3rd POV:
Felicia rolled away from her desk closing the laptop, before dropping on her bed.
Clearly, Nexus went over this information with his friends and compiled it. Probably even removed the encryption. In a way she was thankful for that, if that was the case. Saved her the time.
Alas, she didn't find out all that much. Yes, her father was registered on Fisks radar, but besides that there wasn't much else mentioned. And of course her mother was also on the list.
Dumb whore.
She probably was keeping Fisks public ledger pristine. The whore and her never got along that much. Felicia may be difficult, she would admit that herself, seeing as she probably annoyed Nexus at least once, in her opinion. But the whore was on a completely different level.
Not only did she hate her father, but she was a woman of complete vanity. And a whore. She was not against using her body to advance in society. Felicia wondered how often she actually did it. Felicia only knew of two for certain, since she caught them, unbeknownst to her mother.
Much as she hated that characteristic, she couldn't help but admit that using a flirtatious behavior was helpful and useful. Which is why she copied it from her mother.
Granted it may also have to do something with the fact that she just was a playful person. But she wasn't going to just sleep with anyone. That would turn her fully in her mother and fuck that.
Felicia stretched on the bed. The USB was a dead end then.
Hmm.
She probably needed to find a new lead then.
And she knew just the tool for the job. Although, it would be a shame to get rid of such a nice ruby, finding her father was more important to her. She could 'pawn' it off to someone.
She went to to her closet and opened her in built drawer. She stilled for a few seconds. She closed the drawer and opened it again, this time closing it much quicker. After a few seconds she opened the drawer for a third time and started rummaging through her underwear, eventually starting to throw out all her stuff on the floor.
Where was the Ruby?
Felicia quickly though what day it was.
There was a reason she was so comfortable with leaving the Ruby on her panties in the drawer. Or why she didn't care for getting a safe. That bitch never bothered with her in any way. Sometimes she even wondered how her mother remembered her or why she fought so hard to have custody of her.
Cleaning, cooking, doing all those chores, was beneath her mother. She considered this to be an activity for the peasants. They had a maid but she only ever came to clean on Saturdays. The food was either eaten in a high class restaurant or she had to cook it herself.
The Ruby should be here.
Where was it!!!???
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Elektra, Bullseye, Taskmaster, Mysterio and Kraven stood in front of Kingpin.
Apparently these were supposed to be the best of the best. He looked over their portfolio and had to admit, they might have a chance to take him down. He already knew about some of them, but it was always good to be more informed.
There could have been a sixth. One named Deadpool.
But the moment his secretary mentioned that the Kingpin had a contract for him, he called them poor fools, talked about someone named Robb, screaming to someone that he has nothing to do with these unhinged maniacs and that Robb should have mercy on him and then hang up. Even without hearing the name to be contracted or the amount of money involved.
It annoyed him something fierce, to be blown off like that. Alas, the criminal underworld he wanted to rule was governed by rules and laws. It was his right to refuse a contract as a mercenary. He would not alienate future possible mercenaries because of his hurt ego. Mercenaries were not workers. He had to treat them differently.
There was also the fact that Deadpool was known for his insanity.
He could have contacted Rhino, Electro and so on, but after all the times they fought the Spider people and failed they did not instill confidence.
''I have a contract for you. I'm sure you know of the person I am talking about. Nexus. I want him dead. Naturally, as experts in your field that know their craft, you know just how dangerous he is.
And naturally the price for his head will match the danger. 450 million,'' Kingpin began.
''Nah, mate, make it 500 million,'' Bullseye rudely interrupted.
Kingpin took a deep breath. Calm. Composed. Mercenaries were not his workers.
''450 million if one of you manages to take him down as an individual. Highly unlikely but possible.
500 million if you take him down as a team for you to split between each other. I would highly recommend the latter. There are also further parameters involved.
Do not target his friends and especially not his girlfriend until you have taken him down. I have no interest in pushing him over the edge.
Once you have taken him down, there will be 50 million on their heads. Weather you work as a team or take them down individually is left to your discretion.
Furthermore, it is expected that you ambush him and take him down before he activates his cables and thus his telekinesis.
You will furthermore receive advanced weapons should you wish to and all the intel that you could need. Questions?,'' Kingpin further explained calmly and composed.
The mercenaries looked a little at each other. They all needed money for one reason or another, but that was a little much for a hero with some minor telekinetic abilities.
Why that much? Telekinesis was a powerful ability, but he didn't seem to be able to hold it for long. One of them, maybe two could exhaust him and then finish him off. Sure, his skin may be though, but even he would not be exempt from botulinum toxin once ingested. 1 gram was enough to kill a healthy adult. Nexus would die from 100 gram.
