The Black Cat

How many years had Felicia Hardy been casing this city? How many museum heists? How many burglaries of mob bosses or corrupt businessmen and politicians had she pulled off? Countless. Too many for her to remember, that's for certain. And yet, no one ever seemed to learn that even if she fell off the map for a year, it was all part of the game. The infamous Black Cat was never too far away in New York City.

In fact, tonight was her first night back in her old stomping grounds, Felicia having spent some time in Europe and Asia - enjoying the sights, the food, the people, and waiting for the heat to die down across the Atlantic. She stood amongst the rooftops, basking in the moment for a split second. The sweltering confines of the streets giving way to the cool night air atop the buildings and skyscrapers, the endless stream and bustle of city noises, and lights, light everywhere. She took a sharp breath, almost nostalgic. The city felt like it hadn't changed, even if she knew it had changes so much.

She had seen the news. In the last month or so, many, many players across NYC had fallen off the map. And, unlike her, for good. Her heart ache when she found out that Peter Parker - that goodhearted fool - was no more. Then her curiosity piqued when so many of his former rogues bit the bullet, too. There was an uptick of murders and disappearances, she knew that too, but the first two pieces of information were the most interesting to Felicia. If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn they were connected.

"Well, this one's for you, Spider..." Felicia said into the night, solemn and mournful. "I'm going to miss our little dance. And I'm even sadder you never ditched Red and hooked up with me. But, whenever I'm robbing Kingpin or Osborn blind, I'll be thinking of you."

Steeling herself and her emotions, Felicia made her way across rooftops with grace and ease. This was her city, yearlong absence or not, she knew it better than the back of her hand. Tonight's heist was in a smaller museum in Brooklyn, which had just started showcasing artifacts from Wakanda, all sponsored by the Royal Family. Felicia loved the idea of testing her mettle against whatever tricks the Wakandans might apply to ward off thieves.

Plus, she thought the people of Wakanda just had such wonderful taste in felines. She absolutely approved.

Felicia thought tonight would be a cinch; a small target with no connections to any known criminal family or organization, with supervillains an endangered species in New York... she never expected that something the shadows was all too eager to hunt her.

Returning to her old haunt... it was exhilarating! New York was Felicia's territory, her jungle. Traversing the rooftops was second nature to her - dashing across the gravel and stone and tile, reaching the edge, leaping into the night with reckless abandon, before touching down on the next roof. Over and over. She could have done it blindfolded. She could have done it in high-heels - hell, she was doing it in heels! Allowing herself a moment to smile and laugh and bask in her return, Felicia never felt more alive than she did right now!

Dash, edge, leap, touchdown. Dash, edge, leap, touchdown. Dash, edge, lead tou - something crashed into Felicia from her side, sending her careening into the night.

For one, heart-stopping moment, Felicia was afraid she was about to plummet into the alley, into the gap between buildings, swallowed by her own city and left, broken and dying. Fortunately - by luck or by skill - she had move forward enough that she just ended up slamming hard onto the rooftop of the next building. She gasped in pain from the impact of the first fall, air knocked from her lungs, before instinct kicked in, tucking and rolling to minimize the remainder of the fall. Still, by the time she came to a stop, she was battered and dazed.

Bracing against the small shed in the middle of the roof - the access to the apartment's beneath - Felicia tried to make out her attacker. A fruitless effort. Her head swam with pain. Brooklyn grew darker along the edge of her vision, the remainder of it blurred and hazy. Still, she saw no movement, so she gave herself those tense seconds to recover and refocus. Push away the pain like she had done in the past and then -

THWIP THIWP

Something struck her right hand, smashing it into the access shed and pinning it there. She gave it a few yanks, finding it stuck beneath the substance. It was hard, but malleable, warm and slightly gooey. For Felicia Hardy, it was supremely and surprisingly familiar The pain receded as her heart leaped in recognition, before reality set in. She stared at the webbing. Blood red in colour.

