Prologue

The flight to Paris took just over 8 hrs. It was a pleasant one, however, as Felicia had booked first class for her and her son, Jason. Although Paris was picturesque and it was Jason's first time in the city, Felicia made haste as she had no time for sight seeing. She rented a car and drove southwest, just outside the city, to see her friend, Garcon, in the Hurepoix region. Garcon had previously operated a clandestine clinic in New York City ,catering to the city's criminal element, where he and Felicia had met. Following a devastating gang war involving Hammerhead, Garcon decided to close his clinic and retire to his native France. There he purchased a modest chateau with his partner, Pierre. Felicia hadn't seen her friend, Garcon, in just over a year. The absence would have likely continued had it not been for a postcard Felicia recently received from her old friend. Garcon had sent the letter on the anniversary of Felicia saving Pierre's life. The year prior, Pierre had fallen severely ill and the necessary treatment required Felicia's skillset to acquire the essential components, something she was happy to oblige for her old friend.

Although the postcard inspired the reunion, Felicia had underlying motivations to see her old doctor friend, motivations tied to her son, Jason. Felicia parked her car just outside the Chateaus entrance, where she was greeted warmly by her old friend and his partner.

"Oh Dah-lin! So good to see you!" Garcon cried as he embraced his old friend.

"Garcon! Pierre!" Felicia answered joyously as she embraced the couple. Jason awkwardly stood back, as he did not have the familiarity with the men as his mother did, and nervously watched as his mother hugged the two men intensely. Unfortunately for him, they then turned their attention to the white haired little boy standing behind his mother. Pierre knew of Jason, but never met him personally unlike his partner, Garcon, who met him several times. Garcon actually hadn't seen Jason in almost two years and was happy to see the boy and how much he had grown.

"Oh look at this one!" He crouched down to hug the boy. "He's so big now!"

"Yup! He's growing up so fast," Felicia said as she picked up her timid son. "Well come on! Say hi to Garcon and Pierre."

Jason had his head buried in his mother's shoulder before she goaded him into saying hello.

"Hi," he said as he waved his small hand awkwardly to the two men.

Pierre clapped his hands together. "Well! Let's show these two to their room. And we have lunch also, you two must be starving!"

Felicia grabbed her and Jason's luggage from the car before following Garcon and Pierre inside. As they walked through inside of the chateau, Felicia glanced around looking at the luxuries Garcon and Pierre had decorated their home with. Fine carpets, vintage wines, and exquisite paintings adorned the Chateau, goods of a quality that Felicia normally would be tempted to acquire for herself as the Black Cat. Fortunately for Garcon, he was one of Felicia's dearest friends and any prospect of burglary extended no further than simple admiration for his home's amenities. After getting settled into their rooms, Felicia and Jason were led into the dining room where Pierre had prepared Coq au Vin, a French stew consisting of chicken braised in red wine with mushrooms and crispy pancetta. Felicia quite enjoyed the dish unlike her son, who found the dish a little too exotic for his taste palette. Dessert proved much more favorable to him as it consisted of Creme Brulee, a dessert made of custard topped with caramelized sugar. After the luncheon, Felicia told Jason to return to his room and to not act crazy, as he often did with his Spider abilities, as they were guests.

Garcon led Felicia into a small room that was filled with a number of bookshelves and two wingback chairs positioned around a small table beside a fireplace. Pierre excused himself to brew tea for the two as Felicia seated herself across from Garcon. He had known her long enough to know that she had an underlying intention behind this reunion.

"Well Dah-lin, what brings you to France?"

"See an old friend."

"Ha! That's a good one! Come on Dah-lin what is it?"

The inquiry was interrupted by Pierre who had returned with a tray filled with a number of small pastries and a tea pot with accompanying teacups. He left the tray in the middle of the table before leaving the two to continue their discussion.

"Merci mon amour," Garcon told Pierre as he rubbed his hand before he left. He poured the tea into two cups before handing one to Felicia, who nodded in acceptance. He took a deep whiff of the hot teas aroma, black tea flavored with bits of dried citrus, before taking a sip. The warm liquid put his mind at ease as it relaxed his whole body.

"Mmm, now then."

Felicia took a brief sip of her tea before answering him.

"It's Jason."

"Oh, what is it? Something wrong with the boy?"

Felicia put her cup down on the table before a deep sigh escaped her lips.

"He started making webbing. Actual webbing, from his wrists. Even my Spidey can't do it!"

