past midnight"
"See you" She nodded with a small smile, watching him take off into the night sky. The last few hours had been eventful, but things were looking up. And maybe, just maybe, Black Cat could go straight after all.
"So, it could have gone better with my dad, but besides that it was...nice. He brought me roses, they were kinda crumpled...but it's the thought that counts" Gwen Stacy informed her friend three days later, the pair just making their way out of an artisan cafe in DUMBO walking towards the steps to the Brooklyn bridge. The sun had just set, only 30 minutes ago, stars beginning to form like splashes of white paint. There was an odd silence between the two friends that evening, that Felicia could not account for. It was like Gwen didn't want to talk about Peter, or that she was avoiding talking about what happened the night before. So eventually, the girl dropped the subject a little confused, seeing as Gwen had been so excited about the boy previously. Before Felicia could think of something else to say to break the silence, her phone started ringing, vibrating in her pocket. She fumbled for it in her denim dungarees pocket, sliding it out and putting it to her ear, after looking at the contact.
"Mom, he-" However she was immediately cut off by the shaky breathing of her mother, her voice coming out in one quick burst.
"Felicia where are you?!" There was concern in her voice, vacant of the usual anger, when she would be out after curfew. And because it was like that, Felicia herself became concerned.
"Uhm...I'm down under the overpass with Gwen" She frowned her eyes falling to her friend that gave her a questioning look, to which she could only shrug at "why, where are you?"
"Listen, I'm on my way home from the hospital and something is happening on the bridge" The thing that worried Felicia the most, was the fact that her mother was whispering. If there was an accident on the bridge, why would she need to whisper? Before they could converse anymore, a large dull explosion sounded, startling the girls, finally a cog turning within the brunette. She ran up the stairs to the bridge, finding that it had been blocked off, presumably at both ends by police. But she didn't take notice of the cops at first, her eyes drawing to the hurling fire in the middle of the bridge, car alarms starting to go off left, right and center. It was then that she saw it. Whatever it was. A shadowy figure, uncurled into something that wasn't human. A deafening roar left it's lips, echoing up and down the structure.
"What the hell..." Felicia mumbled, a lump forming in her throat, the phone still to her ear "Mom, what part of the bridge are you on? I'm coming now-" Of course, the girl intended to jump the police railings. They hadn't stopped her before. Gwen caught her arm, however, before she could make a move.
"Are you insane?!" She hissed, her blonde hair blowing in the strengthening wind. A large scream traveled through the air, catching the teenagers attention, as whatever was on the bridge lifted up a car with ease thrusting it off the edge. Felicia nimbly ran down the steps again skidding to a halt at the railing, getting a better view of the side of the bridge. A breath of relief escaped her lips, when she saw that the car that had fallen, along with others the thing had thrown, were hanging, still attached to the bridge. Attached by webbing.
"Mom? Are you still there? It's going to be okay" She spoke reassuringly trying to prevent her voice from shaking, her eyes rising with Gwen's as Spider-Man appeared swinging from one spoke of the bridge to another. The side of Gwen's mouth lifted into a knowing smile, something Felicia would have noticed if she wasn't freaking out about her mother. Instead of her mother answering however, a distant, muffled scream broke through the line followed by a twisted growl.
"Oh my god, Felicia, look!" Gwen cried out, pointing at the bridge where the beast, that now clearly looked like a lizard, lifted a familiar car up above its head. Felicia's heart sank within her chest, as she let out a terrified gasp, looking at her mothers car, before it took a dive, plummeting towards the water. The girls watched in horror, before Felicia's breath caught in her throat, Spider-Man catching the car from his position the bridge with web, trying to stabilize it.
"Felicia?!" Her mothers voice suddenly rose through, and her daughter let out a relieved sob in response, watching the car hang in midair. But the woman wasn't in the clear yet, the web starting to weaken.
