Summary: Felicia has finally moved on after Peter. Will the new guy in her life make her happy or turn her life completely upside down? A Spider–Man and Black Cat adventure co-authored with Mark C.
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The Devil You Don't Know
Chapter 1: An Unexpected Encounter
"You know more than you're telling," the Black Cat drawled. Frankie's head hit the brick wall with a satisfying crack. Her long, manicured nails pressed harder into the skin of his throat. "Now, be a sweetheart, and spill."
"Okay, okay!" he croaked.
She released her grip on him and stepped back. Her platinum blonde hair shifted slightly in the wind as she watched him with a calculating gaze.
Frankie Munroe wondered how he had found himself on a rooftop, talking to Felicia Hardy. Her low-cut leather outfit was distracting to say the least, but he'd dealt with her before when she needed information on the city's criminal underbelly. Rubbing at his neck, he glanced at her sideways. "You know, a little… incentive… might help me remember better…"
Frankie only had a second's warning. His eyes widened in terror as the woman lifted him, and powered him to the edge of the roof. She wrapped a sinewy arm around his legs, and tilted him over the railing.
He screeched in fright. The change in his pockets spilled out and clattered to the street, a sickening several seconds later.
She cooed, "Oh, honey, you know better, that's not the way I work." She could see the sweat that had beaded on his forehead run lazily into his hairline. She shifted her hold, ever so slightly, and the stoolie jerked an inch closer to the pavement far below.
"Aaa… Aaa! All right! I may have heard that the Maggia were pulling a job on the museum a couple nights ago." He began gasping loudly, face slowly turning a darker shade of red.
"And…?" the Cat encouraged.
"And!" Gasp. "There's been some activity down at the docks today!" Gasp.
"Where exactly?"
Gasp. "Pier 52!" His voice raised in pitch as the blood pounded in his head. "That's all I know! I swear!"
She pulled him up and planted his feet firmly back on the concrete. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" She gave him a peck on the cheek, and shot a grappling hook toward the next building over.
Frankie watched the vigilante swing away. "Crazy bitch," he muttered when he was sure she was too far away to hear. He then let the darkness take him as he fainted dead away.
Two days priorIt had been a beautiful New York day, the sun as bright as it could be, without a cloud in the sky. Felicia Hardy loved days like this, especially now that her life seemed to be in order once again. Not too many years ago, I only felt at peace during the black of night, she mused. She had been in high spirits, spending the day pampering herself by purchasing some clothes and jewelry. With that done, all Felicia wanted to do was spend a nice quiet evening at home. And a nice, warm bath is just the way to start it off.
As the water slowly rose, filling the tub with fragrant bubbles, the phone rang. Go figure. It seems like every time I want to take a wonderful relaxing bath, something happens to interrupt it, she thought, turning off the water to go answer the phone.
"Hello?"
"Felicia, this is Cammie Smith," came the voice on the other end.
"Cammie! It's been a while. What's up?" Wow, she hadn't heard from Cammie since college…
"I need a favor. I'm sorry to ask, but you're the only one that I know of that could help," Cammie said, a little shakily.
"I'll try, Cammie. What's the matter?"
"Something happened… I would prefer telling you in person."
"Okay, can you meet me at the Coffee Bean in about 45 minutes?"
"That shouldn't be a problem, Felicia."
"Good. See you there," Felicia replied and then hung up the phone. Well, I guess that takes care of my bath. She wondered what was the matter, and why Cammie would need her help.
It wasn't long after their conversation that Felicia was able to make it over to the Coffee Bean. Finding a booth with a good view of the door, Felicia waited for Cammie to arrive. Soon after ordering a cup of coffee, she noticed that Cammie had made it and waved her over.
"Hi, Cammie," Felicia greeted her friend, while motioning for a waitress.
"Felicia, it's good to see you again. I wish it were under better circumstances," replied Cammie as she settled nervously into her seat.
"So, what's going on? And what can I do to help?"