And for all that the prey had teeth, he refused to use them. At best he nibbled at his prey.
Foolish. Such a beautiful predator, constrained by the virtues and morals of society.
Not that Kraven was gonna verbalize that observation. He lived for the hunt, but his equipment costs money and he was sure that the others would not appreciate him lowering the bounty.
After a few seconds of silence Kingpin continued.
''Very well, if there are no more questions to me, then you may leave my office. Someone will be waiting for you outside and equip you with weapons and further inform you of anything you should be aware off,'' Kingpin dismissed them as he turned in his chair to observe the city sky line.
Eventually he heard the door click.
Well, minus the fact that Nexus displayed the ability to kill. He would not be mentioning that, as that would only bring the bounty up all that more. If Nexus killed one of them, then it could be argued that they pushed him over the edge.
That would also mean that he would possible lose them as mercenaries as they won't continue to pursue Nexus. A loss to be certain, and it would make future bounties more expensive, but he decided to risk it for now. As things stood, Kingpin understood that they had a good chance of defeating him, especially with some of the Chitauri weapons they managed to grab. They still failed in replicating them, but at least they now understood how they functioned and what they did.
Hmm.
Vanessa told him that Richards was going to play soccer in a few days at his private school. He promised her to be there.
His wife did not know about him being Kingpin. Something that he will ensure she will never find out. She only knew him to be the business mogul that was extremely rich and sometimes threw charity events for the poor. An image that he cultivated for the public.
There was a reason he only wanted to take care of the other Spider people after he killed Nexus. If Nexus was like him and loved his partner above all else, then he would do anything for her. Nexus would probably drench the streets in red with his empire if he harmed Ghost Spider.
There was a reason he had his own people ready to assassinate any of the mercenary if they gave the impression that they would go after his friends first. His men were not enough to take Nexus down, even with the Chitauri weapons, but at least they could definitely take down the five mercenaries.
His phone rang and he tuned around to pick it up.
''Victoria Hardy called and said that she found the Radiant Ruby, she wishes to give it back,'' one of his henchmen told him over the line.
''And did she say who stole it?,'' Kingpin asked.
''Her daughter apparently. Should we eliminate both of them?,'' his henchman asked.
Kingpin felt his heart rate spike up at all the annoyances back to back, but he remained calm and typed away on his computer. Must he do everything himself? Then again that was the consequence of running such a tight ship. Most things went through him, before a decision was made.
Probably not. The woman expected a reward for her loyalty.
His henchman waited patiently as Kingpin did his business.
Kingpin brought a photo and enlarged it on his computer.
Huh, interesting.
And here he thought that Victoria was the one that would take after Walter Hardy. He should have immediately realized, that it was her daughter that was the Black Cat. Her hair matched the one described by the victims.
After some seconds, he noted that she was quiet attractive.
''Reward Victoria Hardy with a higher and more prestigious position in the company. As for her daughter. She will fetch a pretty penny in the 'entertainment industry'. You know what to do,'' Kingpin told him before hanging up.
He was disgusted that he had to engage in some of these practices. But it was a sacrifice he was willing to make for his end goals. No one could stop or eliminate crime completely. One needed to control it, before it escalated completely.
There was a reason there were no mafia wars on the streets. Or why crime did not rise higher and 'seemed' tame to the public. And many other things.
That was him.
Eventually, one day, he hoped to reduce crime to a bare minimum. Then he no longer needed to sell people in human trafficking rings and engage in such barbaric and uncivilized practices.
But for know, customers were willing to pay and fund his empire.
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Bell stretched his arms as he watched the girls go slightly ahead of him excited to try out everything at the festival.
He quickly gained some speed to catch up to them.
They were all a bit of dickheads to just teleport in Germany, but as the saying goes: rules for thee but not for me.
So long as they did not draw attention to themselves, the police surely won't mind that they came into this country unannounced.
And once they have their fun here, he will have even more fun when they return. Things are taking an interesting development over in New York. It is giving him lots of ideas on how to play the situation and have Peter and Gwen kill someone.
''So? What will we try first?,'' Jean asked.
''Should we split up? There is, like, so much stuff to try,'' Kitty suggested.
''I mean it would be kind of pointless even if one could argue it would be more romantic,'' Wanda shrugged. Maybe Bell could split himself up and be at multiple places at the same time, but they weren't lying when they said they new what they signed up for. They also got more comfortable around each other.
And honestly?