"Mom? Just keep talking to me, alright?" Her eyes fell back to the small figure that was Spider-Man, carefully sliding down the web, landing at the back of the car, moving towards the front. She could hear through muffled connection, the door opening, and her mother's heavy breathing. And then Peter's voice.
"Hello m'am, I'm going to try and get you out now, but we have to move really slowly, alright? Is there someone on the phone?"
"My-my daughter, Felicia..."
"Okay, well this is what's going to happen. You hand the phone to me, and I can reassure her that everything is gonna be okay, whilst you use both of your hands to move slowly to the passenger seat..." Another rustle from the other end, confirmed her mother had handed over the phone "Hello, Felicia, this is uhm...Spider-Man. Your mom is gonna be just fine" Peter Parker's voice came through formally, something the girl would laugh at, if her mother wasn't about to drop to her death.
"What the hell is happening up there?" Felicia hissed, Gwen noticing her change in voice, looking up to just about see that it seemed like Spider-Man was on the phone to her now, as Mrs Hardy tried to climb to the passenger seat.
"I don't know! It's like some kinda Lizard, but huge. I think it was looking for something, it's gone..." The boy talked in his usual ramble, before Gwen let out a gasp, watching as the car fell a few centimetres down. "Uh oh, Felicia I'm going to have to go!"
"Peter!" The name came out of her mouth, quiet, a mutter of sorts, but the blondes eyes fell slowly to her friend, the night becoming a whole lot more interesting, as if that could be possible
"The holds breaking- I'll get her out, I promise" And with that the line went dead, and Felicia was forced to look upwards at the scene, a tear rolling down her cheek. Gwen stood, looking at the ground, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. Felicia knew. How did she know, a fact that Gwen herself had only learned last night.
"How long have you known?" She mumbled finally finding the courage, causing the girl to turn around, realising she had spoken the kids name aloud.
"What?" She played dumb, raising an eyebrow, to which Gwen let out a scoffed laugh, knowing better.
"I heard you, you said his name. How long have you known?" She asked, the fire still raging in the middle of the bridge, sirens roaring in the background.
"Wait-how do you know?" Felicia suddenly asked, seeing the un-surprised look in her friends eyes. She was more surprised that Felicia knew than the fact Peter was Spider-Man.
"He told me last night"
"Oh...well..." The brunette ran a hand through her hair, not looking Gwen in the eye "I've known for a couple of days-"
"A couple of days?!" There was a suspicion in her voice, a guard being put up that was really unnecessary. Whatever Gwen thought was going on, was miles from the truth. But she couldn't know the truth. Felicia wasn't like Peter. She didn't have the courage to tell her. If that made her a coward so be it.
"Gwen listen, this really isn't the time...but I can assure you he actively told you first. He did. I confronted him, and just asked him. That whole thing in the gym, and then those videos going around the internet. I just guessed, and I happened to be right. Plus he's a terrible liar" She added, with a comical shrug trying to lighten the mood, and surprisingly it did. Gwen bought the lie slowly, but she did all the same.
"He is a terrible liar" She mumbled going to laugh, when suddenly Felicia let out a scream, her mothers car exploding due to the fire catching the web attached to the car. She watched in horror as the hunk of metal fell into the water, smoke and ash blurring her clarity of the situation. She ran up the steps again, jumping nimbly over the police railings, much to their protest, plummeting up the wooden walkway where the car had been thrown over. Gwen followed, being allowed to chase her by her father who had appeared on the scene, but her best friend at this time had stopped abruptly in her run. Spider-Man rose from the cloud of smoke, Lydia Hardy in his grip, the two lowering to the ground. Felicia let out a relieved cry, running forward, engulfing her mother in a hug. Gwen also let a wave of relief rush through her system, mouthing a small 'thank you' to the boy she liked under the mask. She believed what Felicia had told her, but the small nod the girl gave him before he took off due to the cops moving in, still held something she wasn't aware of. A feeling that Peter hadn't told her everything.
