The woman fled as fast as she could, not even taking the painting from the museum. With her grappling hook, she was able to quickly escape further and further from the museum, disappearing into the countless rooftops of buildings. Her well-developed intuition told her that the man was quite dangerous, and it was best to make a swift exit, which she did.
After launching her grappling hook once more, the woman, clinging to the rope, ran up the wall and jumped onto the roof of another building, breathing a sigh of relief.
"I didn't get to finish speaking...." The man's voice sounded behind the woman again, but this time, undeterred, she attempted a kick in return, only for the attack to be stopped by something invisible, which then immediately struck the silver-haired woman in the chest, dimming her vision for a moment - "Calm down."
"You... bastard..." the woman gasped, falling to her knees and clutching her chest in unbearable pain from the strike. Looking up to see the face of her pursuer, she could not make anything out against the backlight of the moon - "What do you want?"
"I have an offer," he began mysteriously - "A job, if that's more convenient."
"Heh..." the catwoman chuckled painfully - "And you really think I'll do what you want?" Though her appearance seemed calm and confident, her mind slowly began to be filled with fear of the person before her.
Smiling, the man responded, hands behind his back - "Isn't that right, Felicia Hardy?"
"What..." The woman's eyes, now openly reflecting her fear, felt as though the world had collapsed around her. Who was he? How did he know her name? How had he found and unmasked her? All these questions swirled in her head, preventing clear thought. Who would have thought that another night's outing would end like this - "You know..." she whispered faintly.
"I know enough," the man said calmly, kneeling in front of the woman and extending a hand holding something seemingly inexplicable - "The exposure of your identity is not the only thing you should fear."
The woman was stunned - "This..." In the stranger's hand, a living heart beat intensely, marked with something resembling lightning. For a moment, Felicia thought it was fake.
"It's yours," the man said, squeezing the heart slightly, causing the woman to clutch her chest even tighter - "Stop... Please..."
"You need to steal the arrow from the Baxter Building," the man said, ignoring the person's pain before him, continuing to squeeze the heart - "It's the only one there, so you won't make a mistake. You have one week, or you'll die if you're late. If anyone learns about me or your mission, the outcome will be the same."
"Please, stop..." Felicia, barely holding herself from collapsing, reached for the palm with her heart in front of her as tears began to fall from her eyes, filled with the sharp fear of death, but the stranger pulled his hand away and stood up, leaving the woman's hand to fall in despair - "I'm counting on you," the unknown smirked before disappearing under the moonlight beams, leaving the woman lying alone on the roof.
×× That Same Night at the Baxter Building | Upper Floors ××
"Ugh, a rerun again," the Human Torch, or Johnny, grumbled, sprawled on the couch flipping through channels on the huge TV - "I was hoping for something interesting on TV tonight."
Switching channels, the boy stopped on one showing what he realized was a standard action movie - "It'll do to stave off boredom... How much longer is she going to be?"
Hearing the door in another corner of the large hall open, Johnny peeked over the back of the couch, seeing his sister with a pizza box in her hands - "I thought you got lost."
Susan, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, just snorted disapprovingly at the sight of her brother's curious head peeking out - "Then you should have gone yourself."
"Nope!" collapsing back on the couch and disappearing behind it, Johnny smirked - "Yesterday was my turn, today's yours, all fair!"
"Brat..." Susan muttered under her breath, approaching the table by the couch to place the pizza box down.
"I can hear you," Johnny said indifferently, continuing to flip channels until Susan snatched the remote from his hand - "Hey!"
"Playtime's over," Susan bit into a slice of pizza, sitting next to Johnny - "Go to bed."
"You kidding? I'm eighteen," Johnny grumbled, but after a few seconds, his face took on a peculiar expression.
"What's wrong?" noticing the oddity in her brother, Susan asked.
Johnny squinted mysteriously - "That blonde guy..."
"Which blonde guy?" Susan asked insincerely, then hesitantly shook her head - "Johnny, no..."
"He caught your eye..." the boy sang without changing his expression - "Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes?... Yes?"
Susan just sighed heavily, rubbing her forehead tiredly - "Oh God..."