Summary:Spidey and the Black Cat talk about some real truths…and take some very real risks. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Felicia has been pacing in her hotel room (because of COURSE she's in a hotel room) for the past half hour. She doesn't doubt for one moment that Spidey can track her to wherever the call originates. But this is neutral territory, not her home. A nondescript suite registered to one 'Julie Newmar.' She starts to dial, thinks better of it, and ends the call. This has happened at least five times already, before she finally gets the nerve to hit the button to send the call.
When she finally does, she flops on the bed in her fluffy lavender robe. But before it even rings, she is up and pacing again. One ringy dingy….two ringy dingy….
Spider-Man is currently webbing up a group of A.I.M. agents when ALICE notifies him of the incoming call. "Stick around, guys," he tells them with a grin, then walks over to the other end of the warehouse, past the plasma bomb they were about to set off. Crazies come in all colors, it seems.
The icon for the Black Cat, a cat icon with blue eyes and a Cheshire cat's grin, appears. He pauses for a moment, then take courage and presses the ANSWER button.
"Spider-Man, Spider-Man, doing whatever a spider can. What's up, Cat?"
"Spideyy!" Oh, well THAT sounded just way too enthusiastic. Cat calms herself and continues. "I was just wondering if we could…uh…meet someplace maybe. To talk. I sorta had somethin' on my mind, and didn't wanna, you know, do it over the phone. TALK. Not /it/, which would be absurd. It's just…not as secure. On the phone. You know?"
Where did her smooth go??
Spider-Man paused. She sounded…flustered? She must be in some kind of trouble. She NEVER sounded flustered.
"Okay. There's a warehouse that's got some trash in it, but I'm about to put it out front. For the garbagemen."
Okay, Homeland Security, but they pick up this kind of garbage.
"It'll be secure in about 30 or so. Will that work?"
"Absolutely," Felicia purrs over the phone. "Just…let me know where, and I'll be there. Thirty minutes. And…be careful." Because trash like that bites sometimes. She ought to know…
"I'm wearing gloves, Cat, It'll be okay." He provides the address, then says, "See you in a few. Bye for now."
The line disconnects, and he looks at the A.I.M. agents. "All right, see how I can gift-wrap YOU yellow yahoos…"
Twenty minutes later, Homeland has some new guests to play with, and the warehouse, although a little dusty, is vacant. The plasma bomb was defused and taken away as well, so he's all alone, drinking soda from a White Castle cup.
It's been twenty-seven minutes. Cat counted. She arrives at the destination provided, watching for anything suspicious. Then she knocks twice, and let's herself inside. "Housekeeeeping!" she calls out into the quiet warehouse, and she shuts the door behind her. There is Spider-Man, sitting alone, and the Black Cat's heart is pounding in her chest. "Hi, Spideypants," she purrs, and sashays quietly over to him, doing her very best not to let her nerves show. "All good on the garbage men front?"
Spider-Man stands up, putting the cup down and replacing the mask to cover his face. "The garbage is gone, the place is empty, but some housekeeping would definitely be in order." He steps towards her, his voice tinged with concern. "What's up, Cat? You sounded nervous. And I've never heard you sound nervous before. I was a little worried."
"Oh, /that/…" Cat laughs lightly and shakes her head. "It's…just a silly thing. I don't think it's danger. Nothing to worry about at all, in fact." Well maybe a LITTLE. "I had wanted to talk to you about that night. You know, when the wolf got me. I guess I just sorta…wanted to thank you. In person. I would have been seeing that up myself, if you hadn't…" She gestures vaguely to her midsection as she leans in closer toward him. "Not just anyone would've done that. And you did."
Cat looks back up into his face. No, his mask. Those vacant white lenses. It is impossible to read him. "You know…?"
Spidey smiles a little. "Well…thanks. You were in danger, and I could help…so I helped. That's what I do. I was a little…surprised, though." He tilts his head slightly. "If I'm not pushing, why were you in the area? It was a little unusual, so I am curious. If it's none of my business, feel free to say so."
Lie! LIE! You were there for a Cat…conference. A feline fling! Cat starts to speak, then a playful smile tugs at her lips. "Why do /you/ think I was there?"
Peter is admittedly a genius, but it can take him some time to add certain things up. This has him replaying various memories of her interactions with him and others.
