In a specialized lab in Oscorp, Otto Octavious and a woman around his age with brown hair and a lab coat were working on various pieces of machinery. Otto was working on the circuitry of his smart arms while the woman was going over some calculations and numbers.

"Rosie, my dear," Otto spoke up. "If you keep scribbling with that pencil, it's going to break."

"I'm just making sure the equations are all right."

"You've checked, double checked, and triple checked them over a dozen times. They're right."

"I have to be certain, Otto. if even one variable is unaccounted for-"

Otto cut her off by walking over as she spoke and grabbing her hand. She looked up at him, warmed by his smiling face.

"It will be alright. You've worked so hard for this. What you're going to accomplish here will change the world as we know it."

Rosie chuckled as she stood up.

"You always know just what to say, don't you?" she remarked, embracing him.

"He's not wrong," a new voice agreed.

Rosie and Otto parted as they turned to see Norman Osborn walking through the doorway into their lab.

"This project of yours promises to be a new source of unlimited energy for the world," Norman continued as he approached them. "And a guaranteed Nobel Prize for Oscorp."

"It's not about the money, Norman," Otto insisted.

"Everything's about money, Otto, it just depends on the context. For example, you and your wife needed funding for this experiment."

"And we are grateful for that," Rosie reassured. "Right, Otto?"

"Indeed," Otto replied, his tone slightly reserved. "I suppose the furtherment of scientific advancement means little without a means to pay the bills."

"Indeed," Norman replied. "Which reminds me, what is the progress of the project?"

"We're on schedule," Rosie promised. "Should be ready by the end date next month."

"Excellent. I-"

Suddenly, a crashing sound caused the three to turn around, seeing Peter knocking over some equipment as he walked in.

"Uh… sorry about that," Peter apologized.

"It's quite alright," Otto replied.

"Peter," Norman noted. "Surprised to see you here."

"Uh, Dr. Octavious offered me a position here as an assistant," Peter explained.

"I hope it's not a problem," Otto spoke up.

"Quite the contrary actually," Norman reassured. "I always believe in keeping the best minds available, and Peter Parker is one of the finest around."

"Uh… thanks, Mr. Osborn."

"Well, I'll leave you three to it then."

Norman then exited the room, leaving Peter with Otto and Rosie.

"Always felt Norman was quite the character," Otto commented.

"I guess," Peter replied. "Thanks again for this opportunity."

"Of course. I look forward to seeing what you can provide… as long as you show up on time that is."

This earned a nervous chuckle from Peter and a genuine one from Rosie.

"I'm sure Curt has beaten him enough for that already, Otto," she told him.

"You're right, of course," Otto relented. "Peter Parker, meet Rosemary Octavious. My partner in all aspects of life. It is her brilliance that brings all here today."

Rosie smiled deeply as Peter turned towards what appeared to be four curved metal arches connected at the base being worked on by several technicians.

"Is that it?" Peter asked.

"Yes," Rosie confirmed. "A reactor capable of generating and sustaining fusion energy."

"I understand you use harmonics and atomic frequencies, right?"

"Sympathetic frequencies, actually."

"Harmonic reinforcement?"

"Go on," Otto encouraged.

"An exponential increase… in energy output."

"Didn't I tell you he was brilliant Rosie?"

"You certainly did," Rosie admitted before turning to Peter. "Yes, a huge amount of energy. When this works, it will be like having a perpetual sun providing renewable power for the whole world."

"Incredible," Peter admitted. "So, where do I come in?"

"Well, assuming you don't have a Masters Degree in Quantum Physics," Otto spoke up. "You'll be helping me with the second part of this experiment."

"Second part?" Peter asked as Otto walked over to a table.

"Once the reactor is online, manipulating the reaction will be essential. Handling fusion energy in an environment no human hand could enter. For that, I'll need these."

Otto gestured to the smart arms.

"The arms," Peter deduced.

