Felicia waited in the darkness for quite a while.
Inside the machine, she could see nothing and hear no sound from outside.
Yet she felt no unease at all.
She truly loved the sense of mystery the night brought her, that unknown mystique and danger, and it captivated her completely.
A while later, she sensed the machine starting up.
Serum flowed through the needle into her body.
She felt no pain, only a drowsy lull.
Hardy watched the data on the monitor. Once he confirmed everything was normal, he finally relaxed.
Then he shifted his attention to the surveillance feed, where gangsters were steadily closing in. A cold smile crept onto his face.
"Kingpin…"
Of course Hardy had heard of Kingpin.
He might be a relic from over seventy years ago, but unlike Captain America, who was frozen for seven decades, Hardy had only entered a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison a little over ten years ago.
By that time, Kingpin had already risen to prominence and built a considerable reputation in the underworld.
Over a decade later, Kingpin's criminal empire had only grown vaster. Under normal circumstances, even with Felicia injected with the serum, Hardy wouldn't have wanted to clash with Kingpin.
But with Bant's backing, things were completely different.
Not to mention Bant's ties to the Thor Division. Over the past few days, Hardy had been rapidly catching up on everything that had happened in recent years. He'd learned about powerful superheroes like Iron Man and Spider-Man.
And from his own daughter, he'd learned that Bant was the second Spider-Man: Hack.
Back when Bant told him at the Thor Division that he could "handle himself in a fight," it wasn't just boasting; it was actually an understatement.
With such a massive backer, what did he have to fear?
Kingpin?
Just take him down!
As he thought this, the gangsters had already infiltrated the foundation without a hitch.
Of course it went smoothly. Hardy had barely set up any defenses.
He simply sat in the lab chair, idly playing with a silver coin, flipping it between his fingers like a butterfly, just like a magician.
The gangsters had been extremely cautious at first, but after encountering zero resistance along the way, they gradually let their guard down.
"Looks like this job's a breeze," one of the black gangsters said with a laugh.
"Snatching an old man and a woman for a few million? I've never seen an easier gig."
"An old man?"
"That's the founder of the Hardy Foundation and his daughter. That status alone makes them special," another gangster retorted.
Honestly, given Hardy and Felicia's identities, even ransoming them would easily fetch a few million dollars. But demanding a ransom was far more troublesome than collecting payment from Kingpin.
Besides, Kingpin only wanted the people. The Hardy Foundation's assets? They might just loot and sell those themselves.
"Wonder what Kingpin wants that old guy for?"
Kingpin, of course, would never tell these hired goons that his target was the super-soldier serum. If that leaked and attracted the Hand ninjas, things would get messy.
"I heard the Hardy Foundation's princess is a real beauty. Since we're handing them over to Kingpin anyway, why don't we first…"
The black gangster snickered lewdly again, flashing a vulgar expression.
Another immediately chimed in:
"I think Mrs. Hardy still has plenty of charm herself. Why not have them both?"
The team leader frowned and snapped in a low voice, "Enough. Once we split the cash, you can find any kind of woman in Hell's Kitchen. If you screw this up and cost me my money, I'll cut the dicks off you horny idiots and feed them to the sharks!"
"Those cheap whores in Hell's Kitchen can't compare to a rich family's young lady."
"Make that old man Hardy watch his wife and daughter…"
"I said enough. Don't stir up unnecessary trouble."
The gangsters clearly didn't take his warning seriously, but thinking of the millions of dollars, they shelved the idea.
After all, a single thrill or a lifetime of thrills with money? They were clear on which to choose.
"Boss, the door up ahead is locked."
The gangster at the front pushed against the lab door and found it wouldn't budge.
Everyone realized Hardy was likely inside.
"Blow it!"
The leader didn't hesitate, flinging a satchel charge.
BOOM!!!
Felicia's consciousness snapped back with the thunderous explosion.
She felt like she'd been dreaming, a dream where she transformed into a beautiful black cat who ruled everything.
