Chapter 8: Chapter 8

 

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

 

Chapter 8– First Outing.

 

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Wait, what the fuck am I doing? I swore that I was not going to do this, that I wasn't going to let her pull me in, let her drag me into an inescapable black hole. I might have been sticking to my principles and rules when I refused to steal from the jewellery shop earlier on, but I am back treading right now. Every second that my lips stay in contact with her is another moment my rules are being ignored and trodden upon, which I can't allow.

 

I whip my arms away from her as if they were on fire, as if she were literal dynamite about to explode, and as if Felicia was sensing my reluctance, her lips part from mine, disappearing as soon as I stopped holding her.

 

Even though I feel great hesitation now that her lips are no longer on mine, I can't help but feel some relief as well, knowing that I had just dodged a bullet. If there is ever going to be anything happening between Felicia and me, then it is going to be initiated by me, and I can't accept it any other way-

 

"AGGGGGgggghhhh!" I heard Felicia scream, and she seemed to be getting further and further away, but why would- I realise now that I was the one holding Felicia against me, under this archway, I was her only support, and I had just stopped holding her. Then, my eyes which I had closed while kissing Felicia snapped open, and I saw Felicia dropping down through the alley, plummeting towards the ground.

 

As I watch her falling to her death, facing the sky and reaching a hand out for me, I suddenly see Gwen Stacy, sweet Gwen Stacy falling in her place, and I am right back at the Brooklyn Bridge living out my worst nightmare again.

 

Instinctually my hand shoots out, both of my middle fingers pressed against my palm to let loose a web that would reach out to snag Felicia and save her from a terrible fate. Except I am not wearing my web-shooters, which I thank god for because if I had them on, then Felicia's spine would have been snapped in half, just like Gwen.

 

I-I can't do that again; I can't have someone killed because of me again, because of my actions. So maybe it is a good thing that I don't have my web shooters on me, they are just tools, after all, and they can never be relied upon entirely after all other people can use tools as well.

 

So the only thing I can trust is my own hands and my own actions, I can't trust the actions of other people, and I can't trust weapons or tools that I myself have not created, not even the web-shooters because I did not make those, Peter did, and Peter makes mistakes, I am not Peter.

 

Moving my body, I crouch against the brickwork of the arch, facing towards the grounds and towards the falling form of Felicia. Using all my strength, I push against it and shoot downwards towards the damsel in distress at intense speeds, pointing my arms towards her in a diving-like position to boost myself even further. I feel the bricks crack and break under my feet, the arch itself shattering into pieces, but I can't bring myself to care.

 

I can still remember swinging through the streets as Spider-Man and battling foes, constantly holding back my strength and doing my utmost to not cause any property damage. I don't care about that stuff now. I could give a rats ass about property damage, reputation and image in the public eye; I don't care about limiting myself anymore; I am going to live with my utmost everything.

 

I rocket down towards the ground, heading directly for Felicia, who doesn't have any time to react before I reach her. I ignore her outstretched arms, diving between them and wrapping my arms around her midsection when I collide with her though she was already going at a fast speed which offset most of the impact, and I know her suit has some protection. We tumble through the air for a bit, a mess of arms and legs, before I manage to balance myself out and stick a palm to the alleyway wall.

 

By stick, I don't mean that I use my power, as that would be idiotic at this stage. Stopping our inertia so suddenly is very dangerous; while I would be just fine due to my super-powered body, I don't think Felicia would have taken such a situation into account when designing her suit, which means the inertia would seriously damage her insides.

 

So instead of straight-up using my powers, I use my insane agility to traverse down the walls, doing a series of flips and springs off the bricks to bleed off the energy and slow down our descent.

 

This is made a lot harder due to all the debris falling from above due to me destroying the archway, forcing me to make a bunch more manoeuvers to protect ourselves as we move down. Finally, we touch down gently in the middle of the wet alley; I am not even aware of when it started to rain, being so caught up in current events.

 

The alleyway itself is dark and dingy, so basically just a regular alleyway in New York, right down to the stuffed dumpsters that are so full that they are now leaking garbage juice that is filtering out onto the concrete and into the drains leading to the sewers.

 

Thankfully I am far away from any of them as we had landed in a surprisingly clean space, excellent for a New York alleyway anyway. There is rubble from the property damage I caused all over the place, but it has all since landed now since I slowed down our descent.

