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The moment Felicia called out to Gwen from the rooftop, Dante pulled her under the effect of Death's cloak, rendering both of them completely invisible and inaudible to the outside world. The rule applied to Gwen as well.
"Gwen! Wait!" Felicia yelled, but the blonde didn't even glance back and jumped down into the mall.
When shouting didn't work, Felicia tried to fire a symbiote line to swing after her, only for Dante to catch her from behind. He locked his arms firmly around her waist.
She struggled in his hold. "Let me go! I gotta warn Gwennie!"
"You're staying here with me."
Felicia knew Green Goblin's identity. Her senses were far too sharp to miss it. He couldn't let her reveal Harry's secret right now. Torturing Spider-Totems physically and emotionally seemed to be how this universe operated, but Gwen had already been through enough trauma this month. Besides, as her boyfriend, it was his job to keep her from suffering as little as possible.
Fighting random criminals and supervillains was one thing. Forcing her to fight her own childhood friend, someone who now clearly wanted both her and Dante dead, was something else entirely.
He might let her fight Miles one day if the kid ever turned into a supervillain… but not Harry. One might still listen to reason. The other clearly wouldn't.
Felicia wriggled out of his arms the moment he loosened his grip and spun around to face him. The new sleek costume, which was very inspired from Cat Woman, looked incredible on her.
"Darling," she whispered, cupping her heavy breasts and lifting them slightly. "I know you're eager for some milk. I'm hungry too, but this really isn't the time. Be a good boy and wait for me, okay?"
His face twitched under the mask. What did she think he was, some sort of milk fiend? Maybe he was, but she didn't have to say it to his face like this.
Felicia saw the opening and used her acceleration ability to get away. She bumped into his chest on her fourth dash. He held her waist, stopping her from falling. It was hard to match his speed when he was fully juiced-up on solar radiation.
Instead of calming down, she grabbed his arm with both hands and tried to pull him along. She couldn't even get him to budge.
"Darling, why are you doing this? Harry is the Green Goblin. Gwen needs to know!"
"Really?"
Felicia let go of his arm and narrowed her eyes. "You knew."
"Well, he has the same creepy voice as his father. They are both douchebags. Hard to not see the similarities."
"Then why are you stopping me?" She paused, showing a look of realization. "Wait… you want to deal with him yourself?"
"That is my goal, yeah."
"How?"
He took a deep breath and explained his plan patiently. The more she listened, the wider her eyes got. When he finished, she was quiet for a moment, running it through her head.
"Cruel…" she muttered. "But justified. We don't want him turning into Norman the second. Sovereign the second sounds better, though."
He looked towards the mall. "Three dead. Over thirty injured. He's already half-way there."
"Damn," she whispered in a surprised voice. "Why did Harry start his villain arc? Norman's death?"
"Probably. I don't understand psychopaths."
It was likely the Goblin Serum influencing him, but he wasn't about to explain that to Felicia. She might get the bright idea to steal it from Harry and sell it on the black market. The Hardys could hardly resist their urge to steal a valuable item.
"I study psychology," she said with a grin. "Want me to teach you why villains do what they do?"
"Later." He tapped her ass. "Go back to Gwen. Remember, don't mention anything about Harry."
"Relax, I know how to be a good mama cat." She reached out and brushed her hand against his collar. "I want compensation for making me look like a fool."
"Oh, what do you want then?"
"If you're ignorant of body language," she whispered, pushing his chin down to look into her eyes. "I consent to being fucked silly where anyone could potentially see us."
He remained calm despite her blatant seduction. "Didn't you say it isn't the time?"
"You know what they say about cats being moody?"
Taking her hand, he pulled her deeper onto the rooftop, away from the edge and the noise below. If she was offering, he wasn't going to refuse. Especially not when she was dressed like Cat Woman.
