C H A P T E R   F O U R
H E L L O   O L D   F R I E N D

— 🕸 —

THE superhero power couple swings towards Fisk's auction site in a hurry and while they're swinging through the bustling city Felicia does some fancy air tricks that catch her boyfriend's attention.

He turned to look at her mid-swing and smiled under his mask proudly.

"You remember when I first taught you those air tricks?" Peter asks.

"Yeah, as I  kept messing up and hitting the sides of nearby buildings," Felicia said.

"I can't believe that was seven years ago."

"Time flies when you're having fun, Spider."

"Heh. Well, I'm glad that you have been by my side through those fun times, Kitty."

"And those fun times aren't over yet, Darling."

"Very true. As long as we're together. We'll always have fun times."

Peter then does the same air tricks he had taught Felivia but this time he adds in a few other new air tricks that he hasn't taught
her yet.

"Show-off," Felicia said teasingly.

Peter chuckled as they arrived at their destination and landed on the roof of the auction site.

"I'll wait over here. Contact me if it's legit," Felicia spoke out.

Peter nodded and entered the building via the air vents.

He then sees a group of men dressed fashionably in black and white suits and holding rifles as demon masks cover their faces. They are also currently holding the museum curator Rose Rosemann hostage.

"I'm running out of fucking patience! Where is that damn file?!" The leader of the demon gang demanded as he had his firearm aimed at her head.

"I-I don't know. But someone else is here. They must've taken it." Rose answered trembling with fear in her voice.

Peter had contacted Felicia through the earpiece in his mask.

"Cat, the alarm is legit. I'm gonna need some assistance." He whispers and informs his partner.

"Coming, Spider. I'll contact Yuri and let her know about this," Felicia whispered back.

She then used her cat claws to crawl and enter through another air vent that is located in the building.

"Yuri, Babe. The silent alarm is indeed legit. We have masked gunmen and a hostage on our hands. Nothing has been stolen yet but it looks like a heist in progress." Felicia said informing the NYPD Police Captain.

"Copy that, Cat. I'm sending units your way. Keep the situation from getting worse in the meantime." Yuri said.

"Can do," Felicia said.

"There's no one here but us. We will find it or you will die." The demon leader threatened in a loud voice.

"Quiet as a cat," Peter said.

"Sneaky as a spider," Felicia said.

Peter makes his way through to the inside and finds one of the Demons alone and webs him up to a wall. In another area, Felicia makes her way in and slowly takes down two of the Demons silently by putting them to sleep. Peter then makes it to the back room finds two more Demons and takes them down with ease.

He spots from a distance something shining and it catches his attention.

"Wait, what's that?" He said confused and walked up towards it seeing a camera.

"No freaking way. She's here."  Peter said as he knew that the camera belonged to his close friend MJ.

"Don't move." A demon goon spoke out as he was behind Peter and had his weapon aimed at him.

Peter raised his arms in defense. "Buddy, if I had a nickel for every "don't move" I've ever heard..."

Someone then comes up behind the demon goon and knocks him out with a blunt object.

"Hey, Pete." Mary Jane said greeting him with a warm smile.

"MJ?" Peter said baffled and surprised to see her close friend again.

"What the heck are you doing here?"

"Same as you. I'm working."

"Well, at least I was." She states and Peter hands MJ back her camera.

"So... Robbie's got you covering a break-in for the Bugle?" Peter asked.

"Well, Robbie doesn't technically know that I'm here and it wasn't a break-in until a few minutes ago."

"Huh? MJ What'd you do..."

"It's okay. Here let me explain..."

— 🕸 —

"...And I was on my way out when I ran into you, Pete." Mary Jane explained. She's the one who had stolen the file that the Demons were after.

"You're lucky to be alive, MJ," Peter said scoldingly.

"Says the guy I just saved 5 minutes ago," MJ remarked.

Black Cat then ascends down from the air vents and lands with style. She saw Mary Jane and smiled kindly.