 

"Ben, you asshole! What the hell was that!? Why did you just fucking drop me!?" Felicia shouts, now being carried in a princess carry by me. It was just the easiest way to hold her and have a stable grip on her as I followed the treacherous path down through the alleyway.

 

I would have been perfectly fine with being shouted at by her if that was all she did, it was my fault after all, but she perpetuated her point by giving me a hard punch to the arm, which I think was just uncalled for.

 

"What, didn't you like the rush? Have a little fun, Licia, wasn't the fall exhilarating? And for the record, I didn't drop you since you never actually touched the ground. This is me dropping you." I perpetuate my point by letting go of her and taking a step back.

 

Her fantastic ass collides with the ground as she clatters to the floor; I know what I just said didn't really make sense, but I don't care. I have constantly been on the backfoot with this woman, and I have to say, I immensely enjoyed being the one ahead now, even with her vehemently staring up at me with frustration in her eyes.

 

"Now, get up, lazybones. We have got to get moving yesterday. No doubt some people heard or even saw the archway collapsing, and they have already reported it. The police are already on their way; a break-in and then a collapsed archway not too long after, at least a few cops will be checking it out. They will be here soon, so let's get going." I blurt out while quickly making my escape, my escape from her, that is, not the police; the experience of being a vigilante has really clued me in to the force's ineptitude.

 

I can hear her growl behind me, still laid out on the alleyway floor, and I can't help but smile as I jump my way back up to the roofs and then run off into the night.

 

I know I have just dropped a beautiful woman onto the ground and treated her badly, and I shouldn't be happy about being such a dick. But I am, I am ecstatic at the thought of her having the cushion pulled from under her and for once, it is her being messed around with.

 

She has been messing and playing around with me since we met like I am a toy. Well, now she has found out that this toy has retractable claws, sixty different poses and 25 different phrases.

 

I have really got to tone down the dumb quippy side of me. God forbid I start speaking the stupid things aloud.

 

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Alright, today is my first proper outing as a thief, and this will be the first proper job we are going to be doing. It has been a few days since the test drive, and I am feeling confident, mainly because this job is more suited to my skill set, and I have the right experience for the job.

 

It will be just like putting on those same old boots and using them to kick ass all over again, which I don't really want to do, I don't want to slip back into those shoes so quickly, but I have to remember, this time I am not just kicking their ass's, I'm also taking their stuff.

 

"So, Cat. How are we going to do this? Go in guns blazing, kicking ass and taking names, but only for their headstones? Or are we going to sneak in all sneaky like by cutting a perfect circle into the glass and climbing the glass using suction cups? You using the suction cups, not me, for obvious reasons. Or do you have an inside man or something? Has he left the back door open for us, and he will take his compatriots on a trip allowing us to go inside and do as we please? Well, how are we playing this?" I whisper loudly near Felicia's ear, punctuating how quiet I am being by placing a hand in front of my mouth as I lean over.

 

I know full well that I am being annoying right now, and that is actually the whole reason I am whispering to her because acting like this really rides on her nerves and messing with her is pretty amusing. It is like I have become addicted to it after I dropped her on her ass that night in the alley, anyway that I can just mess with her and catch her on the backfoot. Am I becoming a sadist, teasing her and messing with her like this? I suppose it is better than being a masochist, something to think about later.

 

"Shush, Spi. I am trying to focus, so quiet." Felicia answers curtly, annoyed at my senseless questions. Spi is my codename; it is half of the word spider because, like it or not, that is my powerset, and I will obviously be named after it. Also, this way, it can be mistaken with spy, so when I am called it, that is what people will think. It's a stupid thing, but I guess there is some meaning in it; Felicia was very adamant that I have a meaningful name so that she would have something to call me in the field.

 

Felicia herself had been wildly off since the day of my test; I had left her in that alley and then ran off by myself, I expected her to catch up to me soon after I left, but she didn't; I guess she was more shocked at what happened to her than I thought. So I got back to the apartment first, and then I got changed into some of the other clothes Felicia had procured for me on her night out; unfortunately, they are not the type of clothes you would wear out; they are more stay-at-home clothes.