"Right. For the job at hand they'll have to react with precision speed and control. It's a tall order. Think you're up for the task?"

Peter turned back to Otto, a look of determination on his face.

"Let's get to work."

Across town, a shadowy figure dashed across the rooftops, making her way towards a NYC Diamond Exchange. The figure stopped at the edge of the roof across from the exchange, they fired a grappling hook from the wrist, allowing it to connect with the edge of the building. The figure then leapt off the roof, swinging down before arching upwards and soaring through the air, landing on a light fixture just above a balcony.

There was a lone security guard on the balcony, prompting the figure to reach into their belt and drop a small silver ball onto the ground. The guard looked down at the ball as it bounced on the ground, just before it released a green gas. The guard coughed as he breathed in the gas, causing him to drop the ground. The figure leapt down once they were sure the guard was out, stepping into the light to reveal it was a young woman with white hair in a black catsuit and mask with white gloves. She turned towards the door, extending sharp claws from her glove and using them to cut a small hole in the glass door. Once the hole was cut, she quickly caught the glass before it could fall, pulling it back and reaching inside to unlock the door.

She made her way inside, looking around for something in particular. Noting a safe at the end of a hallway, she was about to move forward before stopping herself. Thinking for a moment, she pulled out a spray can, spraying it at the ground to reveal infrared lasers on the ground.

"Lasers," she bemoaned. "How original."

She immediately leapt towards the wall, bouncing off it and onto the wall across it. She repeated this repeatedly until she leapt down to the ground in front of the safe. She then pulled out a small device and placed it on the safe door. It caused the buttons on the safe to flash repeatedly before beeping, signaling her that the safe was cracked. She opened it up, finding a sack of high grade, uncut diamonds. She smiled in response, snagging the bag and leaving a tiny statuette of a black cat in its place.

On a rooftop across from Oscorp, Peter was stuffing his civilian clothes into his backpack, getting ready to swing off as Spider-Man.

"Man, working with the Octavious' is something else," Peter admitted, donning his Spider-Man mask and swinging off. "My head is still spinning from all the ideas and theories they've got planned. I honestly can't wait for school to end tomorrow so I can go back. Well, if it weren't for Decathlon tomorrow."

...

She made her way back across the hall, just as gracefully as she had done the first time. As she landed on the ground, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a dime. She tossed it behind her before running towards the balcony door. She halted at the door, seemingly waiting for something to happen. As she waited, the dime she tossed rolled onto the ground, hitting one of the laser beams and sounding an alarm. The woman grinned massively before throwing open the door and running out, leaping off the balcony and shooting a grapnal to swing away.

Not far away. Spider-Man landed on the side of a building, hearing the alarms blaring nearby.

"Well, not exactly what I had in mind for tonight," Spidey admitted. "Still, guess I should respond."

He leapt off the wall and shot a webline, allowing him to swing off to the source of the alarm. As he got close, he saw the woman landing on an adjacent rooftop, running as fast as she could. Spider-Man quickly swung in low, landing behind her and shooting a web at her foot, causing her to trip up.

"Now what's a good looking thief like you doing on a rooftop like this?" he quipped as she turned to face him.

"Well," she mused, getting back to her feet. "If it isn't the amazing Spider-Man."

She then wrapped her leg around the web before bringing it down hard, causing Spider-Man to be jerked forward.

She tried kicking him as he came in close, but Spidey quickly dodged the attack before yanking the web and knocking her off her feet again.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Spider-Man asked before suddenly getting kicked in the face.

He fell backwards before rolling onto his feet, watching as the woman used her claws to cut the web off of her.

"Just a stray Black Cat."

"Yikes. Ever consider getting those trimmed?"

"Sadly a good manicurist is so hard to find these days," she remarked, leaping towards him.