A few seconds pass…and then he is a cartoon, with a word balloon over his head containing a light blub that is suddenly lit.
Bing. Connection made.
"…You were there…for *me*?" he asks, startled. But she startles him a lot these days.
"I was," Cat confesses. She blinks once, slowly, and she looks down to her as-yet pristine gloves as she opens her eyes. "I wanted to see you. But then…I wanted to protect you. I'm just…just not skilled in playing well with others, yet, it seems." She lifts those wide aqua eyes to look on his masked face again, looking almost…bashful?
Spidey looks at her, REALLY looks at her. "Cat…I know what you are skilled in. I don't know your real name. But I think that you are a person who can use those skills to help people, instead of stealing for personal gain. I…I want to help you. Guide you so that you can…you can be your best self. But I won't make you into someone else. Any change has to be within you…so it is ultimately your choice."
Cat nods, and smiles warmly. "I can play nice, Spideypants. And I can be a good girl. But part of my problem was that I don't yet know how to cooperate effectively with others." She tentatively reaches out for his hand. "I'm still learning to be a team player. I've spent a long time on my own out there. And I've played with a handful of others. But not one of them would have sewn me up when I got hurt. You're special, Spidey."
Spider-Man takes a deep breath. "What I did for you, I would do for anyone, Cat. All life is precious. I was even thinking of bringing in Morlun, alive, so he could pay for his crimes. But he had gone too far. But I still believe that there is no one undeserving of help."
Looking into those eyes helped. Uncle Ben used to say that telling the truth meant never having to worry about keeping your story straight. And when her hand touches his, he does not pull away. It is a fragile moment, and she needed something. Some measure of humanity.
"I know something I want, when I see it," Cat purrs. "But I've learned not to just try and take it." Her fingertips trace lightly over his hand. "But if something I want decides it wants me, too…well, I can't help that, now can I?"
She winks and withdraws her hand, fretting at her bottom lip thoughtfully. "This is why I like you, Spidey. You're not only a good guy…you're easy to talk to." And easy to fall for. But that's a step too far, for now. Because he's also easy to freak out. The thought flits through her eyes like a shadow, and it makes her smile.
Spidey grins. "I'm a pretty decent listener. You find out more that way." And you also avoid sounding like a goober a lot less.
The implications are not lost on him. He is, at some deep level, aware she is attracted to him. The question is…WHICH "him" is she attracted to?
"Cat…? May I ask you something?"
"Of course, Spidey. For you, I'm an open book. As long as I myself know the answer." She smirks, and crosses her legs, watching him and waiting to see what questions burn in a Spider's mind.
"I'm more than just a snazzy suit with a top-flight V.I. and fancy webshooters. The truth is…put me in regular clothes, I'm not very impressive at all."
He had to give her a little.
"The truth is…I just started college. Last May, I was graduating high school."
Cat is a little taken aback. Not so much by his age, but by the realization that she hadn't thought twice about his age. She makes a mental note to ask the age of her crush, should this ever happen again. He could have been underage, and she might never have known it.
"That's not a question," she purrs.
Spider-Man takes a deep breath. "Working my way up to it, Cat. The fact is…I'm pretty forgettable. I'm not a hero like Captain America. I'm…PAINFULLY shy with the mask off. I look pretty average. I'm…what would you do if I took this mask off? Would it be better for you, or worse?"
For a moment, Cat considers the question. Actually considers it. "Well," Cat replies thoughtfully, "put me in regular clothes, and I'm fairly ordinary. Put anyone in ordinary clothes and they'll be…just that. Don't you think? But you're /not/ ordinary. You DO this. You wear the suit. You save lives. That makes you FAR from ordinary."
Spider-Man looks at her. Well…time to go all in.
"Would you like to know the man under the mask?"
For a moment, there is a pang of panic in Cat's gut. Not because she could see him without the mask. But because one good turn deserves another. She is bold behind the mask. She lives her best life there.
Sometimes life demands sacrifices.
Slowly, she nods. "I'd like to know him better."
Spider-Man takes a deep breath, then reaches up to the top of the mask. He does not rush. If she has a change of heart, she can say or do something to stop him. He realizes he is trusting an international thief.
No. There's someone under that mask.
Last chance to stop him before he shows his hand.
The thief can scarcely breathe. Her hands have gone cold. There's more at risk here than she ever realized. He'll know her face. He might even recognize it. He could turn her in. He could turn her in right there while they are talking, with that AI of his, and she'd never know it until it was too late.