Before answering Felicia's question, Cammie ordered her coffee from the waitress. After the woman had left, she began, "I was just promoted to assistant curator at the Asia Society and Museum. They put me in charge of an exhibit focusing on feudal Japan. It will showcase several rare and priceless katanas, as well as Samurai armor."
"Congratulations, Cammie."
"Thanks. But something happened the other day that could jeopardize the museum's reputation and cost it thousands of dollars."
"What happened?"
"A priceless ivory-handled katana was stolen from the exhibit two days ago. It's on loan from a museum in Japan, and was supposed to make its way to other museums throughout the country," Cammie said worriedly. She took out a picture of the katana and showed it to Felicia.
"Nice looking sword. What makes it so special?" Felicia asked, marveling over the katana's picture.
"The katana is hundreds of years old, and it has a unique handle that is made out of ivory in the shape of a dragon's head. Those two characteristics together make the katana priceless."
"I take it that you want me to get it back for the museum?"
"I am hoping so. It would mean a lot to the museum… and to me… for the katana to be recovered. I was very fortunate to hear that you were in town and I could really use your skills on this. What do you say, Felicia?" Cammie asked, a pleading tone to her voice.
Felicia looked first at the photo of the sword, and then her friend's face. She had little trouble making a decision.
"Okay, I'll do it. I have a few sources I can contact to try to get some leads. Is it all right if I keep this picture?"
"Sure." Cammie looked relieved.
"Good. I'll get right on it and I'll keep you informed of my progress."
"Thanks a lot, Felicia."
"What are friends for?"
Present TimeAs the Black Cat made her way through the valleys and rooftops of the city, she had only one thing on her mind: Frankie's information had better be right – or he'll wish this cat had never crossed his path. Reaching Pier 52 in no time at all, Cat began looking about to catch a glimpse of the missing katana and/or the person(s) responsible for taking it.
Well, well, well. There sure is a lot of activity down at the old pier tonight and it's all centered around this warehouse, Black Cat said to herself as she focused her attention on the warehouse.
It wasn't going to be easy to get inside, and the Black Cat knew it. Since there was no way to get in through the proverbial 'front door', Cat looked around the building to see if there was a window or some kind of rear entrance. Luck was definitely on her side. She spied a window that was far enough away from all the activity. Very carefully, she launched her grappling hook so that she wouldn't attract attention to herself, and proceeded to climb up to the window.
"Damn it!" Black Cat whispered, discovering the window was locked. "Well, I can remedy that situation rather easily."
With a flick of the wrist, Cat extended her razor sharp claws on her right glove, and began to cut a circular hole in the window next to the lock. In no time at all, the hole was finished and the lock was opened. Silently, the Black Cat opened the window and slipped inside.
Staying to the catwalks as silently as her namesake, Cat made her way around the warehouse in hopes of finding the rare katana. After several minutes stealthily roaming around on the catwalks, she finally spotted the item that she was looking for.
The katana was on a table with its scabbard next to it. The only problem was that there were four men guarding the sword.
Time for a little distraction, the Black Cat thought hurriedly. Searching the catwalk, she found a couple of pieces of scrap wood. This should do the trick, I hope. Black Cat tossed the wood scraps… crack! All four men turned toward the sound.
"Youse two guys go check that out," one of the four ordered.
"Sure thing, boss."
Two burly men went in search of what caused the noise they had just heard.
The Black Cat dropped down from above. "Good evening, boys," she announced, kicking both men in the chest.
Not giving them a chance to fight back, Cat gave them each a roundhouse kick, knocking them out. Looking around quickly, she noticed a storage closet. Inside were a few odds and ends and… some rope! She hogtied her two less-than-worthy adversaries in the closet with relative ease.
"Two down, two to go."
Firing her grappling hook and ascending to the catwalk once more, Cat made her way back to where the katana was being held. Now it was time to deal with the two remaining gentlemen, she reckoned.
"If it worked the first time…"
Black Cat pounced on the unsuspecting goons, delivering two swift kicks and an upper cut to each.
"I think you two should have a meeting of the minds," Black Cat told them, smacking both of their heads together and knocking them out cold.