 

When she did arrive home, I was helping myself to some of her icecreams in the fridge and watching television; I did that just to mess with her more and gave her a casual, oh, you're finally back, but she just gave me a dirty look and then went straight into her room. I smiled to myself when she did that; she didn't try any of her flirtatious tactics or anything and just went to bed; at that moment, I felt like I was onto a winner.

 

The following day, she tried to use more of her seductress strategies, but I had already figured out my defence. Whenever she tried to do anything like that, I just found a way to completely change the mood and shift the tone, completely upsetting her advances. So, for example, if we are on the couch, and she tries to scoot closer to me, I would just get up, get a snack from the kitchen, come back and sit on the one-seater.

 

Or when she tried to get super close to me and share the same breath, I would comment about there being no air conditioning, saying it was pretty smelly suddenly, something along the lines of, I think I can smell shit, she would try to ignore it, but I would see her face twitching. So there were quite a lot of these instances over the past few days; I will give her this, she is persistent, but every time she puts it up, I knock it down.

 

We were on the couch one time, and I ended up dozing off a little. Still, when I woke up not long after falling asleep, I found out that Felicia had wormed her way in next to me and was cuddling into me. Needless to say, I liked the position, but I enjoyed my hobby even more, so after a few minutes of her noticing I was awake and not trying to pull away, which lured her into a false sense of security, I let one rip, no joke I literally let loose a loud fart into the silence of the room.

 

I continued to watch the TV, acting like nothing had happened, but I kept an eye on Felicia out of the corner of my eye. I could only see the top of her head since she was watching TV when I trumped, and she didn't move or make any motion to say that it had affected her.

 

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But then she slowly turned her head to look at me, and I could see the shock on her face as she looked at me, completely astonished at what had just occurred. She stayed next to me for a bit longer before she made an excuse and left, I couldn't help but feel vindicated.

 

Watching her get discouraged again and again felt good because I now knew exactly what she wanted and what she was willing to do to get it. She found me at a point in time when I was at my most vulnerable, and she pounced upon me like a lion on a gazelle, but instead of feasting on me like a lion would, she dragged me back to my lair so that I could be a continuous source of sustenance for her.

 

She planned to manipulate my vulnerable self and develop me into her personal tool. I was going to be to her what Skurge is to Amoura the Enchantress, or at least I assume because that is the worst outcome I could imagine.

 

Either way, she planned to take advantage of my state to benefit herself. She planned to use her feminine wiles to get me firmly under her foot and then use me for all sorts of sordid misdeeds; again, I have no evidence to support this, which is why I haven't gone guns blazing and accusing her of anything.

 

She was definitely planning something, but in all truth, I don't really have anywhere to go, and I need some start-up money to get going wherever I am going, so I will be sticking with her till I have what I need and the tide changes.

 

Plus, I have begun to enjoy teasing her and messing up all of her approaches. Keeping her on the backfoot is very amusing since she is constantly vying for control, and I mess it up for her every time. I know she is trying to control me and make me into her little super-powered henchman, and I should probably be leaving and making my own way, but I am aware of the dangers here.

 

I want to learn more and accumulate more riches before I jump ship. I know it is dumb, and I can't find the words to explain it, so I am going to stop trying to rationalise it; I am in the Marvel universe, and things aren't meant to be rational here.

 

"So, uh, when are we going to do this thing, or what?" I ask since we have been sitting on this roof for a while just watching the warehouse in front of us; once again, I am back at the docks trying to steal from more thugs. In fact, the warehouse I stole from is about a hundred meters to my left; the police really should keep tight surveillance of this place; it feels like a hotbed for activity.

 

"It's time; let's move. Remember, follow my lead." She says before getting out of her crouch and leaping from the building we are on to the next, moving towards the warehouse without looking back to see if I am following.

 

I move to follow her with great amusement; it seems like my tactic is working spectacularly because that would have been the time to say something. She could have said something like, I hope you're not this impatient in bed, now follow me very closely and stay right behind me; that would be the sort of thing she usually says, but I have worn her down so much that she is not even trying today.

 

I hop and run across the few warehouses between us and our target before we get crest upon a tall lampost and look down at our targets, it's an ordinary warehouse just like the rest, but there are two shady guys outside waiting by the doors, which certainly doesn't say conspicuous, no siree.