But he has had chances to do that already. More than she can count. So she sits in breathless anticipation. And all she can do is give in to the strongest urge she has at this very moment: she sings "The Stripper."
"Bah dah daaa, Bah ba-da daaah…."
The mask detaches cleanly from the rest of the suit, a glimpse of the lower face she has glimpsed before…
And then the mask is in Spider-Man hand, not his head. And the face…
…is the face of a young man with a boy's face. Short brown hair, brown eyes which cannot hide the innate intelligence.
The Black Cat recognizes the face, of course. Blue-collar, work-study college student Peter Parker, Spider-Man's professed "Stalker," the guy who used to take all the pictures of Spider-Man for the Daily Bugle. The "King of Geeks" of Midtown High. The high-schooler with an IQ of 250.
Peter smiles sheepishly. "…Hi."
Cat's first instinct is to wrap Peter up in a hug, but she decides that might be over the line.
"Ohh…Baby…you're…." She blinks, lifting a hand to cup his chin gently, and look into those brown eyes. "You're Peter. You're your own stalker? And you said you were ordinary."
Peter shrugs. "I don't exactly have GENIUS tattooed on my forehead. And after the pain and anguish I went through as a kid, I'm not all keen to have it done. Besides, until two years ago, being smart signed me up for a world of trouble. Too smart for my own good. Pestered…or coerced…into giving help or doing stuff for people because I was smart. Carl King ALONE was enough torture." He sighed. "And pretty girls would LOVE to spend time with me, just as long as I did their homework for them…"
Cat laughs, and shakes her head. "Well, Handsome, I don't have any homework for ya to do. But I certainly wouldn't say no to spending a little time with you," She winks, but then she draws a long breath and exhales slowly.
"Well…I suppose turnabout is fair play, isn't it Sp—Peter? It's only fair that I offer in kind, hmm? Want to meet the woman behind the mask?" Her voice is steady, despite her racing heart.
Peter blinks, and it's plain to see he is surprised by it. Then he says, "You don't…have to, Cat. I didn't do this in order to try and find out your secrets. I won't coerce you to do anything."
Cat pauses and tilts her head. "When someone offers, you can't call it coercion. The question was legitimate." Her nerves are calmed a bit by his response. "Do you want to know?"
Peter is a little unsure. "I…uhm…" He didn't think she'd just do this. Did he want to know?
The answer, he realized, was yes. Even if it was risky as heck. But the truth had always been better than a lie.
"…Yes. Yes, I do."
Risky? Yes. More for her than for him. Cat hesitates only a moment before reaching up beneath the cascades of her long silver hair, and she releases the clasp. The mask loosens slightly, and she draws her hand away, taking the mask with it. She blinks once, looking down at the mask in her hand, not on her face. Her eyes flutter for just a moment before she lifts her gaze back to Peter's face.
Wow. For a moment, he isn't sure which way looks better, with the mask or without. But then he blinks, and takes a deep breath. "Hello, Miss…whoever you are? I'm sorry, you may know who I am, but I…don't really recognize you…"
"My name…" She takes a deep breath. "My name is Felicia Hardy. Of course…There's no reason why you should recognize me, really." She smiles and exhales again, this time letting go of her anxiety. Her eyes flit briefly to those lips, which she had seen before. Only the lips, until tonight. "I've never taken off the mask for a man until now." She quickly realizes she is watching his lips, and her eyes snap back up to his. Helloooo, his eyes are up /here/.
"Wow…" For a few seconds, that's all he's got. "Uhm…geez, Felicia. Now that you know who I am…does it…change how you see me?"
Felicia shakes her head slowly, her eyes averting as her thoughts reel. "You are….You're the same person I've watched since before we met. Don't you see that just because you put on the suit, it doesn't change who you are? For some people, maybe the suit is the only time they can truly be themselves. Their…their best life. It just gives you the opportunity to be….You."
Peter looks to her, then asks, "Well, then…since we're seeing ourselves and each other, I wanted to ask…would you like to go out? As Peter and Felicia, not Spider-Man and the Black Cat. Just two regular people."
"Two…regular people with extraordinary lives?" Felicia smiles, and it brightens her whole face. "I think…I think we should try that sometime. Because I haven't been out with an ordinary man in a /very/ long time."