章 52: The Spider and the Cat (Cindy Moon)
Beneath the moonlight, Black Cat and Silk sat perched side by side across from what looked like an abandoned factory of sorts, however, it being abandoned was far from the truth.
"There it is..." Black Cat said, looking directly at the seemingly inactive facility. Silk looked over at her, noticing her now serious face, a far cry from her usual seductive, or nonchalant appearance.
"It's just some old factory." Silk sounded unimpressed, glancing back at the factory for any signs of life.
"Mmh, from the outside sure." Black Cat whispered before pointing toward an oncoming truck. "There! That's our way in. Follow me." She said before leaping off of the building and using her grabble hook to swing down to the streets and behind one of the factory walls. Silk followed, repeating the same steps using her webs.
With their backs to a wall, Silk and Black Cat peeked around the corner, one head above the other, waiting for the truck to get closer. "Now." Black Cat whispered as she ran out from their hiding place. Silk followed close by until the two were right next to the truck, being sure to stand in its blind spot before crawling underneath and hanging on to the bottom.
The truck continued on, making its way inside a completely empty factory garage until stopping above a platform. The sounds of machinery shifting could be heard beneath the two ladies before the truck began to descend into the true base of the facility.
Cindy couldn't really see much, just the bottom of the truck and the woman next to her. She didn't say a word, not wanting to risk being heard by anyone else. Eventually, the platform came to a stop, and the truck began to proceed into what appeared to be some sort of storage area or garage, parking next to two other similar trucks.
The engine shut off and both the driver's and passenger's doors swung open before two men stepped out. One of the men groaned before doing a little shit talking about their boss. "Ugh, I hope Silvermane ain't gonna ask us to do no more collecting from the government. We was almost caught." The thug spoke, sounding like a smoker from the forties.
The passenger laughed, sounding to be a bit heavyset before adding onto it. "After tonight, we's gonna retire anyway, 'specially now that Spider-Freak is gone." Both men laughed before saying something that would anger the heroine beneath the vehicle.
"What? Does Spider-Girl not scare you?" The driver teased as the two walked off, both laughing at the thought of it.
"That little oriental chick ain't scarin' me. What's she like ninety pounds? The wind'll handle her for me." The chubby one joked, continuing to laugh until their laughter faded in the distance.
"I want to claw their eyes out." Silk whispered, obviously exaggerating, and scowling at the woman next to her.
Black Cat was already used to this sort of thing, so she did nothing more but silently laugh. "It gets worse. At least they aren't talking about what they'd do to you if they 'had five minutes.'" Black Cat said, using air quotes with her fingers.
"Gross..." Cindy muttered.
"Yeah. Let's go." Felicia immediately dropped from the truck and rolled from beneath it, Silk copied her, rolling out from the other side and following Black Cat across the garage. As Silk followed, she could tell that the cat knew exactly where she was going as if she had been there before.
"How many times have you broken into this place?" Silk whispered, watching the cat grapple up to a vent and begin unscrewing it with a tool.
"Lost count." Felicia replied, unscrewing the last screw and gently removing the grate before climbing inside. "Come on. We're almost there."
The two climbed in the vent, Felicia in front. As they crawled, Cindy averted her eyes, trying to look at wherever Black Cat's swaying backside wasn't. "So..." Cindy trailed off. "Are you gonna tell me more about why you wanna take these guys down so bad and how you know so much about them?"
Black Cat continued on, answering the question vaguely. "Personal reasons and... personal reasons. Look, I don't care about being a goody-goody like you and your boyfriend, but I hate these guys just as much. Arguably more. That's all you need to know right now."
"Okay. So what's the plan exactly? You've only said 'Follow me' and 'Come on' this whole time." Cindy asked, still looking to the side of the vent.
"You know, just preventing the assassination of Norman Osborn and stopping Silvermane for good. Nothing too big." The cat was being very nonchalant about something so big, driving Silk to question her.
"Just!?" Silk parroted. "Why are they trying to kill Mr. Osborn?"
"Silvermane is running for mayor in a couple of years. So is Norman. He wants to get rid of the competition. He can't do it around election time, that would be too obvious, right? So he came back to America early to get rid of him."
"I see... so you're into politics? I'm more into anime and k-dramas. Elections bore me." Silk saying this stopped Black Cat in her tracks, causing the woman to look back at her with a frown.
"I couldn't give a damn about politics. If Silvermane the Maggia gains more control of the city, they'll hurt even more people like how they hurt-" Black Cat stopped herself, not wanting to get into her motives any further. "Let's just go, alright?"