She tried swiping at him with her claws, but Spider-Man was fast enough to dodge and block the attacks. He tried sweeping her legs, but she quickly leapt over him, landing behind him and tried elbowing him in the back of the head. He quickly ducked under it and tried throwing a fist at her. She quickly caught it, dropping to the ground and throwing Spider-Man behind her. He rolled out the ground, striking a pose as he landed.

"You got some moves," he commented. "Ever consider the Olympics?"

"Tempting," Black Cat replied. "But this is much more fun."

She then darted over to the edge of the roof, forcing Spider-Man to follow.

"Come on, Spider!" she called out. "Let's play, follow the leader!"

"Hey!" he called out as she leapt off. "That's my line!"

Spider-Man then leapt off after her, watching her fire a grappling hook at a nearby building. He fired a webline and swung after her. She then quickly detached the grappling hook and landed on a nearby fire escape, leaping off of it and shooting her grappling hook again to swing off. Spider-Man maintained his pursuit, bouncing off the fire escape and swinging after her.

Now I know I should've focused on the fact that she was a thief, that she stole priceless diamonds, and that she was more than likely toying with me. Thing is though, when me and Cat were racing across the rooftops, I was actually having… fun. Like, honest to God, fun. Something that was growing increasingly less frequent in my time as Spider-Man.

Black Cat landed on a rooftop and started running, prompting Spider-Man to land and try to web her into place. Black Cat however, leapt onto a nearby AC unit, managing to leap over the web attack.

"Now you better not get any of that goop in my hair," she taunted.

"Don't worry," Spidey replied. "It comes off with ice or peanut butter."

"Charming," she replied, darting towards him.

Spider-Man continued shooting webs at Black Cat, who kept dodging and weaving between before springing forward. She then proceeded to tackle him, causing the two to roll on the ground before Black Cat pinned him down.

"I win," she declared.

Now, at this point, I'd say something clever like "now I know you like being on top". But seeing her positioned over me, I was at a loss for words.

Smirking, Black Cat got back to her feet, still standing over Spider-Man.

"See ya around."

She then started backflipping away. Spider-Man finally got up as she flipped off the edge of the roof, forcing him to run towards her. He reached the edge, looking over the side for any sign of her, but found none. She had simply vanished without a trace.

"Whoa…"

Gotta say, the other night threw me for a loop. I had no idea what that "Black Cat" character was all about, or why she insisted on playing around with me. But I didn't have time to worry about that, cause the next day at school was our latest match in the Academic Decathlon, and I was determined to not let the team down.

In the Midtown High library, Peter was pouring through numerous books on science and math in an attempt to get in some last minute studying before the match. With his nose quite literally stuck in a book, he didn't even notice someone approaching his table.

"Anyone sitting here?"

Peter looked up to see a blonde teenage girl standing in front of him. She had a smile that seemed to beam confidence and friendliness, something that made Peter smile in kind.

"Uh… no," Peter replied. "Not at all. I, uh… don't think I've seen you around."

"I'm just visiting today," the girl replied as she sat down. "Names Felicia."

"Peter. So, you here for the Decathlon match against Hardy Prep?"

"Yeah. Should be interesting. Though doesn't Hardy Prep beat Midtown every year?"

"Well, yeah, technically. But this year, things are going to be different."

"Why? Because you're on the team?"

"Well… something like that."

"Wow. You must be pretty smart."

"I… don't like to brag, but I am considered one of Midtown's best and brightest."

"Is that so?" Felicia wondered, leaning in close.

"Uh… yeah. That… that's me."

"Good," Felicia replied, reaching into her backpack and pulling out one of her books. "Cause, I was wondering if I could get your help with something."

She opened her book to a math problem, which drew Peter in.

"We're supposed to calculate linear acceleration between points A and B, but I've been wracking my brain about it all week."

"May I?" Peter offered.

Felicia handed him the book, allowing him to look it over.

"Uh… actually it's pretty easy. Mass cancels out, so it's just gravity times sign."

"Really?" Felecia wondered, taking the book back and looking it over. "Wow… guess the simplest answers are the best. Thanks."