"Hey, there, Red."

"Hi, Kitty. It's been a while."

"Yeah, it sure has been. I've missed our trips to Starbucks."

"Me too. But I've been super busy with work."

Felicia nodded in understanding. "So have we. Anyway, what's this I hear about you and a file?"

"Long story short I stole this file from those demon thugs over there as they were after it. But I'll never get it out of here when the place is still swarming with them, Felicia."

Felicia nodded and looked over towards Peter.

"Right. You hide over there and we'll take out the bad guys. Once it's clear then you make a break for it." Peter said.

"Sounds like a plan. Thanks, guys. I owe
you one." MJ said starting to walk off.

MJ smiled and stopped walking getting one last glance at us. "It was great to see you guys again."

"Yeah, you too, MJ," Peter said.

"Same girl. But this wasn't exactly how I imagined us catching up."

"Funny because this is exactly how I pictured it." Mary Jane said and left the room.

Peter and Feloca begin taking down the bad guys with finesse and style as they are careful and quiet so as not to alert them.

"So how about that file? What's in it that these guys want so bad?"

"There are notes on something called Devil's Breath. Fisk was hired to build a secret research lab for it. Not clear what Devil's Breath is but it seemed to scare Fisk. He compared it to Pandora's Box."

"That's a first. If Fisk is scared shitless then this Devil's Breath is no joke." Felicia said.

"Felicia's right. Not much scared him. We need to get you and that file out of here fast."

Moments later after they had taken out all of the bad guys the superhero couple then heard the cries of distress coming from Mary Jane Watson.

"No! Let go of me! Spider-Man! Black Cat!"

"MJ!"

"Red!"

The couple rushes towards MJ as they see her being dragged on the floor by her hair by one of the demon-masked men. Mary Jane kicked and protested but ultimately got slapped across the face for her troubles as he derived the file. Felicia scowled and her claws popped out furious seeing her girl-friend being mistreated and manhandled.

"Get away from her!" Felicia yelled out and pounced at the bad guy who was holding onto MJ.

She took off his demon mask and started to claw his face as the bad guy screamed in pain.

"Remind me never to piss you off, Cat," Peter remarked and dealt with the rest of the bad guys.

Felicia stood up and admired her work seeing the bloody claw marks on the bad guy's face.

"That's what you get for mistreating a woman. Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners?" Felicia said smirking and walked over to Mary Jane.

Felicia helped MJ up to her feet and hugged her. "Are you okay, Red?" She asked.

MJ nodded and hugged Felicia back as she did have a small bruise on her cheek. "I'll be okay, Cat. Nothing that a quick ice pack won't fix and maybe a bite to eat."

Felicia nodded and smiled.

Peter sighed as he was afraid of this. Sometimes MJ does t know her limits. This was just a bruise next time it could be a broken bone or worse death. Sometimes Spider-Man and Black Cat won't always be there to save her when she comes calling. It's one of the few reasons he never tried dating MJ after Gwen. He had already been through that once as Peter tried to keep Gwen out of harm's way but she wouldn't listen. So he broke it off with Gwen before anything worse could happen to her as it did cause a rift between them.

Peter goes over to them as he is holding one of the demon masks in his hand.

"This mask looks antique and I think I know someone who can help us track where this came from," Peter said showing them the black and white demon mask.

"You mean Li?" Felicia asks.

Peter nodded.

"Martin Li? Why?" MJ asks.

"Because he has a degree in art history. If anyone knows about the origins of that mask he will."

"Hmm, I think there's a bigger story here and I plan to be the one who breaks it." Mary Jane said.

Felicia smiles and shakes her head as she loves her girl-friend's will and determination. Then her smartphone chimes as she receives a text from her best friend Cindy Moon.

Cindy 🌙: Hey, I heard the news on TV. Are you two okay?

Felicia🐈‍⬛: Yeah, we're fine. It was just a simple break-in. Are we still on for dinner at Micky's Diner?