Garcon was about to take another sip before he lowered his cup as the revelation caught him by surprise.

"Really? Huh, I thought all spiders could do that?"

"No," Felicia said as she shook her head. "His Father can't do that. His webbing is artificial, same as the other Spiderman."

"Interesting," Garcon said as he scratched his chin in contemplation. "As I recall you told me the father wasn't born with his abilities, he got them after being bitten by a spider?"

"Yes."

"So only so much of his DNA could have been rewritten, but your son is different. His DNA was written from the very beginning, meaning he could be closer to his spider lineage than his father."

"He'll be more spider than man?"

"It's possible," Garcon said as he shrugged his shoulders. "In regard to the father, you told me that he has enhanced strength, wall crawling, uhh a sense of some kind? All these your son will definitely have. When he hits puberty is when things may get problematic. His body will begin to change dramatically, like all children, but his spider dna will complicate things. Spiders do not go through puberty like humans do, but they do change, molt I believe. He will likely manifest more spider abilities and features that the father does not have."

"What? He'll change into a giant spider!?"

Garcon simply shrugged his shoulders. "Again it's possible."

"Oh god!" Felicia buried her eyes into the palms of her hands. A few streams of tears spilled from the corners of her hands, the sight of which compelled Garcon to pull his chair towards his friend and console her. "I just want him to have a normal life," Felicia said tearfully.

"Dah-lin he's anything but a normal boy. You can only hope to give him the best life possible."

Felicia gave a deep sigh as she wiped away the tears from her eyes.

"I thought he'd be more like his father, just smaller. That I could deal with, but if he keeps changing. He's supposed to start school soon."

Garcon placed his hand atop Felicia's as he looked at her concerned.

"What? What do you want me to do?"

"You're the best doctor I know. I, I just need to know what else? What else is going to happen to him."

Garcon leaned back in his chair, rubbing the end of his mustache as he contemplated Felicia's request. Though he was retired, he felt a deep seated obligation to fulfill the request not just out of respect for their friendship, but in gratitude for Felicia saving Pierre's life.

"I have a few friends here who can do some tests. It will take some time to get everything together, but I'll get everything in order. I owe you, after all, for saving Pierre."

"Thank you," Felicia said as she exhaled deeply.

Garcon smiled as he picked up his teacup and finished his tea. He leaned back again in his chair, contemplating the medical direction he'd need to prepare for Felicia's son. It occurred to him, that there was one particular request he'd need of Felicia if he was to give the most precise medical opinion for her son.

"One thing though Dah-lin. If I'm going to give you the best medical opinion for your boy I'm going to need the source. I need the father, I need Spiderman."

"No I can't do that," Felicia protested.

"Then I can only give you the second best opinion."

Felicia placed her hand to her forehead, sighing in frustration. Not from Garcon's response, but from her commitment to raising her son in obscurity. This included keeping Spiderman ignorant of his son's existence all these years. The commitment came as a necessity to shield the boy from the many enemies his mother made during her career as the "Black Cat." She was committed to raising the boy alone, as she did for many things in her life, but it was reaching a breaking point for her. She gave another deep sigh before looking back at Garcon.

"How long till everything is ready?"

"A month, maybe more. I'll need you to bring him back here, once I have everything ready."

"Ok," Felicia said as she leaned back in her chair.

"Alright, good," Garcon said as he clapped his hands together. Once the they had settled their transaction, the conversation veered to an amicable recollection of their experiences in the past year. Garcon munched on a few pastries as he overheard Felicia telling him of her exploits in New York. The two had a fit of laughter when they recalled their experiences dealing with the gangster Hammerhead when he tried to establish himself as the new crime boss of New York. After about an hour of recollection, they decided to retire for the night, and engage in more friendly activities tomorrow. Felicia walked towards her room, but stopped just short and checked in on her son in his room. She found him sleeping on his back on his bed, a blanket half strewn across his body. Felicia smiled as she pulled the blanket over his body. As she tucked his arms underneath, she looked at his left wrist which was wrapped in a bandage like his other one. After the discovery of his latest new "spider ability," Felicia had his wrists wrapped for the trip, lest he accidentally reveal his mutate biology. Just another challenge she'd have to overcome and adapt to like she had before. She pressed a kiss on her son's head as she whispered to him, "Good night, kiddo." After settling her son in his bed, Felicia followed up as well and went to bed.