"Don't mention it."
"Well, I'd better get going," Felicia replied, packing up her stuff. "Good luck out there."

"Thanks," Peter replied as Felicia walked away.

Later that day, Peter and the rest of the Decathlon team met backstage in the auditorium, where Gwen was giving them a little pep talk.

"So, are we all ready for this?" Gwen asked.

All the students signed off affirmatively, much to her delight.

"Great. First off, I am very happy to welcome our newest member, Peter Parker, to the team."

The team applauded as Peter rubbed the back of his neck.

"Thanks, guys. I'm just… happy to be part of the team."

"Well, we're happy to have you, Peter," Gwen reassured. "Hardy Prep has beaten us every year, but with you on our team, I know we have a chance."

Have to admit, it felt pretty nice to feel appreciated. After all the bashing and slander I got as Spider-Man and all the strife I'd got as Peter Parker up to that point, to actually be wanted on a team felt pretty nice.

Gwen then checked her phone and saw what time it was.

"Yikes," she let out. "We'd better get ready. It's almost time."

The Midtown Decathlon team took their positions, anxiously waiting for the arrival of the team from Hardy Prep.

"Everyone," the announcer spoke up. "Thank you for coming out to today's matchup between Midtown High and Hardy Prep."

The audience applauded as the Hardy Prep team came out and took their seats. Peter looked over and went wide eyed when he saw, of all people, Felicia, amongst the teammates.

"Everything ok, Peter?" Gwen asked.

"Huh? Uh… yeah, fine."

Now, I know what you're thinking, why did I keep the fact that I met her a secret? Well, let's just say having a brief study session with one of the members of the opposing team right before my first match would most likely not go over well with the rest of the team. Regardless, the rest of the match seemed to be going well. That is, until the final question…

After several minutes of wins and losses for both groups, it was down to the last question.

"Alright," the announcer spoke. "The last question to win it all," just then, a projection of a very familiar triangle appeared in front of them. "Is to calculate linear acceleration between points A and B."

Yep. The same math problem she 'supposedly' had been struggling with just happened to be the final question of the Decathlon match. I really wanted to believe it was just a coincidence, but something inside me seriously doubted it.

Both Peter and Felicia began scribbling down some numbers, as to make it look like they hadn't heard this question before. Just as Peter was about to put down his pencil, the buzzer for Hardy Prep rang out, causing Peter to turn and see Felicia's hand on the buzzer.

"The answer is… gravity times sign?" she proposed.

"That is correct," the announcer confirmed, resulting in applause from the audience. "Hardy Prep is the winner."

The Midtown High team all hung their heads in defeat, with Peter himself feeling especially dejected.

Later, the Hardy Prep team was walking through the halls, visibly ecstatic about their victory,

"Alright guys, alright," Felicia spoke up. "Great work all around. Of course this means we're going to have to work twice as hard to keep this winning streak up."

Some small groans came from the team.

"But not tonight. Tonight, we celebrate!"

The dour tone of the group turned immediately as they all cheered in response.

"Pretty slick move back there."

Felicia turned to see Peter walking towards her. He tried leaning on one of the lockers, but his arm slipped off, causing him to stumble a bit. He quickly stabilized himself and just crossed his arms to try and look irritated.

"Oh, hey Peter," Felicia greeted. "Look, I can imagine you might be a little upset."

"You mean how you used me to cheat?"

"I honest to God didn't know they were gonna ask that. It was just super lucky."

Peter just stared at her sceptically. Felicia let out a breath before speaking again.

"Alright, what do you say we start over. Hi, I'm Felicia Hardy."

Peter perked up at the name.

"Hardy? As in Hardy Prep?"

"Yeah… my mom's the headmistress. She insists on a certain level of academic aptitude."

"I can imagine."

"Yeah," Felicia replied before an idea sparked in her head. "Tell you what. We're having a little victory party tonight. Since you… indirectly helped us win, why don't you join us?"