It was maybe a tinni tiny bit weird to know your boyfriend was also taking someone on a date, while simultaneously taking you on a date as well. In her opinion he should only do that on special occasions, like the graduation ball.
A small part of her was a little annoyed that she wouldn't experience something like that.
Oh well.
The girls quickly all agreed not to split up and Bell shrugged. They can suit themselves and if they preferred that than he was going to go along with that.
''In that case, why not try the bumper cars course?,'' Gwen suggested.
''Sure, let us do that,'' Rogue agreed.
Alas it wouldn't be that simple. There were just not enough available cars at a time for them all to be on the field at the same time. They still had fun as they decided to compromise by being two at a time in a car. That way they would all enjoy the activity together.
There are no winners in the bumper car activity. Experiencing the collision was the real winning here.
''I drove the best,'' Laura boasted when they were finally done and got bored.
''Stick to your motor bikes! You almost drove us out of the course! Like, how?,'' Kitty harshly retorted, having shared a car with Laura.
''Stop being over dramatic. Thanks to your abilities you would have been fine. And I drive well,'' Laura defended herself.
The others chuckled a little at the exchange.
''Let us not come to blows, just cause some of us are more competitive. Let's try the roller coaster next,'' Rogue requested.
''Can't we have a ride on the big wheel first?,'' Wanda asked.
''I too want a ride on the big wheel, Wanda, but I think we should wait until later when it is darker. We can then see all the lights from up there much better,'' Jean amended.
''And if we are particularly lucky, then we might even get to see the stars a little better,'' Bell added. Wanda nodded after a few seconds of contemplation.
''Well, then let us go to the roller coaster. Come on,'' Rogue said dragging Bell after her.
As Gwen was the one that spent time with Bell in the bumper car, it was Jeans and Rogues turn to sit at Bells side in the roller coaster.
The girls were not all that impressed with the roller coaster surprisingly, though Bell liked it. Strange. Bell didn't really understand why they didn't like it.
''Oh, oh. My turn. Let us go to that thingy. Like, no idea what they are called,'' Kitty requested pointing at an attraction.
''For you information it is called a vertical swing ride,'' Belle explained to her.
''Well, let us try the vertical swing ride then,'' Kitty eagerly corrected. As it turned out Kitty loved that attraction.
Laura requested the spinning carousel. The fast spinning one, not the one for kids.
Jean requested the bungee catapult.
Wanda the horror house. Bell had a field day with that, as she was a witch. In a way he ruined her fun as he ruined the mood with his constant snickering and laughter.
Gwen requested the fly ride attraction. She loved that, probably because it was in her blood to like fast swinging actions.
Basically they tried every attraction that was available at the festival, bar the big wheel. Wanda already experienced some of the rides, as she was previously with Bell on a festival in italy on one of their previous dates, but some stuff was new, so she enjoyed it as well.
''There is still some time until it is dark, so what should we do till then? We basically tried everything,'' Jean asked holding a teddy bear that Bell won her at an arcade. Bell really failed to understand why she just didn't let him buy her a proper one or let him make her one. But that was fine, Bell was sometimes dumb like that. She still found him endearing.
Bell felt a disturbance in the force, as if someone called him dumb.
Blasphemy.
''Isn't it obvious? We eat. We still haven't done that today. And while we eat we can talk,'' Rogue declared.
''In that case, it depends on what you want to eat. Sweets or proper food?,'' Bell wanted them to specify.
Actually now that he was in germany, he should try their bratwurst. One of his comrades in his previous life was a german and bragged about their bratwurst. Come to think of it, it was a damn shame he never got around to trying it till now.
''I kind of want to say sweets. But sweets won't fill my belly and I'm really hungry, so proper sustenance,'' Gwen replied.
Bell nodded in understanding.
In the end, they decided that each one should grab their own food and meet up at the designated meeting spot.
Finally Bell could try the famous german bratwurst. With some french fries he guessed as well. But mostly the bratwurst. This one is for you buddy. May you rest in peace.
Huh. It seems the bratwurst does live up to its reputation.
''Why the hell is food so damn expensive at the festivals?,'' Bell complained.
''I thought money is no problem for you?,'' Jean joked. Taking bite out of her french fry cone. It was basically bigger than normal french fries that were doused with mayonnaise. Bell did not see the appeal.
''Easy for you to say. You didn't pay for anything today. It is the matter of principle damn it,'' Bell explained. Taking some king of roasted bean thingy from Gwens paper plate.
''Well, there are a number of reasons. First, storage. I can imagine that carrying the food and importing it can be problematic. Second...,'' Gwen tried to find an explanation for his grievance.
