By then, Otto had already patented his mechanical arms. Peter couldn't just copy them. That would be beneath him, and he didn't like copying other people's work anyway. So he decided to build his own.
Borrowing Otto's technological framework, he began building his own version.
The mechanical arms would attach to the back of his suit in the form of a backpack. Reed helped look over the basic design, but Peter did everything else himself.
The system comprised two pairs of mechanical arms, one pair above the other. Each arm had three jointed segments and could rotate a full three hundred and sixty degrees. He set them up with two modes: attack and defense.
The mechanical arms were made from reinforced titanium alloy. They could block attacks or punch straight through several meters of concrete in one go. He also hollowed out the insides a little so they could shoot webs, allowing him to swing with the mechanical arms and free up his hands.
The hardest part was figuring out how to fold them into the backpack.
Fortunately, his geometry lessons hadn't gone to waste.
He eventually managed to get the retracted arms down to four feet long. Any longer and they wouldn't fit, but that length should be enough.
He made the backpack the suit's central component. Now, instead of lying around like a piece of cloth when not in use, the suit would automatically fold into the mechanical backpack, becoming a compact bundle of fabric and machinery. Once activated, the suit would spring out of the backpack and unfold, ready to wear at any time.
He put some effort into the backpack's shell, making it change colors: black when dormant, red when active. It looked much like an ordinary schoolbag, so he went ahead and made it usable as one, adding a zipper to the back and a foldable strap so he could wear it across his body.
An oversized crossbody bag.
Still, he never needed to carry many books at school, so it should be fine.
A money-burning project naturally needed money to burn.
The funding problem had been solved, thanks entirely to the revenue the Scanning Adapter and Parker's Blood brought in on the open market.
The Scanning Adapter hadn't sold out the instant it launched. After all, the price was high and market demand wasn't that great, but it had still earned him a little. The real hit was Parker's Blood.
As soon as it hit the market, Stark Industries, Osborn Enterprises, and a whole slew of tech giants sent representatives to the Baxter Building's entrance, scrambling to negotiate a price.
Susan had really wanted to give Osborn an exclusive license. Twenty million dollars a year for exclusive rights was a generous offer.
But Peter reminded her that Norman couldn't be trusted and told her what he and Reed had uncovered: Norman had been secretly colluding with Hammer Industries on some shady dealings.
In the end, Susan reluctantly turned down the exclusive agreement and licensed it to several companies instead.
Although each individual payment was much smaller, since everyone wanted exclusivity, the combined income was enough to support the Baxter Foundation and fund Peter's equipment upgrades.
Besides, his own suit wasn't the only one he was working on.
A week after the mission involving the kidnapped children and human experimentation ended, Fury sent him a package.
Inside was a women's S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical suit, along with a note:
Don't make me regret this.
Peter was one hundred percent certain he would regret it.
He heavily modified the tactical suit. He added a protective insulating layer and fitted it with suction gloves and soles to imitate his wall-crawling ability. He also included a grappling gun and a few smoke bombs.
He went a little crazy with the goggles, cramming in night vision, zoom, and ultraviolet detection. The finished product was a thick pair of cat-eye goggles, opaque from the outside but perfectly clear to look through from within.
Then he couldn't resist tweaking the appearance, too.
He couldn't help it. He just loved the classic Black Cat look too much.
Once everything was finished, he swung over to Felicia's window and tapped on the glass.
Felicia looked up from her computer. Seeing him waving outside, she froze for a moment, then hurried to open the window and let him in. "Tiger? What brings you here?"
"I came to give you this." He handed her the black briefcase.
Felicia opened the case with a look of surprise. When she looked down at its contents, she sucked in a breath. "Peter... did you make this?"
Peter pulled off his mask and shrugged. "Just made a few tweaks. Fury supplied the base suit, but I added some tech upgrades and made you a few gadgets."
"Oh my God, why did you go to so much trouble!" Felicia lifted the suit out and examined it closely, her eyes growing brighter. "It's amazing, Peter! There's... even white fur around the neckline!"
