Chapter 193: Greedy Black Cat

Felicia saw Spider-Man and could not help but shudder.

She had never imagined that something she herself used as a tool could inspire so much fear.

She wanted to speak and ask countless questions, but the masked man’s new appearance terrified her.

He looked considerably more intimidating in this suit than in the previous one, which she had privately mocked for resembling spandex, only to realize how hypocritical that was considering her own outfit was made of the same material.

"You have valuable information for me. If you cooperate, you will be rewarded."

His words drew her attention and eased her fear just enough for her to speak.

"Wh... what kind of information are you looking for?" she asked nervously.

"I am looking for someone who took something they should not have taken from the wrong person."

"Are you... are you involved in this?"

"Because of you, trouble has come to my city. Now you are going to help me, or I will ensure that any future activity you attempt here becomes considerably more difficult."

He brought his claws closer to her face.

She swallowed hard.

"I will help! I will help! Just get those things away from me!"

She raised her hands and flinched, expecting pain.

Instead, she felt nothing.

Opening her eyes, she realized her bonds had already been sliced apart, making her breathe a sigh of relief.

When she looked back toward the masked man, he was standing beside the window she had left open.

She silently cursed herself for the oversight.

"What do I have to do?" she asked wearily.

"Get dressed. You are going to meet the person who indirectly led me to you. If it were not for her, I would never have found you."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Your kleptomania has not gotten anyone killed, and you have only stolen from corrupt or otherwise bad people. Had one of your victims been innocent, this conversation would have taken a very different turn."

She shuddered, inwardly grateful that she had never targeted anyone who would have attracted the attention of the man standing before her.

"You could just..."

She made a small twirling motion with her hand, instinctively falling back on flirtation to conceal her fear, something she often did.

"What you are offering is irrelevant to me. I know women with considerably better proportions."

He turned away, ignoring the indignant look that spread across Felicia’s face.

"Do something foolish, and you will regret it."

He released only a fraction of his killing intent.

It erased any thought of escape or retaliation before it could even take shape.

"Of course, Tiger."

Taking her suit, she hurried into the bathroom to change.

After waiting nearly five minutes, he heard Felicia tell him she was ready.

Turning around, he saw her standing there in the Black Cat costume.

"Ready to work, handsome~," she purred, her demeanor completely different from moments before. "There is a juicy reward waiting with my name on it."

"Let us go."

He walked to the window, leaped out, and adhered to the wall of the building across the street.

"Wow, what a view," she murmured to herself.

She climbed out through the window and, using her acrobatic skills, reached the rooftop.

"Let us get this over with quickly."

"Whatever you say, Tiger."

Peter shuddered under the Mask.

She sprang toward the next building and began moving on all fours like a cat, leaping effortlessly from one rooftop to another.

Twip. Twip. Twip.

Using the slingshot technique, Spider-Man pulled himself back slightly before launching forward, rapidly closing the distance between himself and Black Cat.

Felicia watched in awe.

The masked arachnid’s movements, timing, acrobatics, and flexibility were simply astonishing.

Watching him in person was an entirely different experience from seeing him on television.

"Wow," she whispered before firing her grappling hook and following after him.

....

Thump. Thump.

Black Cat remained on high alert the entire time.

Entering an abandoned warehouse far from familiar territory in the middle of the night was deeply suspicious.

Having no better alternative, she followed the masked man, stepping where he stepped and avoiding various obstacles on the floor that would have made her stumble had he not quietly warned her.

"Oh! You are back. Who did you bring?" Dan asked lazily.

Silver Sable looked at the newcomer with a spark of appraisal in her eyes that had not been there when Spider-Man had first arrived.

"Introduce yourself," Spider-Man said, stepping aside.

Silver immediately recognized the person behind the masked vigilante as the imitator she had been tracking.

"Nice to meet you. I am the amazing and unparalleled Black Cat~," she said in a playful, seductive tone.

Silver frowned briefly before returning to her usual neutral expression.

"Silver Sable."

"Daniel Espinoza."

"What use is the girl?" Silver asked.

Black Cat frowned at being called a girl.

"Tell us about Black Fox," Spider-Man said in an authoritative tone.

Felicia stiffened.

"Huh?"

She let out an unintelligible sound before frowning.

"Why do you want to know about him?"

"He stole jewels that belong to me," Silver replied.

"Oh?"

Black Cat laughed softly.

"And what makes you think I know where Black Fox is?"

"It would be wise for you to cooperate," Spider-Man said. "That woman over there is a queen. She could send an entire squad of mercenaries after you or deal with the matter herself. She is one of the finest mercenaries operating today, second only to my brother."

Somewhere far away, Wade, who was currently being experimented on, suddenly felt strangely acknowledged.

Black Cat realized she had unknowingly walked into the lion’s den without any backup.

Silver, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"Brother?" she asked.

"Not by blood," Dan answered. "You are not actually his brother, are you?"

"I treat him like one in my own way. But no."

Dan sighed in relief.

"Wade Wilson," Spider-Man added, looking directly at Silver.

Silver felt the beginnings of a headache as she realized exactly whom he meant.

She had crossed paths with Wade during several contracts, and he had always been a genuine nuisance.