Peter was taken aback by that.

"Seriously? Would I even be… welcome there?"

"Ah, these guys don't bite. Head over to the campus around 6:30. Go to building six and wait for me there."

"Uh… alright. See you then."

"See ya," Felicia wished as she and her team, leaving Peter more than a little surprised and confused.

….

Later on, the Black Cat walked down the street and into a building called "The Bar With No Name". As she entered, the patrons all turned towards her and began making eyes at her.

"Hey there cutie," one of the men remarked. "Lookin for a good time?"

"As if you could provide," Black Cat remarked, slamming her foot down hard on his.

He let out a yell of pain as Black Cat walked past, eying her target in a nearby booth.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she spoke, sitting down across from the man.

"No harm no foul, kitten," the man replied, leaning in and revealing himself to be Hammerhead. "Assuming you got what the boss wanted."

"Piece of cake."

She pulled out a bag and tossed it on the table. Hammerhead picked it up and opened it to see the diamonds inside.

"Not bad, kid."

"So, that's it? Jobs done?"

"Not quite. The boss still has need of your services."

"Why am I not surprised? How much longer is he gonna keep playing games with me?"

"As long as he says so."

"Yeah, well if 'he' is so insistent, why doesn't he come himself."

"You know that's not how the Kingpin works."

Black Cat narrowed her eyes in response, but she took it in stride.

"Alright. What bank or jewelry store does he want me to bust up this time?"

"Actually, the boss has something a little… different in mind."

Meanwhile at Oscorp, Peter was working on the programming of the arms. His mind however, was on Felicia and the party later that night. Otto took note of this as Peter seemingly typed away aimlessly at the keyboard.

"Something on your mind?" he asked.

Peter perked up, turning towards him.

"Oh, sorry, Dr. Octavious. Just… have something on my mind."

"Like what?"

"Well… there's this girl-"

"Ah, is there now?"
"It's not like that," Peter insisted. "She kinda tricked me… I think, and now she's inviting me to a party."

"So, do you think that you'll go?"

"I'm… not sure. I mean, she seemed pretty nice at first, but I don't know if she's just messing with me again. Still, she seemed sincere at the end..."

"When faced with an unknown variable, further investigation is usually required."

Peter looked up in surprise.

"You think I should go?"

"If your fears are right, this will confirm them for sure. If you're wrong, well, then you might have a new friend."

Peter pondered what Otto said, seeing the logic in his reasoning. Finally, Peter nodded in response.

"Alright, I'll go. Thanks Dr. Octavious."

"Happy to help," Otto replied as he and Peter returned to work.

Later on, Peter was back in his Spider-Man attire, swinging towards the Hardy Prep campus.

So, there I was. On my way to a party at a prestigious prep school to meet a girl that may or may not have used me to get the winning point in a Decathlon match. Makes one miss the simplicity of chasing after thieves in black cat suits. Speaking of which…

As Spider-Man rounded the corner, he caught sight of the Black Cat running across the rooftops, stopping on the roof of a museum.

"Well, look who decided to come out and play."

He swung towards the roof just as Black Cat cut entered through the ventilation system.

Inside, Black Cat traveled down the ventilation shaft until she reached the end, using her claws to slow her momentum to a stop. She then pulled out a small electric screwdriver and used it to take out all the screws in the grate. Once the last one was removed, she quickly grabbed the grate before it hit the ground, pulling it up and placing it on the side. She then dropped down, landing on one of the display cases before scanning the area. She finally set her sights on a decorative vase with Chinese characters written across it.

She smiled at the sight, leaping from display case to display case until she extended her claws and clung to the wall just above the vase. Thinking critically as to how to proceed, she decided to kick the stat, knocking the vase off so she could catch it with her foot. She then used her free hand to grab the vase before leaping onto the stand the vase was on. She placed the vase in her bag, putting another cat statuette in its place before leaping off to another display case. Before she could make her escape though, Spider-Man lowered himself from the vent upside down on a webline.