''Heathen. Heresy. I do not want solutions. I want problems. Always. But more importantly I want to complain,'' Bell interrupted her, making her give him a deadpan look. The girls chuckled at the scene.
''Our hero. Master of complains,'' Wanda cooed affectionately.
Bell nodded proudly. Exactly. And damn proud of it too.
Wanda rolled her eyes and gave him a peek on his cheek. She knew he was just playing a clown to make them laugh a little.
''Any news about Chthon or how Amon Ra defeated him?,'' Laura asked.
''No. At beast I found a mention of him defeating a great evil in the pyramids. Look, the moment I find anything I will notify you all. Alright? You don't need to constantly ask me about that,'' Bell answered her. The others nodded. Fair enough. He was keeping them up to date on most stuff.
''Then perhaps a better question. Do you think we should go to different dimensions every now and then?,'' Jean asked. She was honestly getting just a little bit bored of stuff.
Everyone starred at her for a bit.
''I mean... I guess, but I just struggle to see the appeal. Shouldn't we worry about our dimension first. There is a lot of stuff that keeps us occupied,'' Bell replied.
''I know. I'm just saying. It would be fun. Besides we don't need to stick too long, just have a small peek every now and then,'' Jean further added.
Bell gave a acquiescing shrug.
''Well, we will see what happens. Maybe we can go to another dimension, maybe other people will come to us. But for now I think we should first focus on you nailing your exams and then joining the Avengers,'' Bell tried to get her to focus. Jean nodded eagerly.
''Guys I think it is dark enough by now. Are you all done?,'' Gwen asked.
They all nodded threw any leftover trash in the bin and then made their way to the big wheel. Thankfully for once, they fit all in the same cubicle and a few seconds later they were at the height of the big wheel.
''You know... it really is beautiful,'' Jean remarked. Gwen groaned.
''You really have done a number on me Bell, I hear your quotes and references everywhere,'' Gwen complained.
''Hey! He makes beautiful stories and shows,'' Wanda quickly rose to his defense. Gwen rolled her eyes.
''I know. I also watch his shows. But still,'' Gwen shrugged.
''So which one did Jeans remind you of?,'' Rogue asked.
''Cyberpunk 2077,'' Gwen told her. Rogue hummed and then turned her head to watch the lights as well. Above the dark starry night, below the illuminated city, blooming in a shower of different colors.
''Did you really have to give it such a morbid ending?,'' Wanda complained. She hoped it would have had a more conclusive ending.
''Know what? I had four endings written down as a concept. I'm going to send you the other three and you can watch it. Never complain again that I never do anything for you,'' Bell placated her. Wanda rolled her eyes. As if she wasn't aware of all the stuff he was doing for her. But she quickly thanked him for the gesture.
''It is beautiful though,'' Jean reiterated.
Bell hummed.
''It is. Like, we should totally take a picture to commemorate the moment. Group up guys. Wait! Who is taking the picture,'' Kitty asked worriedly. Bell rolled his eyes and pulled her to them, her phone remaining floating in the air.
''Oh,'' Kitty said a little embarrassed. In her defense she was mentally fatigued.
''Say cheese,'' Bell instructed, before pressing the trigger.
The photo came out with Laura grabbing his face and kissing him on the lips. it was a beautiful photo especially with the landscape behind them.
Naturally that sparked a competitive streak in a lot of the girls.
In the end there was a photo with him kissing every girl.
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Felicia ate calmly hiding her nervousness. For some god forsaken reason her mother requested to eat together, the next day after she found out the ruby was missing. She hadn't yet gathered all the stuff to run away.
And of course she had to run away.
Her life got infinitely more difficult. But whatever the case she knew she had to run away. She did not know where, but far away from her mother. She could always rebuild her life, but this one is ruined.
If only this stupid bitch could eat faster and fuck off.
''How are you doing in school?,'' Victoria suddenly asked as she put a piece of pork in her mouth.
Was this the build up to asking her how she had the Radiant Ruby in her inventory (drawer)? The whore was normally more direct in what she wanted. She always looked down on her and considered talking around the subject a waste of her time. Time that she could otherwise spend on increasing her standing.
''Good,'' Felicia answered her calmly.
''And your grades?,'' Victoria asked.
''Good,'' Felicia repeated.
''Have you considered what college to go to?,'' her mother asked again.
''No. What do you suggest,'' Felicia asked. As if the whore would leave her any saying in that matter.
''MIT or Harvard. Prestigious schools. You can pick the subjects. Hopefully you won't be a disappointment the way you were in high school. Be ready to use any advantage to be top of the class,'' Victoria told her.