It wasn't him. Spider was dead. Unless it was that little sidekick he picked up year ago. Or another clone or -

THWIP THWIP THWIP

Caught in her hopeful reminiscing, Felicia was blindsided again, more webbing striking her and tangling her up, pinning her to the side of the access shed by both wrists, her ankles, and then a large smear of webbing across her waist. Adrenaline running in her system, flight or fight kicking in, the pain lessened, replaced by the shame of being caught like this. Felicia glowered silently, barring her teeth at her unseen attacker, struggling against the webbing. It was her first time being caught in it - Felicia would reason she knew it better than most, actually - but this felt... different. It was eerily warm, smelt sharply of iron, and seemed to grow tighter and hotter the more she struggled beneath it.

Eyes and ear open, Felicia caught movement at the edge of the shadows, on the opposite side of the building, two figures approaching her. One of them mocked her, laughing and talking in a high, sweet voice. Feminine. Dangerous. Hungry. Bloodthirsty. It sent a shiver down Felicia's spine.

"Welcome to the parlor, said the spiders to the kitty-cat~"

She shouldn't have been so surprised to be webbed up like this. Of course, before heading out for her heist, Felicia had done her research. Read up on the two newest Spiders that had hit the scene. Ghost-Spider and Scarlet-Spider. The former covered head-to-toe in her white body suit, hood and mask, a slender, lithesome figure that moved with the grace of a dancer. Her footsteps feather-light, each one as precise and perfect as a well-choregraphed routine. The latter was achingly gorgeous in her leotard and boots, breathtakingly beautiful and impossibly voluptuous. A picture of divine beauty with her red hair and pale skin framed against the night sky. She wore no mask - either confident or crazy - and her movements reminded Felicia of only one thing. A predator closing the distance on her prey, closing in on the kill.

Felicia gulped, knowing what she was in this scenario. She quickly weighed her options - first and foremost being how fast could she get to the anti-webbing solution on her belt - when she gasped in shock. In less time than it took her to blink, the two Spider - Scarlet and Ghost... blurred forward, closing a dozen feet in a mere moment. They moved like shadows on the wall, unlike anything Felicia had seen before. With power unlike any Spider-person she had seen before. She must have displayed her surprise openly, as Ghost-Spider tittered inanely at Felicia. But it was Scarlet who took lead, standing face to face with Felicia, smiling rapturously, red eyes gleaming triumphantly.

Briefly, oh so briefly, Felicia made contact with those eyes and then turned away. That brief moment made her feel small and worthless, left her trembling from the sheer power they radiated. These weren't your everyday, friendly neighbourhood Spider-people...

"Felicia Hardy..." Scarlet pronounced, stretching every syllable out, rolling them along her tongue in a manner that infused her name with disdain and condescension. "I'm so happy we could meet up again. It's been ages. And I've been dying to show you the new me..."

"Sorry, but have we met before?" Felicia replied, trying to play it cool. Trying to keep whoever this was talking. Trying to avoid looking into her eyes. "Because I think I would recognize a bombshell like you. Even in New York, you don't get women like you very often."

Scarlet smiled back, but it was cold. "Don't think you can flatter you way out of this one. But..." Then, the mystery woman reached a hand up to her face, right behind her jaw and below her ear. She pressed something and her face glitched for a moment, light flashing around it, a digital mask fading away. It took a moment for Felicia to realize what had happened, as Mary-Jane Watson smiled even more dangerously, light glinting off of shockingly elongated canines.

"R-red!" Felicia gasped. Her partner in crime, Ghost-Spider, laughed insipidly again, and Felicia cursed herself silently. She had been taken surprise too many times already. Normally that was her game. Pushing that aside, Felicia took a good look at MJ, now that she was no longer disguising herself. She was floored by what she saw. Clearly, in her year away, the redhead had gotten some extensive work done. MJ was always easy on the eyes, but there was no other way to explain those tits and that ass...