Every day she lounged lazily, her paw, as if wearing white gloves, pinning down a black spider with white markings.
But for some reason, she couldn't bear to kill it.
Instead, she toyed with it playfully.
Then the spider suddenly leaped, morphing into Bant midair, and pinned her down, roughhousing her.
He couldn't stop stroking the cat's head, chin, rubbing her belly and the spot near the base of her tail, forcing her to involuntarily lift her tail.
Felicia burned with embarrassment.
She swore the little kitty would never be a slave, then with a shake, transformed into human form herself, planted her feet down, and sat squarely on Bant's stomach. Leaning forward, she poised to counterattack.
But at that moment, the violent explosion jolted her awake.
Felicia opened her eyes.
Darkness still filled her vision, but then the night-vision function of her goggles activated. She realized she could see in the dark.
And her hearing had also been enhanced.
The machine that originally blocked out sound could no longer obstruct her.
Felicia perked up her ears and caught several unfamiliar voices.
"Old man, you're coming with us. Kingpin wants a word."
Kingpin?
Felicia's fury ignited instantly. After all these years, she'd barely reunited with her father, and now someone was trying to take him away again!
And clearly, that explosion had been those people's doing.
"Despicable…"
"Trying to take my dad, and ruining my wonderful dream!"
"I was just about to… just about to…!"
Felicia clenched her fists in rage. A strength she'd never experienced before surged through her body.
Right now, all she wanted was to tear these people to shreds.
In the next instant, she curled all ten fingers, unsheathing her claws in the darkness.
Shred!
The metal machine was instantly pierced by her claws.
Felicia sprang out like a wild beast. Her body was noticeably more robust than before, but not bulky, instead lean and athletic like many female athletes.
Because of that, the black suit fitted her even more snugly, tracing the contours of her toned, slender muscles, radiating a primal beauty.
Her originally golden hair had now turned silver, as if draped in the silver gossamer scattered by the moon goddess, mysterious and beautiful.
But no one was lucky enough to witness this scene.
The lab's power had been cut in the earlier explosion.
Only faint, flickering light remained.
"What the hell?!"
The gangsters, guns in one hand and flashlights in the other, all swung their beams toward Felicia's position.
But the moment the flashlight beams landed, the spot was empty, nothing but a shattered machine crackling with sparks.
Hardy, too, saw this with the help of the flashlights.
Knowing his daughter's transformation had succeeded, the corners of Hardy's mouth curled into a smile. When he looked back at the gangsters, it was as if he were looking at dead men.
"It's just a machine that fell over. Stop freaking out. Grab the old man fast, find his daughter, and deliver them both to Kingpin," the black gangster grumbled irritably.
He failed to notice death's shadow creeping up from behind.
Felicia moved through the darkness without making a single sound.
She was like a cat stalking its prey, agile and ruthless.
In the next instant, her claws tore through the air, slicing straight for the black gangster's gun arm.
"AAARGH!!!"
The searing pain made the man scream, drawing the other gangsters' attention.
"What happened?!"
One of them asked urgently, his voice tight with fear.
When the flashlight beams swung over, they saw the black gangster clutching his arm, the floor drenched in blood.
Immediately, panic set in.
But their terror didn't last long.
Because Felicia took them all out in a flash.
She didn't kill them, but she viciously broke every arm and leg they had.
Hardy frowned slightly.
Felicia's brutal display was a bit unexpected. He suspected it was a side effect of the serum that hadn't been fully purged, just lessened.
But he didn't dwell on it.
For Felicia, a personality too kind might not be ideal anyway.
In truth, the serum was now perfect.
Felicia's current temperament wasn't caused by the serum; it was the influence of the totem.
She was fated to become the Black Cat, and the Black Cat totem had long since locked onto her.
Unlike Spider-Man, who was the totem itself, Felicia was merely influenced by it, nothing serious.
