14: Chapter 14 Black Cat

"Hey, Victor von Doom! Taste this!" Johnny Storm fired a barrage of fireballs. Victor von Doom didn't budge; the flames bounced off his armor.

"Johnny Storm, Johnny Storm, you are always the weakest one." Victor von Doom flicked his finger, shooting a high-voltage arc that struck Johnny Storm squarely in the abdomen, sending him flying.

"Johnny Storm!" Peter swung over to catch him, landing on a nearby rooftop. Johnny Storm had already extinguished and lost consciousness; Victor von Doom's electrical current had overloaded his nervous system.

Susan Storm raised a force field to protect Reed, but the overflowing energy was closing in on civilians. He had to create an opening.

Peter's gaze swept across the rooftop, locking onto a massive central air conditioning ventilation duct. The building had incredible heat dissipation; the bottom of the ventilation duct must have been insulated. It wasn't perfect, but it was the only way to break the stalemate at hand.

He rushed over, punched down half of the ventilation duct, tucked it under his arm, took a deep breath, and leaped off the roof.

As he swung to the highest point like a pendulum, Peter released his Webbing and plummeted straight toward Victor von Doom with the ventilation duct. "Bite me, Victor von Doom!"

Just as Victor von Doom looked up, Peter slammed into him, pinning him down tightly with the ventilation duct. The massive recoil made Peter's bones ache as if they were falling apart, but he forced himself to crawl up, switched his Web-shooters to hardening mode, and frantically sprayed Webbing, wrapping the ventilation duct and Victor von Doom into a cocoon.

"What in the hell is this?!" Victor von Doom struggled, plasma sparks bursting from the gaps in his armor, but the insulation perfectly blocked the current.

"Well done, kid!" Reed took the opportunity to stretch his arm and grabbed Victor von Doom. Susan Storm immediately raised an invisible force field, enveloped Victor von Doom, carried him high into the air, and threw him into the East River.

The crisis was averted, but Peter felt his vision beginning to blur. Everything around him turned blood-red. He reached up and touched his head, his hand coming away covered in blood—his skull was cracked.

"That's interesting..." Everything went black, and he fell backward into the ruins, completely losing consciousness.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Peter opened his eyes to the sound of ticking instruments. He was lying on a medical bed with monitoring patches on his chest. His whole body ached, but no bones were broken.

He touched his face, and his heart sank—his mask was gone!

He turned his head to look out the window; night had fallen, and he was hundreds of meters in the air. This wasn't a hospital; it was the Baxter Building.

The door was pushed open, and Johnny Storm, Reed, and Susan Storm walked in.

"You woke up pretty fast." Johnny Storm grinned.

Peter tore off the patches, grabbed the clothes beside him to put on, and stuffed his mask and Web-shooters into his pockets. "Looks like you've already done facial recognition."

Reed nodded. "Sorry, Peter."

"Damn, my secret identity." Peter rubbed his temples and pulled out his phone, finding two missed calls from Uncle Ben.

He immediately dialed the number. "Hello, Uncle Ben."

"Peter! Thank God, where are you? Aunt May is driving herself crazy with worry!"

"Sorry, Uncle Ben, Marcus asked me to help him study for tomorrow's chemistry test, and I... I forgot to check the time." Peter lied without changing his expression.

There was a silence of two seconds on the other end of the line, and Uncle Ben's voice sounded stern. "That's fine, but when you get home, we need to have a serious talk about your recent attitude. Have you had dinner?"

"I have. Marcus's mom made spaghetti. Apologize to Aunt May for me."

Hanging up the phone, Peter met Reed's suspicious gaze. "Your lying skills are terrible."

"I'm not proud of it." Peter shrugged.

Susan Storm suddenly spoke up. "You actually already made an appearance at the Battle of Harlem, didn't you? The guy in the red hoodie helping the Hulk fight the Abomination was you."

Peter nodded. "It was me. I've been doing some odd jobs behind the scenes lately."

"Don't worry, we won't reveal your identity." Susan Storm explained with a smile. "After you passed out, I used my invisibility to bring you into the Baxter Building. It's very safe here."

Peter followed them out of the medical room, walking through a corridor filled with high-tech equipment. Reed and Susan Storm introduced the current state of the Baxter Building: funds were sufficient, but there was a serious brain drain.

"His name is Victor von Doom," Reed said with a complex tone when mentioning the green cloak. "He used to be... my friend."

Arriving in the living room, the TV was broadcasting street interviews. On the screen, a rough screenshot of Peter in a red jacket fighting Victor von Doom was being played repeatedly.

Passersby had mixed reviews. Some thought he was too reckless, some cursed him as a disaster that attracted villains, but there were also many young people who praised him for being cool and courageous.

