Where was the place Felicia mentioned?
The answer was her home—or rather, her apartment in New York.
"Prime real estate in central Manhattan, top floor, penthouse suite, open-air pool..." Peter felt he might have underestimated just how wealthy Felicia's family was. As he swung toward the building she had pointed out, he asked curiously, "This is a great location, but how did it escape the battle during the Chitauri invasion?"
"Actually, it didn't. The building I used to live in collapsed entirely; a Chitauri mothership smashed right through it. The rest was just insurance and compensation. This is a new building, bought with the insurance money."
Following the Battle of New York, real estate prices across the city had taken a dive, and the insurance industry had hit a historic low. Just as insurance companies were racking their brains for ways to use fine-print technicalities to deny payouts, Captain America had encountered a group of homeless citizens on the street and paid a visit to Nick Fury.
Consequently, a massive number of insurance firms went bankrupt. In the end, Tony Stark acquired those companies, paid out the claims, and used the staff to form a now highly controversial department: the Damage Control Bureau. They were responsible for compensations, reconstruction, and cleanup related to superheroes and their battles.
"Back in high school, I actually thought about inviting classmates over for a party or something. I had such a rosy view of high school life then, thinking I'd make plenty of friends. In reality, I mostly just made acquaintances. Friends? I don't have many of those."
As Felicia spoke, she landed by the edge of her private pool and removed her goggles. "And the top floor has another perk: coming and going is incredibly easy. I don't even need keys to get home... actually, I don't think I have keys to any room in this place besides the front door."
Felicia opened the floor-to-ceiling glass door and slipped inside, looking back at Peter. "I'm going to change into that gown. Wait out here for a bit, or find a guest room to change out of those clothes."
"Wait, is there no one else home? Your mother or anyone?"
"My mom is in Europe, which is exactly why I had an excuse to go there without anyone getting suspicious. You have no idea how happy she was that I wasn't in New York when the invasion happened." Felicia smiled and added, "So, it's just me. Anyway, make yourself at home."
Peter deactivated his nano-suit, watching as the material receded back into his watch. A sudden, serious realization struck him.
"Wait, I have Anti-Venom, which can mimic any type of clothing. Why did I let her drag me out to buy a suit?"
Mulling over this question, Peter commanded Anti-Venom to transform into the exact suit Felicia had picked for him. Once dressed, he noticed a small black cat sauntering through the living room. He knelt down, and the cat walked over to him of its own accord.
He wasn't surprised that Felicia actually owned a black cat, but he was somewhat surprised that there was only one. He had half-expected her to keep a whole clowder of cats, but that wasn't the case.
About half an hour later, Felicia emerged in her new outfit. Seeing Peter sitting on the sofa, she looked surprised. "I'm glad to see the two of you are getting along. Oh, you're already changed? Wait... the suit I bought hasn't been touched."
"Yeah, for some reason, I completely forgot my symbiote could mimic any outfit."
Peter stood up as he spoke. Felicia was wearing a black, off-the-shoulder long gown, accented by a beautiful silver necklace. She walked up to Peter and performed a graceful turn, asking, "Well? How do I look?"
"Glittering and elegant. Not bad."
"Thank you."
Peter asked with a hint of surprise, "I thought you'd say something like... cats just love shiny jewels."
Felicia gave him a mock glare.
"My codename is Black Cat; I'm not an actual cat. Like DC's Catwoman, I only took the name because my father's codename was The Cat. Now, stand up. Let me see if this look matches, or if we need to add anything else..."
"What's next? Is there more to do? Do we need to try a dance to see if the outfits are functional?" Peter stood for a moment in silence before looking directly at Felicia. "You need my help, don't you?"
Felicia, who had been admiring their reflection in the mirror, looked back at him. "What?"
"I mean... if it were just the Homecoming dance, that would be one thing. But you've done a bit too much today. Considering the intel you gathered alone in Colombia and Mexico, the effort and the return aren't adding up. I don't think we're close enough yet for you to put in this much work."
"Maybe I just enjoy being a good person?"
"If that were the case, I'd be thrilled."
Felicia looked at Peter, then shook her head helplessly. "Fine, you win. You know, I was planning to let you feel flattered for a bit longer before talking business."
This piqued Peter's curiosity even more. "It might have been better if you hadn't done so much. Too much of a good thing, Felicia."
Felicia simply said, "Follow me," and turned to walk away. Still in her gown, she stopped at a room door and tossed a photograph to Peter. He caught it and saw a man who looked like a quintessential villain. "Who is this?"
"Donald Pierce."
"...Doesn't ring a bell."
"Do you remember what happened to my father? He went to Europe to steal a serum and ended up killed by Hydra."
Peter naturally remembered the core of Black Cat's backstory. However, back at the Hydra base in Budapest, the Human Torch—who was being controlled by Hydra—had already been dealt with. As for capturing Arnim Zola or the others, they were waiting for a better opportunity.
This man, whom Peter had never heard of, didn't look like a member of Hydra at all.
"Think back carefully on how it all happened. The CIA tasked my father with going to Europe to steal the Super Soldier Serum, and then he ran into Hydra and the Hydra serum... We only investigated the Hydra side of things."
"And this guy is CIA?"
"Yes. He was the one who contacted my father." Felicia nodded, then sat on a chair in the room. "This guy has been in New York recently. And the Homecoming dance—a night where everyone knows Felicia Hardy, the daughter of The Cat, is dancing with her underclassman..."
"Isn't that a perfect night for a spider and a cat to dance together?"
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