"Well done, Felicia," Walter Hardy said, unhurriedly rising to his feet.
He switched on the backup power, and only then did he clearly see the changes in his daughter.
"I feel so full of power right now," Felicia said, clenching her fists excitedly.
The original Black Cat's combined arm strength was under a ton, but after using the serum Bant had customized for her, Felicia's physical stats had all seen significant enhancement.
She wouldn't be inferior to Captain America.
"It looks like the serum was a complete success. From now on, you are truly the Black Cat," Hardy said, his voice filled with pride.
Hearing her father's encouragement, Felicia beamed. She immediately asked:
"Dad, who is Kingpin?"
"Why does he want to capture you?"
"Kingpin can be called the underground emperor of New York City. The reason he wants to capture me is to obtain the serum formula," Hardy explained.
Felicia's delicate brows furrowed as she said:
"Then he probably won't give up so easily."
"He's always been the type to stop at nothing. This time he came to capture us for the serum. Next time he might go after someone else to threaten us."
"Little Bant?!"
At those words, Bant's face instantly surfaced in Felicia's mind.
And she grew even angrier.
Though Felicia knew perfectly well that Bant was Hack Spider-Man, and even if Kingpin tried anything against him, it would just be asking for a beating.
But she absolutely wouldn't allow something like that to happen.
"Kingpin!"
"Dad, I want to kill him!"
Hardy nodded, handed Felicia a phone, and said:
"I've actually been collecting intel on Kingpin myself. Now that you've truly become the Black Cat, I think I can entrust this task to you."
Felicia glanced down at the intelligence on Kingpin and was immediately stunned by the sheer scale of his power.
Not just New York; practically the entire East Coast of the United States fell under Kingpin's sphere of influence.
He even had holdings all the way in Japan.
"Kingpin's forces are enormous. It might be difficult for you to take him down alone. Perhaps you need to find a partner."
"I know exactly where to find one," Felicia said with a slight smile.
From somewhere, she produced a vivid tube of lipstick and painted it on her lips.
Then, like a nimble cat, she broke into a sprint, leaped three or four meters high with ease, and extended her claws to embed them in the wall, allowing her to scale it easily.
She bounded between high-rises, the night wind whistling past her ears.
Her silver hair danced like the ribbons of a goddess.
She launched herself forward, her supple silhouette cutting a sexy profile beneath the silver moon.
Felicia's destination was, naturally, Queens.
This wasn't her first time here. She'd come to look for Bant several times before, and later, after befriending Mary Jane, she'd often come to see her too.
Sometimes the three of them would hang out together.
The relationship among the three made Aunt May's head spin.
But this was the first time Felicia had come here as the Black Cat.
She landed lightly on the eaves, making no sound at all. Thanks to Hardy's training, Felicia knew her body inside out and understood exactly how to disperse her strength to make herself even lighter.
She didn't alert anyone, expertly making her way to the window of Bant's room.
Across the way was Mary Jane's room.
Through the glass, she could see Mary Jane sleeping soundly.
Then Felicia smiled, without a shred of guilt, and murmured, "Sorry, Mary Jane. Let me have a taste first."
She'd originally planned to use her claws to cut the glass and open the window.
But to her surprise, the window wasn't even locked.
She pushed it open and, like a cat, bent over and leaped inside.
The room was small.
Bant lay on the bed, seemingly fast asleep.
Felicia's excitement spiked. She bit her lip lightly and crept toward him on soundless steps.
She bent down, studying his sleeping face closely.
The earlier dream barged its way back into her mind at that moment. Staring at Bant's face, Felicia couldn't help but nibble her lip softly.
Just then, as if sensing something, Bant's eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Before he could open his eyes, a gust of fragrant wind rushed over.
Felicia pounced like a predator, seizing his wrists and pinning him to the bed.
"Don't move, little… boy," she purred, licking her lips. The vivid red looked like it was stained with blood.
"Black Cat is about to dine."
"Mmph..."
/-\
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