"I don't know if you know this," he spoke. "But the gift shop is on the first floor."

"Yeah, but they never have the really good stuff."

She quickly leapt up to Spider-Man, grabbing onto his web and using her claws to cut the web. This caused Spider-Man to drop to the ground, crashing into one of the display cases and sounding the alarm.

"You know," Spidey winced. "If you were going for stealth… you kinda dropped the ball."

"The game's no fun if it's too easy," Black Cat remarked, climbing up the severed web.

Spider-Man quickly shook off the fall, shooing a web upwards and following after her.

On the roof, Black Cat managed to get out of the vent and took off running. Spider-Man managed to climb out and began his pursuit just as Black Cat leapt off the roof. She shot a grappling hook and swung off, prompting Spider-Man to follow after. He shot out a web, slinging after her at breakneck speed. She swung towards a rooftop, rolling onto the ground as Spider-Man kept up. He landed on top of an AC unit, shooting web lines out at her. She however, was able to dodge them in rapid succession. Seeing that was going nowhere, he leapt towards her, forcing her to leap over him. Responding quickly, he landed on his hands and springboard off of them, landing upright. He reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. He then threw her against the wall, pinning her there.

"You ready to give up?" he asked.

"Not yet."

She quickly kneed him in the gut, causing him to loosen his grip on her. She used this advantage to pull herself free and extended her claw proceeding to swipe at him. He quickly dodged and deflected her attacks before backflipping out of the way. As he landed, he tried firing a web at her, which she dodged before shooting a grappling line at him. It wrapped around him, allowing her to pull him in close and pin him to a wall.

"Well… this is different," he let out.

"I don't know. Feels right to me."

"Is that right? Well how about…" he then proceeded to kick her back. "This!"

She fent flying back, tipping over the edge of the roof. Seeing this, Spider-Man snapped free of the cable and ran towards her. He managed to reach the edge and shot a web down to her, snagging her arm and stopping her fall. Spidey let out a sigh of relief before reeling her in.

"You ok?" he asked, pulling her up.

"Yeah… thanks."

"Hey, I'm the hero, remember?"

He then brought her back onto the roof, checking to make sure she was alright.

"Now, how about you turn yourself into the police, and we call it a night?" he suggested.

"Tempting…" this time it was Cat's turn to kick him aside, giving her the chance to run. "But I don't think so!"

"Hey!"

Yeah, yeah. Duped twice in one day. Not the best look for me. But there's more to this tale, so stick with me.

Uh… no pun intended.

Cat leapt off the rooftop, landing on a fire escape and leaning on the wall to stay out of sight. Spider-Man jumped off a roof and prepared to follow, but nothing came out of his web shooter as he fired it. He tried again with his other web shooter, but it came out empty as well.

"Not good…"

He started falling to the ground. Just then, Black Cat's grappling line shot out, snagging him by the hand. Spidey looked up in surprise as Cat attached the line to the fire escape.

"You… you saved me?"

"Hey, I owed you one. Catcha later, Spider."

She then climbed back up the fire escape and disappeared onto the roof. Spider-Man quickly freed himself from the cable and climbed back up the side of the building, only for Black Cat to be gone by the time he got there.

"Great…"

Later, Peter made it to the campus, running up to building six. He looked around for any sign of Felicia, but couldn't find her.

"Great… Peter Parker, you are a world class sucker."

"I wouldn't say that."

Peter looked up, seeing Felicia walking up to him, a small smile gracing his face.

"Was starting to wonder if I'd been stood up."

"Nah, just… had something to take care of."

"Well, now that your schedules cleared up, shall we?" Peter replied, gesturing inside.

Felicia paused, looking at the building before turning back to Peter.

"You know, I just remembered," she spoke. "I've never been one for the party scene. You wanna just… walk around for now?"

