Felicia opened the window with a brilliant smile. "Come in. I'll be ready in a second."
"Nervous?" Peter jumped into the room and stretched his shoulders.
"Why would I be nervous?" Felicia stubbornly denied it as she changed jackets, only to inadvertently bite her lower lip.
"Because you bite your lip when you're nervous." Peter smiled, pulled off his mask, and changed out of his suit into casual clothes.
Felicia ran her eyes over him and licked her lips. "If you're trying to seduce me, that's a very effective move."
"Kitten, you always know how to make a man happy." Peter kissed her cheek. "But we need to go. Aunt May will kill me if she finds out we're late."
Outside Aunt May's door, Felicia took a deep breath. "Okay, I am a little nervous."
Peter knocked, and Aunt May opened the door and rushed forward enthusiastically. "Peter! You're finally here! And this must be Felicia. Darling, I finally get to meet you!"
Uncle Ben also came out of the kitchen and greeted them with a smile.
As they sat at the dining table eating Aunt May's freshly baked cookies, the conversation soon turned to how the two had gotten together.
"Actually... he never formally told me how he felt," Felicia admitted openly. "He just kissed me, then kept staring at me until I gave him an answer."
Aunt May and Uncle Ben turned shocked looks on Peter.
Peter covered his face in anguish. "Can't you have a little faith in me? Couldn't it have been a little more romantic?"
"No," all three said in unison.
Peter knocked his head against the table. "I hate you."
Felicia leaned over with a laugh and kissed him. "No, you don't."
Peter instantly returned to full health. "No, I really don't."
The warm afternoon passed with the older couple enthusiastically spilling embarrassing stories from Peter's childhood, such as the time he spilled hot coffee on his pants and stripped them off on the spot, and the time he got stuck on a branch while climbing a tree, leaving him with a massive wedgie. Felicia fit in wonderfully and had even started calling her "Aunt May" naturally.
As they left, Peter casually mentioned that he would be working overtime at Susan's that night.
After leaving Aunt May's home, the two walked toward downtown.
"They're wonderful," Felicia said softly, her arm linked through Peter's. "So warm, so kind... like real family."
"You don't get along with your mother?" Peter asked, despite knowing the answer.
"She only ever cares about herself." Felicia sneered. "She's a lawyer who specializes in getting scum off the hook and making poor people take the blame. Those bankers and jewelers I robbed are all her clients. That con artist who swindled three hundred families, and that rapist who won his case because of her..."
Peter sighed and tightened his grip on her hand. "Want to do something exciting tonight? Let's stake out that corrupt fat pig, Nick Daves."
"Aren't you working overtime tonight?"
"Kitten, this is work."
After night fell, the two changed into their gear and crouched on the rooftop across from Davis's home.
Peter watched their target through his mask's night vision and couldn't help complaining. "This crappy mask doesn't even have a zoom function. I have to upgrade it next time."
He turned toward Felicia, who was shivering from the cold in nothing but an ordinary black tracksuit.
"That outfit doesn't keep out the cold at all, and it offers no protection." Peter frowned. "I'll make you a suit."
Felicia froze. "You'd make one for me?"
"Of course. I'm your boyfriend. I can't just watch you risk your life fighting criminals in a tracksuit," Peter said as though it were only natural.
Felicia's eyes reddened slightly, and she suddenly asked, "Why didn't you stop me when you found out I was Black Cat?"
"Felicia Hardy, the line between heroes and criminals isn't that clear." Peter removed his mask and looked at her seriously. "I'm a criminal too. Right now, I'm illegally surveilling a government official. Other people see me as a savior, but I know what I am. You don't need to change, and I won't make you stop."
As he spoke, Davis came out and got into his car.
Davis's car entered an underground tunnel.
"I know where he's going." Felicia pointed at the upscale hotel ahead. "That tunnel only leads to the highway and that hotel's underground parking garage."
They slipped in through a fifth-floor window, avoided the security guards, and crept toward the surveillance room.
Felicia pulled out two pieces of wire and picked the surveillance room's lock in five seconds.
Peter stared, transfixed. "That's one heart-stopping skill."
On the surveillance feed, Davis entered room 1010. A Black man in a suit opened the door. Peter immediately raised the SA and scanned the man's face.
Then he sent the photo to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technical department and requested identification.
The reply came in seconds.
Peter read the information on the screen. "Dominic Marcel, mob boss. The man who opened the door is his right-hand man, John Travis. Davis really is a mole."
"Go outside the window and record some video evidence. I'll handle the guards."
There were five armed guards on the tenth-floor terrace.
"Be good and stay hidden." Peter handed Felicia his phone, then rolled his neck.
Felicia slipped out the window as lightly as a cat, pressed herself against the edge of the glass, and pushed it open a crack to start recording.
Peter, meanwhile, strode out in plain sight.
"Excuse me, where's the restroom? I think I'm lost."
The guards were about to raise their guns when Peter fired a web, yanked the man in front off his feet, and shattered his jaw with a punch.
"Open fire!"
Bullets poured out. Peter's Spider-Sense blared warnings, and he leaped up effortlessly, leaving every bullet to hit empty air.