Silently, the two ladies continued crawling through the vents until Black Cat came to a stop. "Okay, Silvermane's not too far but we'll have to walk the rest of the way."
Felicia began unscrewing the vent from the inside before once again gently removing it. She then jumped from the vent, landing silently on her feet as Silk used her webs to slowly descend down and stand next to her.
"What's that noise?" A man's voice said from somewhere down the hall, immediately triggering him to turn around and point his gun-mounted flashlight down the dark hallway. He had a cigarette in his mouth before he spat it out and stepped on it as he walked down the dark hallway. Immediately, Black Cat grabbed Silk and pulled her toward the wall, pinning her against it by holding her arm up and covering her mouth.
"Shh." The cat sounded, pressing her body up against Silk's.
Cindy's skin slowly began turning pink, feeling Black Cat's chest pressing up against hers. 'Oh my God...' She thought to herself, never having felt this way about a woman's touch before. Black Cat continued to grimace as the gunman continued to march down the hallway, pointing his gun in all directions.
His flashlight nearly detected both girls, causing both of their eyebrows to furrow before he directed his attention to the opened vent. Before he could inform anyone of what he saw, Black Cat released Silk and lunged at him like a panther, slicing him with her claws before sending an uppercut to his jaw.
His gun flew high in the air, though Silk was quick to web it to the wall in order to avoid making any noise.
Black Cat looked back at her, commending her. "Quick thinking, thanks." She said, getting a nod in response from the arachnid, who was still a bit flustered.
The two hid the gunman's unconscious body before running further into the base, discovering a room with a guard, a scientist, and an old man on an operating table covered in metallic armor. Both girls took a listen as the villain of this story decided to monologue his entire plan for no real reason.
"Now that my body is completely covered with this Carbonanium armor, all things are set in motion." The crime boss, Silvermane spoke as he began getting up from the table. It would appear that he had just finished being equipped with his gear and began walking around.
His entire body, aside from his old, withered face, was covered in a chrome-like metal, presumably the Carbonanium he stole. With this, his punches would do plenty of damage and he could block almost any attack.
"Is everything ready?" Silvermane asked one of his goons.
"Almost. The charges are being planted at Oscorp now. The fireworks show should be startin' in about thirty minutes." The goon told him with a rocky, cold voice.
"And the Cat?" Silvermane asked.
"No one's got eyes on her boss."
Silvermane scoffed. "Seems the kitten's run off. Didn't wanna end up like her father. Even if she does show up, Spider-Man ain't here to help her. We'll deal with her." Silvermane laughed. A despicable cackle that disgusted Silk and infuriated Black Cat.
Silk looked at her temporary partner, noticing the fury in her eyes, wondering what exactly Silvermane was implying. 'Did he kill her father? Is that why she's so determined to stop this?'
Cindy took a closer look at Silvermane, seeing that his metallic suit had plenty of weak spots. "Cat." She whispered, gaining the feline's attention. "See those wires? We need to detach those. His joints are weak points too, that's regular steel."
Black Cat nodded, holding up three fingers, then two, then one.
Both ladies busted through the door, surprising all three men with their sudden entrance. Wasting no time, Silk webbed the goon by the face, yanked him forward, and kicked him in the jaw, sending him flying backward onto a countertop.
Simultaneously, Black Cat lunged toward the scientist, sending a kick to his chest and rendering him out of the fight before he could even tell what was happening.
"You!" Silvermane shouted upon seeing Black Cat once again. "And that damned Spider-Girl!"
Silk furrowed her eyebrows, pouncing forward at Silvermane as she corrected him on her name. "My name is Silk!" She shouted, using her webbed claws to try and attack the only spot on his body that wasn't protected, which was his face.
Silvermane dodged, however, Black Cat was right behind her, swinging her claws at his face as if she were ready to tear his face off. Though his movements were slow and rigid, Silvermane was able to barely avoid getting his eyes slashed out. causing Black Cat's claws to slash at his Carbonanium chest.
Though the sounds of her claws scraping the metal plate on his chest were heard by all, they didn't even leave a scratch on the mob boss, bringing a smile to his face before he punched Black Cat in the lower body, sending her flying to the other side of the room and smashing into a wall.
"Cat!" Silk yelled before leaping on Silvermane's shoulders in an attempt to pull off one of the many wires connected to his suit.
"You bitch!" Silvermane yelled, reaching up above his head in an attempt to pull her off of him. He was eventually successful, however, not before Silk was able to rip one of the wires out. He tossed Silk across the room, shouting in pain as the heroine stuck herself to the wall.