Felicia pushed him against the wall with one hand and dropped gracefully to her knees, reaching for his belt. Just as her fingers brushed the buckle, she paused. The symbiote matter shifted across her hip and presented her phone like a gift.
She glanced at the screen and looked up at him. "It's Natasha."
He frowned. How had Natasha gotten access to a phone while locked up in SHIELD containment? Either SHIELD Agent's privilege, or she manipulated someone like she always did.
The phone kept vibrating as new messages poured in.
"Let me see it."
Felicia handed it over without hesitation.
[Natasha: Here's the information you requested.]
[Attachment]
It was the image of a map with the pin dropped on a large property in Upper Manhattan. Whoever had orchestrated the arcade explosion had done so from a mansion. The location could be a misdirection but most likely not.
Bzzzz. Two more messages followed quickly.
[Natasha: If you meet Dante, tell him his bride is sorry for her actions.]
[Natasha: He doesn't have to do anything. I deserve to be where I am.]
Even though he had been prepared for something like this, the bitterness still hit him. She had gotten access to a phone, and instead of begging for rescue, she was apologizing.
'Maybe I was too harsh.'
Felicia took the phone back and gave him a suspicious look. "What is she sorry about?"
He hesitated for a moment, then told her everything that had happened.
She crossed her arms, frowning. Even she couldn't say Natasha was in the right. "I mean, I was also manipulating you at the start. I wanted to get you into stealing a package from Norman."
"We were more like business partners back then."
The same was the case for Emma, who had thoughts about killing him. Laura straight-up tried to kill him in their first meeting. Back then, they were nothing to each other. But Natasha… they had already gone through too much. He had higher expectations from her. She shouldn't have tried to deceive him, even if she was desperate to save their lives.
Felicia nodded slowly. "I'll be mad if you tried to manipulate me now… and also impressed. It's hard to outwit me in psychology."
"I've been pretty open with you all things considered."
He hadn't tried to hide his relationship with Death and Silvija. He hadn't tried to sugarcoat his powers either. The only thing he hadn't told her was this being his second life and about her being a character in his world once. She didn't need to hear that information. Nobody liked having an existential crisis.
"As for Natasha," he said with a sigh. "I know it's not her fault. She has been conditioned to this."
Felicia got the full sip about the Red Room and the Widows. As a survivor of Red Room, she had been conditioned to operate on mistrust. She weaponed psychology by lying, seduction, misdirection, and emotional mimicry.
Felicia's reaction after hearing that was one of amusement. "If I were in Russia, they absolutely would've come for me. Good looks, athleticism, natural charm, and skills—god, I'm prime spy lady material."
"..."
"You should forgive Natasha eventually if she is sincere. But if she does this again, you draw a clear line," Felicia said, placing her hands on his shoulders and looking up at him. "That's my opinion. I wouldn't blame you for keeping the distance. Having self respect doesn't make you a bad person."
He put his hands on her waist. "I'll think about it."
"Mhmm. Still in the mood?"
"Obviously."
"Then let's you and I get out of these sweaty costumes and make something special." She went down on her knees and worked on unfastening his belt. "Your soon-to-be mama cat is starving for some milk."
***
An hour later, Dante and Felicia made their way down to the parking lot. Rather than returning home, Dante decided to accompany Felicia to meet Gwen. The blonde was leaning against the hood, scrolling on her phone with earphones plugged in her ears. MJ and Harry stood a few meters away, talking to each other. Gwen would rather scroll social media than engage in a conversation with them.
Dante was surprised the trio hadn't left after an hour.
Harry's expression turned cold the moment he set his eyes on Dante's face. The same hatred that had driven him to inject himself with the Goblin Serum was clear in his eyes. Still, Dante couldn't fully understand why Harry had shown up first as himself, then returned as Green Goblin to cause chaos. He could've skipped the first step entirely.
On the contrary, Gwen's expression turned bright upon noticing them. She tucked her phone in her hoody and beamed a welcoming smile. "Felicia, where were you? Why is your face so red? And why is Dante here?"