Peter was secretly pleased. His debut appearance alongside the Fantastic Four had maxed out the PR effect.

"They are right; you are indeed inexperienced and too reckless." Reed habitually began to lecture him.

Susan Storm glared at her brother. "He was just trying to help."

Reed immediately shut his mouth. Peter took the opportunity to speak. "Actually, this is also the reason why I've been staying in the shadows until now. Once exposed to the spotlight, public expectations will be enough to suffocate you."

"At least the Baxter Building made the headlines for free now." Susan Storm laughed.

"By the way, what about Victor von Doom? He wasn't thrown in jail?" Peter asked.

Reed gritted his teeth. "He is the Prince of Latveria and enjoys diplomatic immunity. He just swaggered back to his country like that."

The Thing, whose stomach was growling, poked his head out from behind the sofa. "Can we eat yet?"

Johnny Storm dug out five boxes of frozen pizza from the fridge and heated them directly with his flames. Although the edges were a bit burnt, the meat-topped pizza smelled delicious.

At the dining table, Peter briefly recounted his origin story.

"Wait, you get superpowers just by getting bitten by a spider? That setup is too stupid!" Johnny Storm complained.

"That wasn't a normal spider; it was genetically modified and irradiated." Peter rolled up his sleeves, revealing the Web-shooters on his wrists. "And shooting webs isn't innate; it's a formula I invented that solidifies upon contact with air."

Reed's eyes lit up. "You invented it yourself? That's incredible."

Johnny Storm also put away his joking expression. "Well done, buddy. As a half-inventor myself, I know how hard this is."

After dinner, everyone sat in the living room. Susan Storm looked at Peter. "Peter, would you like to come work at the Baxter Building?"

Peter was stunned. "What?"

"Your grades and inventions have proven your extraordinary talent." Susan Storm said seriously. "The building is meant for geniuses. You'll have your own laboratory, project funding, and a monthly salary. Patent ownership belongs to you. Maybe you can even make yourself some new equipment."

The Thing added in a gruff voice. "And if you need an alibi while you're out fighting, you can always say you're working overtime in the lab."

"That's a great idea!" Johnny Storm cheered.

Peter looked at them, suppressing the excitement in his heart. "It would be my honor. To be honest, I really do need this job and the salary."

Susan Storm stood up and shook his hand. "Welcome to the Baxter Foundation. It's getting late, go home; don't let your aunt and uncle worry."

Late at night, Peter swung through the New York night sky and climbed into his bedroom through the window.

In the living room, Aunt May and Uncle Ben were waiting in battle formation. For the next hour, Peter endured a storm of scolding.

"So, what exactly do you have to explain for yourself?" Aunt May finally caught her breath.

Peter looked them straight in the eyes. "I got a job."

The two were stunned.

"About Marcus, I lied. I was actually at Madison Avenue watching the Fantastic Four fight Victor von Doom. I helped out a bit, Johnny Storm saw me, and Susan Storm invited me to the building. I was late because I was interviewing at the Baxter Building." Peter finished in one breath, ready to face a new round of anger.

Uncle Ben spoke first, his eyes full of gratification. "That's wonderful, Peter! I'm proud of you!"

He stepped forward and hugged Peter tightly. Peter gasped in pain, but he gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound. He couldn't let them find out he was covered in injuries.

"Peter, you don't have to work so hard to make money." Aunt May sighed.

"Aunt May, this is my life. Inventing, having my own patents, and making money—this is simply perfect."

Uncle Ben patted Aunt May's shoulder and turned to Peter. "Lying is wrong, Peter. But I understand your intentions. You're a good kid, and we will be proud of you."

Peter smiled. Spider-Man was born; he had a job and a family. He was gradually adapting to the identity of Peter Parker.

The next day, Peter walked into school with a light step. His mind was full of new equipment he could develop using the resources of the building.

The first period was English class. Harry Osborn was always stealing glances at him from the corner, but Peter just assumed he had a guilty conscience. Mary Jane and Liz Allan were chatting, and Flash was sleeping.

"Class, quiet." The English teacher walked up to the podium. "Before we start class, I want to introduce a new transfer student. She arrived a bit late, so I hope everyone will help her out. Come in, Ms. Hardy."

The door was pushed open, and a girl walked in. Her silver-blonde hair was draped loosely, tight jeans outlined her slender legs, and she wore a black leather jacket over a white shirt.

Her expression was lazy, as if she disdained everything around her, and she just muttered casually, "Yo."

Peter froze in place, his brain instantly crashing.

Felicia Hardy. Black Cat.

He had actually forgotten about this.