 

Like anybody is going to believe that, just get some bloody security cameras installed and get two guys inside to watch it. If you need someone to watch the door, get them to protect it from inside; why have these guys made everything so obvious?

 

"Alright, now listen. There are no cameras or surveillance in this place, but there are a lot of guys inside. The guys inside won't have any guns on them, some kind of rule where they have to leave all their guns in a room by the door, but the two guys out front are packing some pistols." She says, which leaves me wondering why they would be so stupid to stow all of their guns away; I know that it might make conflicts inside less dangerous but aren't they worried about rival gangs attacking them?

 

"That is why we are going to quietly take the both of them out first, to make sure they won't be around later to use their guns. Then, after that, we will sneak inside and go to that gun room, where we will make sure that the idiots inside could not possibly get into that room. Then, with that done, we are free to have some fun; we can go and kick all of their asses." She speaks, pulling her whip from behind her and pulling on it from both ends, straightening it as if readying it for battle. The crisp clack as she does so sends a shiver through my body; it sounded a bit menacing.

 

"Um, why are we going to fight them? I mean, I understand taking out the two guys at the front and blocking off the room full of guns because those can make holes in you. But after that, why are we then going to go fight those guys? We could just continue sneaking and take what we want and then quietly leave; no need to make a scene." I try to make a point; why do we have to go and have a fight when we can just make a clean break with the loot, with no trouble at all? There is no point.

 

"Well, you know, I have been feeling really stressed lately for some reason, I don't know why. And I have to say, punching the crap out of a guy is a great stress reliever; it really helps to relax the soul, especially when no bullets are flying around to worry about. Why? Do you have a problem with that? Because you should know Ben, I am in dire need of some stress relief, and I really need to punch someone." Oh, well, that's a veiled threat if I've ever seen one.

 

She is definitely annoyed by my recent actions, evidenced by how she called me Ben instead of the codename she was so adamant about me having; maybe I should tone it down a bit and start spacing out the teasing.

 

"No, no, you go right ahead, please. So far be it from me to stop your stress relief, I will follow your lead." I say as she nods at my words and focuses back on the warehouse, like a hawk watching its prey. I feel like we could have been doing any more sneaky and lucrative job right now, but she chose this one because she will get to knock the blocks off some people; oh well, we are here now.

 

Without wasting a second after getting the go-ahead, she leaps from the lampost, leaving me in the dust, eager to crack some skulls open. Then, using her whip with impeccable skill, she throws it out for it to wrap around another lampost and give her a swing which she uses to her advantage. She swings across the street and lets it go when she skims across the ground, right in front of the two thugs who don't even have the time to react before she suddenly leapt toward them.

 

She quickly punches one in the throat, disabling his vocal cords so he can't call for help, before leaping up and twisting around thug number two and wrapping her legs around his throat before he can even comprehend what has happened. The both of them are so panicked that they don't even think of going for the guns tucked into the waist of their pants, which is unfortunate for them because Felicia is not going to give them another chance.

 

With her legs wrapped around the neck of thug number 2 by sitting on his shoulders from behind, she leans back, using her incredible flexibility, to reach for thug number one, who is still clutching his throat. The two thugs are facing opposite directions, so when she leans back, she wraps her arms around the throat of thug number 1 and starts to tighten her grip on both of them.

 

Right now, she is doing a backwards crab pose, but instead of doing it on the ground, she is doing it in the air with her legs and arms constricting around the throats of both thugs, limiting their airways. They are trying their best to free themselves with their hands and keep the oxygen flowing through their bodies, but her grip is like a boa constrictor, and they can't even loosen her grip.

 

They try their best but eventually, they drop to their knees, Felicia still maintaining her position even when they lower. Finally, the thugs begin to lose strength, and their hands drop to their sides, with no power left at all, and then they flop over onto their sides. Felicia casually twists as they do so and lands on the floor next to their unconscious bodies in a black widow pose before she rises up and walks towards the door.

 

She stops at the door and then looks back at me, and I realise that she is still waiting for me, and I am still atop the lampost. I hurriedly jump towards her, not wanting to keep the murderous woman waiting. Felicia is a very fierce, strong woman, and she is ruthless, not someone you want to take risks with. So why the hell am I so attracted to her right now?

 

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