Cindy🌙: Of course. Just getting ready and I'll be on my way soon.

Felicia🐈‍⬛: Okay. Hey, I ran into our old friend MJ. Do you mind if she joins us too?

Cindy🌙: Not at all. Let her come. The more the merrier.

Felicia🐈‍⬛: Cool. We'll be there in a few and don't forget to wear that black dress that  I like so much. 😘

Felicia puts away her smartphone. "Well, I'm getting pretty hungry. MJ you wanted to grab a bite too right?"

MJ nods and smiles. "I'm down for some grub. Where are we going?"

"You know the one over to Peter's favorite restaurant."

"The one with the best fries in town?" Peter asks excitedly.

Felicia nodded and Peter cheered. "You're the best, Cat. Thank you." He said and kissed her cheek.

Felicia covered her mouth trying not to burst into laughter at her boyfriend's antics as MJ on the other hand giggled.

"He's such a child sometimes." MJ comments.

"A cute lovable child," Felicia said and kissed Peter's cheek as he blushed under the mask. The trio laughed and made their way over to Mickey's Diner.

—🕸️—

Cindy was the first to arrive at the restaurant as she was greeted by the owner Mick.

"Ah, there's my favorite customer."

"Hi, Mick." Cindy smiles and takes a seat at a nearby booth.

"Aw but where are my other favorite customers?" Mick asked.

"They're coming, Mickey. As they are just a little late that's all."

"Excelsior! Well, I'll be in the back if you need anything okay? And don't worry I'll pay for the food." Mick said as he poured her a glass of water.

Cindy nods and smiles. "You're too kind. But thank you, Mick. You're the best."

Mick nodded and smiled back. "No problem, Missy. Enjoy the food." He said and walked off to attend to other customers.

Cindy opens the menu and reads deciding on what she wants to eat for dinner as she is interrupted by a text message from her father Albert Moon.

Father🌙: Cindy? Princess? I know you can see my text messages. Stop leaving me unread and please text me back.

She sighed annoyed not wanting to talk to her father right now and tried to ignore him as best as she could.

Father🌙: Look Cindy I know you aren't comfortable with what's going on with your mother right now but you are still her daughter. She's been asking for you please come back home and visit her before it's too late. I love you, Sweetie.

Cindy picked up her phone and read the message her father sent to her as she wanted to text him back but she just wasn't ready yet. Ever since she found out about her mother's illness it's been really hard. To watch someone you admire and love with all your heart slowly get weaker and sicker is just too much for her. So she decided it was best to just distance herself and preserve the memory of her once healthy and happy mother. Leaving the memories alone.

Cindy's train of thought was cut short when Peter, Felicia, and MJ finally showed up at the diner.

"Sorry we're late, Cindy. We lost track of time. Superhero stuff." Felicia said and sat right next to her in the booth.

"It's okay. I wasn't waiting that long besides Mick was keeping me company." Cindy said smiling.

The group of friends catch up on each other lives while they eat and drink enjoying one another company. Felicia laid her head on Peter's shoulder smiling as she listened to MJ talk about her job at the Daily Bugle and having to deal with Mr. Pickle Puss.

"Where did you come up with that nickname for Jonah, Peter?" MJ asks.

"Many years ago while I was on my break at work. As it wasn't all me Robbie and I came up with ourselves." Peter said as the women laughed at his story.

Felicia glanced over to Cindy as she noticed her best friend was on the phone half paying attention. Felicia was curious as to why Cindy was distracted and was about to question her when a squad of police cars rushed past the diner alarm blaring. 

"Saved by the siren," Felicia whispers to herself.

"Looks like the city needs us again," Peter said.

"Go get 'em, Tiger," MJ said.

Felicia groaned annoyed. "Ugh, and here I thought it would stay quiet for the rest of the night."

"Rookie Mistake, Cat. Always be on guard." Peter said teasingly and left with Felicia in a hurry.