"I wouldn't call that stalking, Mr. Parker," said Felicia in her black catsuit, her voice smooth and teasing as she stepped out from the shadows.
The faint moonlight traced the curves of her sleek suit as she folded her arms, silver claws glinting slightly at her fingertips.
I turned around, startled but trying not to show it. She stood there with that same confident smirk I remembered from somewhere.
"I'll ask again," I said cautiously, keeping my distance. "What do you want? And also, how do you know my name?"
Of course, I already knew the answer. She'd seen me before — during that field trip to Oscorp, when she was working as a secretary.
But I had to play it cool, act like I didn't recognize her. Now, standing before me in that burglar suit, she was far from the woman at the reception desk.
"A little acquaintance of mine recommended you," she said, taking a few steps closer. Her tone dropped low, almost playful. "Since you did help some certain nerds."
When she said "nerds," I knew who she meant — Otto Octavius, Norman, Max, or maybe even Curt Connors. Either one of them or someone new had just joined the list.
"I don't follow," I said, frowning.
She smiled faintly and tossed me a small object. I caught it midair — it looked like a wireless remote, maybe a code key to a safe.
"It's encrypted," she said, tapping her claw lightly against her hip. "And you might be the only one who can crack it. Plus, I'm in a rush... and lazy."
"And why should I do that?" I asked, curiosity slipping through despite my guarded tone.
Felicia walked past me slowly, her heels clicking against the pavement. She stopped and looked up at the apartment building where Gwen lived. A sly smirk crossed her lips.
"I would go to any extent to get what I want," she said softly, almost whispering the words into the night. "And I mean any extent."
A sharp chill ran down my spine. My spider-sense went off like an alarm, screaming danger.
"You wouldn't..." I said, my voice tightening.
She turned her head slightly, her eyes glinting under her mask. Then, with a soft click, she extended her claw-like gadget — blades shining in the dim light.
"Try me," she said.
I froze, feeling the tension tighten the air around us. The night had gone quiet, save for the faint hum of city lights and the pounding of my own heartbeat.
"Sigh, fine. Give me a second."
I crouched down and got to work, fingers moving over the device as I tried to decode it. My mind raced through frequencies, encryption locks, and bypass channels.
I tweaked a few connections, adjusted a twine of wiring, and hoped it wouldn't blow up in my face.
"There. Done."
Before I could even blink, she snatched it right out of my hands.
"Thanks, and bye, tiger," she said with a playful wink before turning her back to me.
"Wait!" I called out as she stepped toward the edge of the wall. She paused, glancing over her shoulder.
"Aww, need a kiss?" she teased, her voice dripping with mock affection.
I frowned. I didn't remember her being this flirty before. Felicia Hardy — always wrapped in mystery, danger, and charm.
"Who recommended me to you?" I asked.
She chuckled softly, brushing a lock of white hair from her face. "Sorry, kid. That's classified. Part of my Black Cat job description."
She tilted her head slightly as if weighing something. "Though, since you were such a good little boy, I can give you a hint."
Hint? Really, cat?
"The hint is…" she said, stepping backwards toward the ledge, her grin widening beneath her mask, "Don't cut the tail before it still lives."
And with that cryptic farewell, she climbed and leapt gracefully into the night, her grappling line catching the corner of the next building as she vanished into the skyline.
I stood there for a moment, processing her words before realization hit me like a punch to the gut.
"Dammit," I muttered. "It's Connors."
---
Meanwhile, at Oscorp, just an hour later…
Black Cat walked in, gliding past the building's security with a fake access card.
Her movements were confident and smooth, drawing no attention as she slipped into the restricted area.
"You're late," a voice said from the shadows.
Curtis Connors stepped out from behind a column, his expression sharp and impatient.
Felicia folded her arms. "Can't believe you asked me to hand this over to a kid. Can't you do it yourself?"
Connors adjusted his glasses and shook his head. "No. I work on biology, not machines."
"Fair," she replied with a faint smirk. "Still, I recommend you don't drag that kid, Peter Parker, into your mess. Even I, as an adult and a burglar, don't bring kids into adult problems."
Connors said nothing, only nodded and pushed a small wad of cash across the lab table.
Felicia took it without hesitation. "Nice doing business with you. Goodbye, doctor."
She turned and walked off, her heels echoing through the sterile hallway as the door hissed shut behind her.
Connors looked down at the device she had delivered. The lock clicked open with a soft beep, revealing a small vial filled with a glowing green liquid. He stared at it, his reflection trembling in the glass.
"I'm sorry, Peter," he muttered under his breath. "You're a remarkable genius… just like your father. But…"
His voice trailed off as his mind replayed everything that led him here.
---
A day before…
Connors stood before a large whiteboard filled with equations and chemical chains — Peter's theory was written during that Oscorp field trip a few weeks earlier. It had opened his mind to a breakthrough he couldn't reach for years.
He tested it five times. Each result was a success — regeneration on a cellular level. But there was one problem: human testing.
The board of directors had rejected his proposal, even with Norman Osborn's endorsement.
Connors sat in his office that night when the phone rang. Norman's voice came through, low and frustrated.
"I'm sorry, Curt. I'm trying my best, but these damn boards are always blocking progress."
Connors gritted his teeth. "Can't you fire them? Replace them? Sue them? Anything?! Dead ones, yes, dead ones. Why not fresh human corpse. This is a lifetime achievement!"
"I feel your pain, Connors," Norman said quietly. "But understand — if they wanted to approve your serum, they would have. No one's willing to back human experimentation, even if it's a deaceased one."
---
Back to that very night in the bio lab…
Norman placed the vial on the table, his hand trembling as he stared at it.
"I'll do it myself then," he whispered, almost to no one. "My dream — to bring it all back. For them… for the ones who lost their hands, legs, ears, fingers… anyone. I'll be that villain who changes the world."
He plunged the injector into his right arm, pressing the trigger. The green serum coursed through his veins, and he stumbled backwards, gripping the counter as his muscles convulsed violently.
"RAGGHHHHH!"
The system flashed 'Error' on the computer screen. The alarms blared, error after error, until finally, the display changed — 'SUCCESS.'
Connors gasped, drenched in sweat, the lab's cold air biting at his skin. He staggered to his feet, panting heavily. Then he felt something — a touch on his right side.
He looked down and froze.
His right arm was back.
A trembling laugh escaped his throat, growing louder until it became an echoing chuckle that filled the empty lab.
"Ha… ha… ha… hahaha…"
He flexed his fingers, staring at them in disbelief.
"Peter," he whispered, eyes wide with manic gratitude. "You clever boy."
---
Chapter 14 — End