Watching the exchange, Black Cat frowned.

Black Fox had been her teacher.

He had taught her many things, foremost among them the art of theft.

Now she was watching two exceptionally dangerous people hunt him down.

For a brief moment, she debated whether to betray her teacher.

Then she remembered one of his greatest lessons.

Always profit whenever the opportunity presents itself.

The decision practically made itself.

"He was my teacher," she admitted.

Silver immediately reached for one of her pistols.

Before she could draw it, a strand of webbing shot out and secured the weapon in its holster.

"If you eliminate her, you lose everything," Spider-Man said calmly. "Not to mention you would be attacking someone who has not committed a capital offense, and I take that seriously regardless of what anyone else thinks."

Silver gradually relaxed.

Based on everything she had learned, she believed the girl was telling the truth.

The last thing she wanted was a confrontation with someone whose full capabilities remained unknown.

She gave a slight nod.

Spider-Man retrieved a small marble from one of his pouches and tossed it onto the webbing restraining her weapon.

The web dissolved instantly without damaging either the pistol or its holster.

"Tell us about him," Dan said.

"He is a daring jewel thief. His criminal record stretches across both the United States and Europe. He trained me... and the previous Black Cat."

She bit her lower lip while trying to remember every detail.

Black Fox had rarely spoken about himself.

He had trained her thoroughly but had revealed almost nothing about his personal life.

Her father might have known more, but she could not be certain.

"He is an exceptional athlete. He is getting older now, so I do not think he is as physically capable as he was in his prime, but he is still remarkably agile."

"Any weaknesses?" Silver asked in her clipped accent.

"He is not particularly strong in hand-to-hand combat."

A faint smile crossed Silver’s face before disappearing just as quickly.

"Any ideas?" Dan asked.

Silver immediately began constructing a capture plan.

"Do you have any way of contacting him?" Spider-Man asked.

Black Cat bit her lip.

"I can contact him using one of our old methods."

An idea suddenly formed in her mind.

"I will meet him alone. You stay hidden, and once I give the signal, you move in, capture him, and that is it."

"I never thought I would meet someone worse at planning than Stark," Spider-Man muttered under his breath.

"Seriously. How are you still free?" Dan asked.

"Oh, shut up. You do not know my master. I do. He would never see this coming."

"Is he blind?" Silver asked.

"No!"

"Then he is underprepared," Silver replied simply.

"He managed to steal from you~," Black Cat teased.

Silver’s expression became completely blank.

"Black Cat will contact her master and arrange a meeting place," Spider-Man said. "Instead of meeting only Black Cat, he will also meet her girlfriend. That will be our advantage."

"What?!"

"You are bisexual. It would not be unusual for your teacher to see you with another woman."

Black Cat frowned as she realized the masked man knew that about her.

She found herself wondering how long he had been watching her... and how much he actually knew.

"Who is this girlfriend? Because I seriously doubt it is her," Dan said, gesturing toward Silver. "And you are definitely not a woman."

"Trish."

Dan’s mouth slowly fell open.

"We will need something to conceal her face. Black Fox may have informants. We will use your holographic masks."

He glanced at Silver, who frowned slightly at the implication that her own technology was somehow inadequate.

"Then everything is ready. When do we move?" Silver asked, following his instructions without hesitation.

Everyone could hear the impatience in her voice.

"I have been away from Symkaria for quite some time. I have no desire to prolong my stay any further."

"Soon."

Spider-Man looked around the room.

"Black Cat, contact your master. Dan, speak with Trish. Silver, prepare the holographic mask."

Felicia nodded.

She held no personal grudge against her former mentor.

But she was who she was.

Greedy.

The rewards being offered were simply too tempting to ignore.

First, she knew Spider-Man would leave her alone as long as she stayed out of trouble.

Second, if the operation succeeded, Silver’s reward would almost certainly be substantial.

Decision made, she immediately got to work.

"Good. While you handle that..."

He suddenly grimaced.

The tattoo on his arm began to burn, while his spider-sense pulled him toward a direction that felt unfamiliar.

There was only one explanation he could think of.

It was not one he liked.

But it was something that needed to be dealt with.

Allowing that much chaos to roam free would only create bigger problems later.

"Take care of this while I go send a demon back where it belongs," he said with an irritated grunt.

Everyone stared at him.

"You mean a criminal?" Dan asked.

"No. A demon. Literally. I recently encountered one."

"They do not exist," Silver said.

"They do. The reason you have never encountered them is because they generally remain hidden. They are currently on Earth. What I cannot determine is how they crossed the barrier that is supposed to keep them out."

He sighed.

"So they are real?" Black Cat asked.

"Everything you have ever read about is real. Anubis. God. Lucifer. Thor. Odin. Buddha. Every one of them exists. They simply do not reveal themselves because of certain rules... or because they have no interest in interfering."

He shrugged.

"In simple terms, if an unwelcome demon appears in my city, I remove it. That is all."

With that, he left.

The remaining three found the conversation somewhere between absurd and deeply unsettling.

They returned to their preparations.

Only a few minutes later, an inhuman, snarling scream echoed from somewhere nearby.

The three looked at one another.

No one said a word.