Was this whore seriously telling her to whore herself out? As if. Felicia clenched her jaw, but nodded anyway. The whore would never give her peace otherwise. Just come to the point, for fucks sake.
''You're not touching your food?,'' Victoria remarked.
Felicia gave a quick glance at her plate and at her glass.
''I'm not hungry,'' Felicia said. No way was she taking in anything from that woman with what recently happened.
Her mother gave a small shrug.
''Suit yourself then,'' Victoria told her.
Felicia sat in silence as she watched her mother eat. The whore was taking her time. Savoring the expensive dish as sophisticated people are wont to. As if there was anything sophisticated about whoring herself.
Eat faster so that she can return to packing her things. She still had a few stuff to pack. And also contact someone to find a place to sleep for the next few days until she gets on her feet again.
Felicia scratched her nail softly against the table in impatience. She wanted to blow up and confront her mother, but couldn't risk the fact that her mother did in fact not know about the ruby and then she played her hand to early.
''You know, if you had just eaten the food, this would have been infinitely easier,'' Victoria genuinely lamented.
Huh?
Felicia began trashing around, kicking the table in the process as she felt a cloth be put over her mouth and nose. Alas, for all that she trained regularly, she still could not match the muscle mass of a grown man, according what she felt herself be pressed against.
She really tried her best, but did not succeed.
Eventually she lost consciousness and slacked in the mans arms.
''Oh, and of course, the Radiant Ruby. Please, express my sincerest apologies to Mr.Fisk for the inconvenience my daughter caused,'' Victoria told the men after she went to the kitchen and took a box out of the closet, presenting them with the radiant ruby.
One man took the box, while the one initially knocking out Felicia put her over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes. The third talked with Victoria.
''No worries, you can expect to be rewarded for proving your loyalty to the Kingpin. You will be hearing back from us,'' the man said before departing. The elevator of the building taking them straight down to the underground parking lot.
''Be careful not to damage the merchandise. She will fetch a pretty penny,'' the leader said. The one carrying Felicia carefully put her in the back of the van and then took the drivers seat and started driving.
''Still, selling out her own daughter is crazy,'' said the third person who took the box.
''Nah, bitch is smart. Boss, would have found out anyway and then killed them both,'' said the one in the passenger seat.
''Can I have a turn with her? Don't look at me like that, she is the Black Cat, supposedly she is very feline. You can't tell me she didn't break her hymen doing gymnastics. No one is gonna know,'' the driver said. The leader in the passenger seat bounced his head around.
''We can have some fun with her. But do not damage her in any way or else boss is gonna kill us. Bring us to my apartment, no one is gonna bat an eye in that part of the town at a woman screaming,'' the leader said. It happened often enough that it was completely accepted. Though granted it may also have something to do with the fact that the area around his apartment was not often frequented.
Otherwise he was pretty sure a Satanaelist would butt his nose into their business. Besides they could always gag her to silence her. Would probably remove a hole, but it was maybe wiser not to stick anything in there anyway or else she'll bite it off.
---
Bell raised an eyebrow at the sudden turn of events. He was in his bed after their date. it was night already.
Hm.
On one hand, he was currently not involved in the situation. As in he was not right there. And it was also a consequence of her action, of stealing the Radiant Ruby from Fisk.
What the hell else did she expect to happen?
On the other hand, he was an asshole, but not THAT much of an asshole.
He also was insanely curious to see what Felicia would do about her mother after the recent development.
Bell stood up from his bed.
''Bell, where are you going? Come back to bed,'' Jean whined a little, who regularly sleeps with him in the same bed as him. Seeing as she lived otherwise in the HQ and just regularly snuck into his bed despite being told otherwise, as he didn't want to risk mother finding out, he just gave up.
''I'm going to follow up on something. This might take a while,'' Bell explained to her.
Jean gave an accepting whine.
It escaped both of their minds that Bell could just make a puppet clone and transfer his mind to the puppet clone in bed and terminate the other one, or that he could just swap places with his puppet clone and that would be that.
But alas they are still humans and in their defense, they had a long day of activity and were a little mentally drained.
Sike.
You thought.
Bell did not want to stretch his mind for the most banal reasons. And this? Was pretty banal. Most of his puppet clones followed a purpose or were otherwise very temporary. And even then there was a reason for them.
It was a matter of personal preference.
Bell teleported to a roof top in his Nexus garb and then swung of into the night.
---
Felicia trashed immediately as she came to herself.
''Oh, boss, she woke up,'' one of the three said as he was tying her hand with a shackle to the bed railing.