Peter blushed. "Ahem, well, I got a little carried away. You've always gone with the kitty theme, so I thought I'd match it. Go try it on."
Felicia nodded, put down the case, and started taking off her clothes.
Peter smiled as he admired his girlfriend's firm, pert backside on display before him. She had been hitting the gym especially often lately, supposedly to keep him from securing the honorary title of "best ass in this relationship."
She put on the suit, slowly zipped it up, and looked down at herself with a soft gasp. "Wow, this looks so good!"
It certainly did.
The suit hugged her breathtaking curves, looking sexy as hell, but a closer look revealed the tactical armor hidden beneath it. Rings of white fur circled the neckline and wrists, just enough to get the look right.
"Peter, this is absolutely wonderful." Felicia twirled in front of the mirror, then turned to stare at her backside stretching the suit taut and narrowed her eyes. "Peter... did you deliberately make it this tight around the ass?"
Peter grinned. "I was going to deny it and make up some excuse about how the suit came that way... but forget it. I did it on purpose. Sue me."
Felicia rolled her eyes. "Pervert."
"That's me." Grinning, he handed her the goggles. "Here, try these."
She put on the goggles and blinked in surprise. "So cool."
"That's not all." Peter took out the final piece of equipment, a black hair clip that would stay firmly attached to her head.
"What does this..." Felicia stopped halfway through her question as she suddenly noticed her silver hair had turned jet-black. She gasped. "What happened?!"
"A little gadget Susan helped me make. Basically, it makes other people think your hair is black."
"But... why?"
Peter ran a hand through her now-black hair and smiled. "Kitten, I love you, and I love your hair color. But it's too distinctive. It really stands out. Your hair being so unusual was how I found you in the first place. If you're going to approach your mother's clients, sooner or later they could follow that same trail to you."
Felicia's eyes went round. "You're right... how could I be so stupid!" She slapped her forehead. "I knew I should've worn a wig, but those fucking things are so hard to keep in place!"
Peter smiled reassuringly. "Relax, kitten. Nobody's gotten a clear photo of you yet. There's still time. You just need to 'accidentally' let someone photograph you with black hair, and from then on, it'll be established that Black Cat has black hair. If you want, I could post a picture on Twitter of me chasing Black Cat or something."
Felicia blinked, slowly taking it in. "Right... that would work!"
She leaped straight into his arms, wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, and kissed him hard.
When they parted, she whispered, "This is wonderful, Tiger. Thank you."
"You're welcome, kitten." Peter smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day."
Felicia's eyes widened. "What?" She whipped her head around to check the calendar and saw that Valentine's Day was still a full week away. "There's still a week to go!"
Peter shrugged. "I know. I just wanted to give you your present early, sweetheart." Smiling, he kissed her lips, pushed her down onto the bed, and rolled on top of her.
"Then you're going to have to give yourself a proper treat tonight," Felicia murmured in his ear.
Peter lightly bit her neck. "You're absolutely right."
A night of tenderness followed.
February passed.
On Valentine's Day, Felicia surprised him with a day trip to Disneyland. She knew he had never been, and seeing him bouncing around in excitement left her immensely pleased with herself. The day ended at her place with a cozy movie night for just the two of them, talking in each other's arms. What happened afterward was known only to them.
March passed peacefully, too.
Peter kept being Spider-Man and kept fighting crime. His fame was rising steadily, almost catching up to Iron Man's.
There was one thing worth noting, though.
News came out of New Mexico that something had leveled an entire small town in a single afternoon. The footage on the news showed lightning interwoven with flames.
Thor had arrived.
Peter went to ask that damned Instructor David, who flatly refused to answer, tossing out, "Classified, kid. Mind your own business. Back to training! I want-" Then Peter stopped bothering to listen.
But the point was, Thor had appeared, and the Avengers would be assembling soon.
And he had a feeling it would be very soon.