"Have some webbing!" He fired two webs, precisely disarming them, then took down the remaining men one after another with spinning kicks.
Finally, he grabbed one man and hurled him straight through the floor-to-ceiling window into the living room, shattering the glass.
Inside the living room, Marcel, Davis, and the others rose in terror.
"Good evening, Marcel. What are you discussing with Councilman Davis?" Peter crushed broken glass underfoot as he advanced.
"Kill him!" Marcel shrieked.
His men charged with baseball bats and a longsword.
Peter sneered. "You know who I am, right? Spider-Man. I've beaten Electro and flattened a tank with a manhole cover. You think a few lousy sticks can stop me?"
The men exchanged looks, then dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender.
"Useless trash! I'm not paying you to sit around doing nothing!" Marcel cursed.
Peter couldn't be bothered to waste words. A few globs of webbing plastered everyone to the walls.
Just then, John Travis suddenly pulled a gun from inside his jacket.
Peter was about to dodge when a TV remote flew in through the window and struck John's wrist with pinpoint accuracy. The gun fell to the floor.
Peter looked back to see Felicia outside the window, holding his phone and playfully blowing him a kiss.
Peter smiled, wrapped the gun in webbing, then turned and plastered John to the wall too.
The two climbed back onto the roof and replayed the audio they had just recorded.
"...We have to pay! That man will kill us!" Davis's voice was hysterical.
"Who exactly is he?" Marcel asked.
"He gave me a package, and Cassie's hand was inside! My mistress had her hand cut off!" Davis shouted, breaking down. "He said if we didn't pay, he'd do the same to my family!"
"Why did he target you?"
"Because... because of that Spider-Man! He affected our business! That man said we'd encroached on his territory!"
"Did he give a name?"
"He said... he was a member of the Hand."
At those words, Peter's blood instantly ran cold.
The Hand?!
How could the Hand be involved so soon?!
As a transmigrator, he knew how terrifying those ninja lunatics were. In the original story, they were ruthless enough to drive even Wolverine and Daredevil into desperate straits.
"Tiger? Peter? What's wrong?" Felicia noticed him stiffen.
Peter whipped his head around, his eyes showing rare fear and gravity. "Felicia Hardy, listen to me. If this has anything to do with the Hand, run immediately! Don't look back. Call me right away!"
Felicia was frightened. "Peter, what exactly is the Hand?"
"An ancient Japanese ninja organization that worships demons. They're extremely cruel. Every gang in New York shuts up at the sound of their name. They're too dangerous. You absolutely cannot get involved!" There was even a hint of pleading in Peter's voice. "Promise me, Felicia Hardy. Promise me!"
Felicia swallowed and nodded solemnly. "I promise."
Back at Felicia's apartment, Peter edited the video and uploaded it directly to social media.
Less than two minutes later, a notification appeared: "Post rejected."
Immediately afterward, an encrypted call came in.
Peter answered, and Nick Fury's roar came from the other end. "Is your head full of mush?!"
"What do you mean?"
"You went after a mob boss single-handedly! Do you have any idea you almost ruined an operation the FBI spent four years setting up?!"
"I just caught a corrupt politician and happened to discover he had mob ties," Peter retorted.
"Next time you find a gang, call the police! This isn't your job! And don't drag your girlfriend into it! You think we can't extract the full video from your phone? Black Cat is a notorious thief. Don't let her get connected to Spider-Man!"
Peter's gaze chilled, and his temper erupted. "Fury, you're overstepping. Spider-Man isn't your puppet. I'll work with whoever I want!"
"I'm your superior, kid!"
"You're just the person who gives me assignments, not my dad!" Peter refused to back down. "Give me my first official assignment, Fury. Otherwise, go play by yourself."
There was silence on the other end for several seconds. "You'll regret this." Then he hung up.
Peter gave a cold laugh and tossed his phone onto the bed.
Felicia watched from beside him, dumbfounded. "You... who exactly are you?"
Peter sighed and removed his mask. "Remember what happened with Electro? I nearly died. Later, a man called Nick Fury broke into my home and said he was the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. He recruited me and provided equipment and training."
"You're a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?!" Felicia exclaimed.
"A trainee agent," Peter corrected. "They're monitoring my account, which is why the video wouldn't post."
Felicia was both angry and afraid. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I was afraid you'd hate me." Peter smiled bitterly. "You don't even particularly like me being a superhero. If you knew I was an agent, wouldn't you break up with me?"
"Does S.H.I.E.L.D. know about me, then?" Felicia asked anxiously.
"No. Even if they did, they wouldn't care. In their eyes, we're just little pawns." Peter held her hand, his gaze firm. "But I promise you, no one will hurt you. If anyone dares touch you, I'll kill them. I'll never let anyone I care about come to any harm."
Felicia looked at him, her eyes slightly red, then leaned forward and kissed him.
Peter followed her movement and pushed her down onto the bed, threading his fingers through her long hair as his breathing gradually grew heavier.
Just as the two were about to go too far.
With a click, the bedroom door was pushed open.
An icy female voice rang out. "What are you doing?"
The two sprang apart as though burned and sat bolt upright.
Peter turned and saw Felicia's mother standing in the doorway, staring coldly at them both.