''Should we knock her out again?,'' the other asked.
''No, no, gag her. But leave her otherwise as she is. They are more fun when they are awake anyways,'' the leader said.
''So which one of us should take the first turn,'' the first asked eagerly.
''Whoa! Slow down cowboy. We first need to establish some rules. 1: no matter what happens, we can't damage the merchandise in any way. If you are dumb enough to let her bite your dick off, then take it like a champ. 2: We don't have too much time. We are expected to keep a certain amount of schedule. We have our fun with her and then bring her to our boss. 3: Make sure to record it for later. Use it as material to fap or as a sign of conquest. Unfortunately for us, people like us don't get to enjoy such high class merchandise. Capiche?,'' the leader asked, making Felicia scream into the rag. She tried to get rid of the shackle, but her abilities needed lockpicking tools in the first place. And they removed everything from her.
She was butt naked.
''As for who takes their turn first? Sorry, guys, but I will go first,'' the leader told them as he dropped his pants and put on a condom. Maybe the merchandise was on the pill, maybe not. He was not risking it, by delivering a pregnant product. People paid a lot of money, for impregnation kinks.
Felicia put her legs together and forced the leader to use a lot of force to pull them apart revealing her most intimate part.
''Guys, hold her legs, I don't get to enjoy anything with her being so stubborn,'' the leader told them as he stroked his third leg to make it rise more. The others came and pulled on her leg so that the leader had access to her.
Felicia let a tear fall at her situation and closed her eye resigning herself to her fate.
Before the leader could penetrate her, something crashed through the window. A steel pipe, nailing the leader to the wall through his throat, making him rasp and gasp as he scratched at his throat, feeling the air leave his body.
The others let go off Felicia and pulled out their guns, pointing them at the window, waiting for anyone to come through and shoot them to death.
''Looking for me?,'' Nexus asked from behind them, having crawled in through another window, as they were distracted.
Before they could react, he grabbed their heads and smashed them together, popping their heads like melons.
Before they even dropped to the ground Nexus moved to release Felicia. Once the first hand was unshackled she removed the gag from her mouth and covered her chest. Nexus removed the other shackle and then turned around to give her privacy.
That was close, maybe he should have teleported closer as he misjudged the distance a little. He did not plan on making that much of a dramatic entrance. He was an asshole, but not that much of one.
He could hear the sound of her picking up her clothes and dressing herself up.
''Are you alright?,'' Nexus asked.
''What do you think? Could you not have come quicker?,'' Felicia retorted hotly.
''Sorry,'' Nexus gave a non committing shrug.
The rustling stopped.
''Are you decent?,'' Nexus asked her. Wait. Was she seriously pulling a Batman? Nexus turned around after a few seconds, despite knowing she departed a while ago. The broken window now open. There was only one place she would go. Without her grappling hook it would take her some time.
But first.
Nexus touched the camera, using his techomancy to delete everything that it just recorded, particularly him killing people.
As for the trash? Nexus snapped his fingers teleporting all the evidence into the sun. Did he technically need to? No, he could just dematerialize everything, but teleporting stuff into the sun was just more fun.The window was repaired and the hole in the wall left behind by the pipe was filled.
The room looked pristine, not a spec of anything nefarious having happened here, belying the situation that just occurred. The police will find nothing.
He left through the window and closed it behind him.
---
Victoria triumphantly walked out of the shower. Eager and impatient to receive her promotion tomorrow.
She went to her bedroom and changed into fine underwear. As much as she wanted to throw that disappointments stuff out, eventually the police would knock on her door and she would need to play the concerned mother, whose daughter was just kidnapped. Maybe, she should call the police herself, after a few days, just to sell the story that much better. Say that she is a single hard working mother, who spends most of her time in her office to provide for her child and when she came home her daughter was nowhere to be found.
Shed a few crocodile tears and maybe she will get to establish contact with a few important people. Her name was already out there already, as a good accountant, but the work for prestige never stops.
She poured herself a glass of wine and went to her living room, turning on the TV to watch the news.
Due to how the living room was positioned, or well more like the TV, one could see when someone made their was into the suite. Felicia lock picked the door and made her way into the suite.
For a moment the two woman looked at each other. Victorias eyes darted to the kitchen, her daughters eyes following her in the direction she looked at.
The two woman looked back into each others eyes again, being in a standoff for a few seconds.
Victoria bolted for the kitchen. Alas, as a woman of vanity, she only did some yoga and some light exercise to maintain her figure. Far less when compared to her daughter who regularly trained intensively and did gymnastics. Or did martial arts.