"One question at a time, please," Dante said with a pleasant smile and hugged her in his arms. "I was worried for you."
He had to fake the couple's act before MJ and Harry. It would also help avoid the "bad boyfriend" label for not worrying about Gwen after such a massive incident.
"Felicia called me."
"Oh," she said, feigning a surprised voice. "It's good you're here."
"How can I not be?"
Gwen separated from him with an awkward look, then held his hand. "MJ, Harry, this is Dante… My boyfriend."
The introduction made him chuckle. "Stop it. I'm too old for this shit."
"You're not."
MJ looked Dante up and down with open curiosity. She was bolder than their meeting outside Hellmoon Club. "It's a mystery how Gwen ended up with you."
He put a finger to his lips and winked. "That's classified."
Felicia laughed at MJ's stunned expression. "Harry, watch out. This guy will steal your girl. He is a menace."
"MJ." Harry looked at his girlfriend. "You wanna go out with him?"
MJ stared at Harry's face with a flat expression. It wouldn't be surprising if she slapped him on the face right there. "What the fuck, Harry?
Harry spread his hands with a helpless look. "I'm being realistic here. How am I supposed to compete?"
"You don't have to. It's not how it works."
Dante could only shake his head at their pointless conversation. They were discussing him seducing MJ without even asking for his input. He'd rather stay single than date Mary Jane Watson. Felicia knew that, yet she had brought it up anyway to push Harry's buttons. Unfortunately, MJ and Harry didn't have that deep of a relationship.
"Anyway," MJ said, shifting the topic. "Are we still going to the club?"
"Nope. Not in the mood anymore."
"Me neither."
Gwen was the first to reject the idea, and Felicia quickly followed. Dante didn't blame either of them. They weren't experienced enough yet to shrug off the carnage they had just witnessed.
MJ looked at them both with disappointment, then let out a resigned sigh. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
Gwen hugged MJ and kissed her cheeks. "Have fun."
MJ picked up her bag and got into the car. Harry held the driver's door for a moment, gazing at Dante without a single emotion in his eyes. Norman's son got in and drove out of the lot. Like his father, he was probably scheming for Dante's downfall. And like his father, he would never succeed.
The moment the car disappeared from their sight, Gwen stepped forward and hugged Dante tightly. "Stay. I'll show you around campus."
He wanted to take the offer, but there was something else more important on today's list. "Another day. Silvija is leaving in a few hours."
Gwen stepped away and gestured to him. "Go take care of her."
"Connect her room in Symkaria to ours with a portal," Felicia advised. "Then the distance won't matter."
Gwen pointed at herself and Felicia. "Ours too."
That was exactly what Dante had in mind, only with a few extra layers of security. He would need some special materials first. Which meant it was time to pay a visit to the Ancient One and borrow some items from her.
"Shoo." Felicia waved at him and tugged at Gwen's hand. "I got the address. Come with me."
"Really? I'll call Jean," Gwen said excitedly. It didn't seem like she was in it for chasing a dangerous criminal, but rather treating it as her own special detective case.
He put a hand on her arm before she could get her phone out. Jean and Ororo were still catching up on sleep after not having any last night. They were disappointed to hear that, especially Gwen. But they eventually agreed to wait for Jean.
"Be careful." He looked at both of them. "I might be able to resurrect you, but I'd rather not see any of you die."
Felicia took his right hand. "Darling, I've got cat-like instincts for danger."
Gwen took his left hand. "Spidey-sense."
"And we have Jeannie with us. Never underestimate mind readers."
"Don't worry about us and focus on Silvija."
He could only shake his head. One was a foolhardy cat, who would risk her life for thrill. Another was a heroic spider, who would risk her life to save others. Having sharp senses wouldn't help if they didn't want to survive in the place. Nobody could help someone who wanted to kill themselves.
***
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