Those wires were connected to the power source, and with one being damaged, his suit would only be able to perform at a lesser level.
Silk looked down at Black Cat, who was recovering from her attack, checking up on her. "You okay?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It won't happen again. Let's go." Black Cat rose back to her feet, prompting Silk to race toward Silvermane beside her, running across the wall.
Using the wall as a springboard, Silk lunged at Silvermane, punching him in the face and causing him to stumble backward. As he reeled back, Black Cat slid on the ground between Silvermane's feet, using her claws to slice the wires on his legs.
"Aaaah!" Silvermane yelled again as his suit continued powering down and he fell on one knee.
Silvermane began swinging his arms wildly, trying his best to land a strike on either of the ladies but they were too fast for him now. Using her webs from her fingertips, Silk webbed one of Silvermane's hands, raising his arm and exposing another wire.
Black Cat swooped back around the suited-up old man, pulling on the conduit beneath his arm and breaking it off. Silvermane yelled again, falling to both knees this time as his suit began to completely power down. "No! This can't be happening!" Silvermane yelled before Silk webbed his mouth shut and kicked him on his back.
"Oh it's happening, bitch!" Silk said before delivering a punch to his face and webbing him down by the arm that was now immobilized.
Meanwhile, Black Cat pulled out two wires from his chest and shoulders, powering down the suit for good. Now unable to move or lift himself up due to the heavy suit weighing him down, Silvermane watched as Black Cat hovered above him with her claws extended.
"Finally, after all these years you're finally in my grasp." She told him. "For ten years I've waited, just dreaming about clawing your eyes out after what you did to the only family I had left. Now I'm gonna take you from yours." She declared.
"Cat..." Silk said quietly, however, Felicia ignored her due to her own thoughts clouding her head.
Felicia thought about her past life, being in and out of trouble and being a nuisance to her father growing up. He didn't want her to be like him, despite him being the most successful and renowned cat burglar in the world. He was eventually caught, serving many years in prison before Felicia broke him out herself.
Once he was out, however, he was assassinated by the Maggia gang due to having stolen from them. Felicia was only a teenager when it happened, but she spent the last decade waiting for her moment to finally strike and get revenge for him.
This was it.
This was her moment to get revenge for her father's murder.
However, she thought about Spider-Man.
She thought about that one rainy night when he swore to kill his mother's murderer, only to show up at her doorstep calling himself a coward.
Back then, she comforted him, but she didn't understand it. She couldn't comprehend why he didn't go through with it. She thought that once it was her turn, she would do it.
But she was hesitating.
'Why can't I do it...' Felicia thought to herself, still holding her clawed hand above the silver-haired old man.
She then remembered how Fisk's death affected the young hero.
He saw himself as a monster, a fake hero. It seemed like it was eating him up from the inside and he was looking for another way to make that pain go away.
"I am unsatiated." The Phantom Spider's voice coldly spoke in her head, sending a shiver down her spine as she remembered the cold eyes from behind those goggles he used to wear. No, that wasn't the Phantom Spider or Spider-Man, but someone else entirely.
Felicia realized that if she were to do this, she would become just like how the Phantom Spider was on that day. A vengeful monster who would never be satisfied no matter how many people he'd maimed.
She looked back at Silk, staring at her with the same frenzied eyes that the Phantom Spider glared at her with. Seeing Cindy's face, what Felicia's own face must've looked like on that night, snapped Felicia out of it.
She retracted her claws, looking back down at Silvermane with a disgusted look on her face. "Thank Spider-Man, if you ever meet him." She told him before stomping on his face, knocking him out cold.
Silk approached her from behind, putting her hand on her back to comfort her. "You did the right thing, Cat... We still need to get to Oscorp."
Black Cat nodded. "What about him?" She asked.
"My webs take a couple of hours to dissolve on their own. He will be here when we get back. Then he can rot in prison for however long his worthless life has left. I'm sure he has a lot of enemies waiting for him on the inside too... they'll give him what he deserves."
With that said, the two girls left the room, making sure to web him and his men down for extra insurance before webbing the door shut to allow no one in or out. Just like how they came in, the two girls crawled through the vents, not being seen by anyone and leaving the entire facility oblivious.
As they were leaving, they saw many of the Maggia gang members begin to leave the facility, unknown of the fact that their leader was still beneath the facility.
Back at Oscorp, Norman Osborn sat in his conference room, speaking with multiple CEOs and VIPs from all over the nation, oblivious to what was going to happen. This wasn't just an assassination attempt on his life, but an attempt at removing any and all competition from the role of Mayor.
It was up to Silk and the Black Cat to stop it.
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