Felicia slid on the ground, grabbing her mothers legs in a lock and then twisting bringing her down on the ground. With a hand spin she jumped back up onto her legs.
''Your own daughter! How could you?!?,'' Felicia screamed in rage, down at her mother.
Instead of answering , Victoria picked herself up. Felicia kicked the back of her knee and immediately gave her another kick to the back forcing her back on the ground.
''Why the fuck did you even fight so hard for custody, you stupid whore? Couldn't you have let me go with daddy?,'' Felicia further screamed at her.
Victoria chuckled.
''Still going on about you daddy. You want to know, why I removed you from him? Because he was a bad influence on you sweetheart. You idolized him, but he was a criminal. I tried to remove his taint from your life and make you a better person.
But now, I know better. The taint runs too deep. I should have just had you killed alongside your father,'' Victoria vindictively revealed.
''What?,'' Felicia asked at the revelation having the wind metaphorically knocked out of her lungs.
Victoria grabbed the first thing that she could get her hands on. A small mechanized automatic vacuum cleaner and threw the disc at her daughters face, who dodged it. It brought her enough time to grab a knife.
She slashed at her daughter, but clearly she displayed inexperience. Of course, never having lifted a finger in her entire life, did that to a person. She hesitated too much. Her slashes were wide, instead of short and conserving energy.
But Felicia understood the danger of a knife even in inexperienced hands and she wasn't too far gone that she wouldn't remain calm in order to disarm the whore.
One, two, three, Felicia evaded every slash, until Victoria attempted to stab her for the fourth. Felicia moved her wrist to meet Victorias wrist and then hit the flat side of her knife, knocking it out of her hands. The only reason she attempted such a risky maneuver was because of Victorias inexperience.
She grappled Victoria on the ground and punched her in the face multiple times, Victoria desperately trying to protect her greatest asset. And spare herself the pain.
''How did you kill my father? How? And who killed him? Talk!,'' each sentence was accompanied by a punch, until Felicia stopped.
Victoria did not answer a single one of her questions, instead using the opportunity to better put her arms in front of her face and protecting herself better.
Felicia gave her a punch in the side of her ribs.
''Talk. Or I will not just stop. I will punch everything beside your face, eventually you'll be so weak, you can't even muster the effort to protect to protect your plastic mutt,'' Felicia hissed.
''When he was being transferred to a prison on an island, I offered my services to one of Fisks men if he got rid of the idiot. The man tied him to cement and threw him over the board. Then I proved myself as an accountant and rose in the company,'' Victoria quickly caved, hoping her daughter would show mercy.
Her father drowned? As it went, this was amongst the most horrifying ways to go.
Victoria peeked through a gap in her arms as she felt Felicia get off from her.
She attempted to stand up, only to receive the previously thrown vacuum to the head, knocking her right back down.
Felicia climbed back on top of her, before Victoria could recover and began smashing the vacuum on her face.
Once, twice, thrice, four times, five times, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen times.
Using all her force, without paying any attention to her work.
''You know, I think she is dead, but give her a few more smashes. Maybe it will get all the rage out of your system,'' a voice came from behind her. She stopped and looked down at the mush of flesh, barely resembling a skull. She raise her hands all the way into the air and gave one final powerful slam.
Then she dropped on her butt and just starred into the distance.
''You knew,'' Felicia accused after almost a minute.
''Let's not let your hysteria accuse me of that kind of stuff. I did now know about what your mother would do or that you would get almost raped tonight,'' the voice defended himself.
''No. You knew. About my father. About my identity, under Black Cats mask. You knew,'' Felicia accused.
''...I'm the leader for a reason,'' Nexus told her. She nodded absentmindedly.
''Was it fun, making a fool out of me?,'' Felicia asked.
''Kitten, you made a fool out of yourself far better then I ever could. What do you think would have happened had I told you the truth? You would have just accepted it and then happily ever after? You incorporate the cat aspect far too much into your personality and would have done your own thing, heedless of any warnings,'' Nexus told her.
Felicia nodded a few times, not really agreeing to anything.
''You know me so well after one interaction. Or did you peek into my mind with your telepathy?,'' Felicia hotly asked.
''No. You are not an enemy,'' Nexus told her.
''I kept your secret,'' Felicia assured him.
''I know,'' Nexus affirmed.
''I told no one, about your telepathy. Or you killing people,'' Felicia further added.
''I know,'' Nexus affirmed again.
Felicia stood up and faced him.
''You are going after Fisk,'' Felicia accused and after he hummed she continued,''I want in. Let me be the one to kill Fisk and I will give you everything.''