Felicia blinked. Why was she so focused on MJ's body? Sure, she swung both ways, but... Shaking her head, Felicia tried to put things into perspective. Line up what she knew and figure out what was going on. "Okay, I think I got it..." Felicia put on a smug smile, trying to gain some measure of control. "Spider dies suddenly, you probably went mad with grief. Went and have yourself spider powers and are now going on a widow's crusade in your mourning." It would explain why and how Doc Ock and all the others had bitten the bullet, too. "But, look, I know you and I have had our past differences, but -"

"'Past differences'?" MJ's face contorted into an inhuman snarl. Positively demonic. Felicia didn't know MJ had it in her. "You mean you trying to seduce my man, you cheap, two-bit floozy!" With lightning speed, one of MJ's hands shot out and seized Felicia by the throat. The suddenness of it all caused Felicia to gasp once more, quickly turning into a strangling ****, as she was throttled by MJ. She was so strong, her skin was so cold. Her nails were so dangerously sharp...

"He was my property and you dare put your hands on him!" MJ raged, hissing and spitting with nothing but the most vitriolic venom Felicia had ever heard. "You whore! You bitch! I should fucking kill your right now! Rip your throat out! Tear open your belly and feast on your entrails! Sever your arms and legs and sell you to the meanest pimp in the city as a living sexy toy!"

Nothing Felicia had ever experienced measured up to this moment. The hatred in MJ's voice, a primal, monstrous roar, tinged with barely contained bloodlust. Her fangs - that's the only word Felicia had for her teeth, they were fucking fangs - fully extended out, wickedly sharp. Tongue lashing, saliva and froth spewing. Crimson eyes alight with the promise of ****. This... this was not Mary-Jane Watson. This was some monster wearing her skin.

The pale, ironclad hand tightened it's grasp on Felicia's throat. She whimpered, as she felt ****'s own grip grow stronger, too.

But, an unlikely saviour came, in the simpering, giggling Ghost-Spider. The bodysuit-wearing girl stroked MJ's hair, rubbed her masked face against her chest, uttering soothing words. MJ hissed angrily, but seemed to relent under her partner's touch.

"Come now, no need to get so violent." Ghost said, softly. "We've been hunting all night, and I never imagined we would find someone so pretty. It would be a shame just to kill her here and now, wouldn't it be?"

"We are not sharing the gift with her." MJ growled with indignity. Her fingers closed just slightly more tighter, Felicia gurgling uselessly beneath them. Her body began to spasm and panic in pure fear, darkness creeping into to the corner of her vision.

"Oh, we don't have to do that, either." Ghost-Spider chuckled and, then, move once more in her precise, airy manner, stood next to Felicia, stroking the cat burglar's hair. "She's so pretty. I would love to play with her. I want to play with her. You want to play with us, Felicia."

Immediately, the blackness in Felicia's eyes were replaced with a flash of brilliant purple. Disorienting so. Like the webbing, it was so disconcertingly familiar. She could not speak, not held in Mary-Jane's iron grip, but Felicia could feel her lips moving on their own, mouthing the words "I want to play with you".

Rage abating, MJ let go of Felicia, her entire body shuddering as much needed oxygen returned to her system. Her throat ached. She sagged as much as she could in the bindings of the webbing, looking up briefly to see the wicked smirk on MJ's face.

Impossibly strong hands took hold of Felicia again, framing her cheeks and forcing her to look up. To look at Mary-Jane. To look into her eyes. Those... bright, red eyes. So beautiful. So haunting. So powerful. Violent and insane and hungering and sexy and perfect, Felicia could get lost in them for hours.

"Ma... Muh...Mary-Jane..." Felicia gaped, dumbly, only vaguely aware how much her throat hurt when speaking. "Your eyes are so pretty..."

MJ chuckled darkly, as Felicia had her last independent thought ever: Weren't Mary-Jane's eyes green before?

MJ pulled her closer, eyes shining. "Look into my eyes, Felicia..."

Ghost-Spider crawled closer, whisper right into Felicia's ears. "Listen to my voice, Felicia..."

And, so, the Black Cat fell into a spiraling world of red and purple, never to be seen as she was, again...