"Uh… sure?"

"I didn't mean to pull one over on you," Felicia admitted as she and Peter walked through the campus. "things just… kinda happened that way."

"Then why did you speak up? I mean, it's not like Hardy Prep doesn't have enough wins under its belt."

"Tell that to my mother. She seems insistent that anything less than star pupil is unacceptable. So I kinda have to put on a more studious face for her. Ridiculous, I know, but-"

"Not really," Peter cut off. "I know how it feels to… have other people's needs weigh on you."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well… I… have this job. Uh, taking pictures for the Bugle."

"Oh yeah, the Spider-Man photos. I thought I recognized your name."

"Yeah, that's me. Anyway, it… takes up a lot of my time, and it's put me at odds with my friends more than once. Including, someone…"

Felicia winced upon realizing what he was referring to.

"Girl problems?"

"Who, me? Nah. No girl problems. I'd have to have a girl to have girl problems."

"Ouch. Sorry about that."

"So am I. Seems like since taking the job, I just can't seem to catch a break."

"So why don't you quit?"

"Believe me, I'd like to. Unfortunately, I kinda have to so I can provide for my Aunt."

"I see. And you can't allow yourself time to just have fun?"

"Believe me, I would if I could. It just seems like my life has been nothing but responsibility lately."

"Sounds like a lot of stress. You should find a way to unwind."

"Easier said than done. You should know. Your life seems just as high maintenance as mine."

"Not really," Felicia replied, leaping up onto a small wall and walking across it. "Sure, I still play the dutiful daughter for my mom's sake, but when I don't feel like it, I just kinda cut loose."

"Really? And… how exactly does the daughter of the headmistress of a private school do to unwind?"

"Oh, you know, the usual ways. Late night excursions around town, the occasional day trip to Coney Island. Skipping class on occasion or two.

"Wow, you keep busy. What do you do for an encore? Skinny dipping in the school pool?"

"Of course not," Felicia remarked, gently elbowing him. "Don't be silly… I'm smart enough to keep my underwear on."

"Oh of course," Peter replied mockingly. "Forgive me for being presumptuous."

The two shared a laugh before stopping for a moment. In a moment, Felicia leaned in and kissed Peter on the lips. Peter was taken aback by this, but returned the kiss in kind.

Finally, the two pulled away, Peter standing there speechless for a second.

"Uh… thanks? I mean, it was nice, but we only just met, and-"

"I know, it's just… you seemed pretty nice. And I still felt guilty about before, so…"

"And you were sure I wouldn't object?"

"I find the best risks in life are the ones you know will pay off."

Peter just smirked before the two kissed again. Before they could get too into it, Felicia's phone started ringing. The two pulled back as Felicia pulled out her phone.

"One moment," she insisted before answering. "Hello?"

"Where you at, kitten?" Hammerhead asked.

Felica froze up turning back to Peter nervously.

"Uh… sorry. Gotta take this."

Felicia walked away for a moment, much to Peter's confusion.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"You managed to get the goods?"

"Yeah. You'll get it tomorrow night."

"Not how the business works, princess. The boss wants it now."

Felicia rubbed her eyes, knowing she wasn't going to get out of this.

"I'll be there in an hour," she told him before hanging up and turning back to Peter. "Listen, something just came up, and I gotta go."

"Uh… it's cool. I understand."

A little too well.

"Uh, we should hang out sometime," Peter suggested. "Maybe indulge in one of your 'stress relievers'.?"

"Sounds good," Felicia agreed, starting to walk off. "I'll call you when I'm available."

"Ok, I-" Peter began to reply before Felicia went off. "See you… later."

Gotta say, it was something to be on the receiving end of that exchange. And while I didn't know it then, she and I had a lot more in common than I realized.

Felicia quickly rounded a corner before slipping off her backpack and opening it up, revealing the Black Cat costume, wig, and mask inside.