Black Cat tied both of them up with their belts to make sure that they wouldn't be discovered until she was long gone. She went over to the katana, placed it in its scabbard and prepared to take her leave.
"Look over there!" a voice shouted. "The Black Cat has the sword, get her!"
"Son of a…" she muttered. "I'd better get the hell out of here before this cat loses a few of her nine lives."
A bullet zinged close by. She whirled around in time to see five or six men coming after her. Making sure that the katana was secured to her back, Black Cat fired her grappling hook and brought herself up past the catwalk, so she could hightail it out of there.
It's times like these that I wish I had a spider-sense, Cat thought as she tried to avoid the oncoming gunfire. It would really come in handy about now.
She looked toward the window she had used to enter the place. Too far away! She raced along the catwalks, barely keeping ahead of the gunfire. On the ground level, she saw a heavy concrete slab, tilted against the wall, surrounded by heavy crates. She leaped the distance to the ground, and slid under the slab. With any luck, the gunmen did not see exactly where she was hiding.
Felicia tried to think. Damn! If I only still had those bad luck powers! They might actually do me some good here…
The gunshots were getting closer and closer to their target, crumbling the edges of the makeshift barricade she was hidden behind. She wasn't sure how long it would hold.
A gentle touch on her shoulder made her jump, and she spun rapidly, ready to meet the new threat. A man crouched a few feet away. Where had he come from? He moved a little farther from her, lifting his hands in entreaty. "Whoa! I don't mean you any harm," he whispered.
She looked him over, warily. He had jet-black hair, a black eye-mask, and a muscular frame. Although it was difficult to tell in the poor light, he seemed to also be wearing a black outfit… a jumpsuit, perhaps? But she had never seen him before in her life. "Who are you?" she said flatly.
The gunfire continued all around them, as the hired goons searched for her relentlessly. "Of course, she doesn't know you…" he muttered to himself. "I'm just starting out – but I was hoping my reputation was growing, at least a little," he added in a louder voice, a little sheepishly. "My name's Paul. I think they're calling me the Dark Crusader or something…"
Felicia wasn't buying any of it. She cut right through his chatter. "What do you want?" she hissed.
He grimaced. "I was in the area, and I heard gunshots. It looked like you could use some help."
A shot pierced the barricade, showering chunks of concrete into Cat's hair. "I just need a way out of here." She gave him an appraising look. "Are you also known as the Human Shield?" she said wryly. All she needed was some rookie 'superhero' coming in here, trying to impress her…
His face took on a determined cast. "I'll see what I can do." With that, he slid around the edge of the wall, into the line of fire.
"Wait!" she called out. The gunfire increased tenfold, as the gunmen finally had a real target to aim at. Within seconds, the fire ceased. She heard shouts of astonishment and pain… and then silence.
Felicia carefully peeked from behind the barrier. 'Paul,' the Dark Crusader, stood over the unconscious bodies of several thugs. He seemed completely unharmed. She readjusted the katana on her shoulder, brushed the grit from her clothing and hair, and came to stand beside him, surprised. "How…?"
He turned to Felicia, smiled and winked. "Trade secret."
She hated to admit it – she was impressed. But not just any man could swing into her life and try to win her over… those days were long past. She opened her mouth to speak, to try to let him down easy…
In a flash, he was already at the opened window she had used to get in, nodding in farewell. "Bye-bye, kitty cat. See you around." With those words, he gracefully leaped up to grab the windowsill, and slithered through.
A small smile played at her lips. "Maybe we will…"
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A/N: This story is largely inspired by the events of Marvel Knights Spider-Man #1-12, but is based in current continuity, pre-Civil War. However, no prior knowledge is required!
Bucketloads of thanks go out to Georgia Kennedy, our meticulous proofreader, Jenn1, our muse, and hazelle, our 'reaction-girl.' Without them, this tale wouldn't be half of what it is.
For those of you who hate to begin reading a story and never see it finish, this fic is already 80-90 percent 'in the can.' We will update once a week until completion.
Now, go ahead, review - constructive criticism is always appreciated, but no flames, please.