Felicia grabbed her shirt and began raising it, but Nexus grabbed her hand and stopped her before she could expose more then her belly button.
''I don't know what kind of impression, you have of guys after tonight, but I am not that kind of guy. I'm not that guy. Besides, your life is over,'' Nexus told her.
''No, it is not. I'm 19 and an adult. Help me get rid of the evidence, the same way you got rid of the people you killed,'' Felicia pleaded.
''No. Your life is genuinely over. Kingpin knows you stole from him. You can't use any of the underground contacts. Even if I helped you get rid of the evidence and you would ride on whatever funds remain from your mother until you graduate, his men will come and hit this place up again. So what will you do now?,'' Nexus asked her.
Felicias eyes darted through the room, desperate for something.
''What do you want? I told you I will give you anything you want. Just let me be the one to kill Kingpin,'' Felicia begged at this point. Maybe she was hysterical after all and she couldn't come up with any kind of plan.
The only person right now she trusted was Nexus. he displayed the capacity to kill. She needed a killer right now. The other heroes would not kill Kingpin most likely.
Nexus threw his hands up exasperatedly. She didn't hear a single thing she said.
''You know what? Fuck this. Here, take this collar and put it around your throat and swear yourself to me. Then maybe I can entertain your fantasies,'' Nexus jokingly told her, throwing her a collar, that he summoned . If she constantly tried to make him out to be someone he was not than, he was gonna play his role. that would push her away and he would get to wash his hands of this matter.
To his surprise she did take the collar and put it around her throat, then she kneel down and asked him if she should call him master.
Nexus quickly ripped the collar from her neck and picked her up from the ground.
''Jesus Christ, this night affected you more then I thought. I was joking. JOKING,'' Nexus told her. He crashed on the high seat at the kitchen table and clasped his palms in front of his face. She took a seat next to him and just starred at him, waiting to say something.
Decisions and possibilities quickly ran through his head.
He came to a decision, but first he needed to see what Felicia had to say.
''Once you kill Kingpin, what then?,'' Nexus asked her. Felicia sighed.
''I don't know. Maybe just try and live up to my fathers legacy. I don't know,'' Felicia told him. Nexus hummed and tapped his index on the table.
''Still not considering a career change?,'' Nexus asked her.
''After what I did?,'' Felicia looked at her dead mother.
''You asking that me? There is no guide to being a hero, regardless of what anyone might tell you. In the past, heroes were people that went on a journey to face challenges. Not necessarily save people. Hercules. Perseus. Achilles. All heroes, true, but the people they served were a byproduct, more than anything else,'' Nexus decided to take a gamble and remove his helmet and mask entirely, to give his speech more of a punch. She widened her eyes at suddenly having his face revealed to her.
He would just wipe her mind, if this should go south.
''Who are you really trying to convince here? Me? Yourself? Your dead father? Your mother? Much as that means by now. Why are you REALLY stealing?,'' Bell asked her.
She looked away from him for a few minutes, Bell giving her all the time she would need.
''For the thrill,'' Felicia told him eventually, a little ashamed. Well, that and the fact she was a kleptomaniac.
''And you think you won't get the thrill on the other side? You stole Fisks data with that USB. It is a valuable skill to have. You saved the people in that theater. Sure you didn't steal anything, but don't say you didn't get to enjoy the thrill you seek. You think too small, kitten. Think bigger,'' Bell told her as he flew in her laptop from her room and presented her with an USB. He waited for her to insert the USB in her laptop and read through the files.
Felicia widened her eyes.
''In a way, it was not wrong of you to idolize your father. I can't get myself to try and steer you away from that idolization,'' Bell told her.
''My father...?,'' Felicia choked.
''A criminal is not a bad person. And one does not need to be a criminal to be a bad person. Your father worked with the mafia. He stole from the rich and gave to the poor, behind the mafias backs. Weather they ever found out is unimportant. Starving people in Africa? Cancer research? Charity events where money was supposed to go to charity organisations, but in truth was a front for money laundering or tax evasion, where only a mere fraction of the money made it to these charity organisations.
Instead of idolizing the idea of your father or the tainted image your mother created of him, why don't you idolize the real man. As he was. Genuinely.
A real modern Robin Hood.
To me this man seems far more heroic than most people realize,'' Bell told her.
It was information he compiled by following the money trail, hacking into every data center on earth and of course all his other various abilities.
It was the truth and nothing but the truth, why would he settle for a lie, when the truth was an infinitely more powerful tool.
It was a damn shame that millions did mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. He needed to have had achieved at least a billion, but at least he went out of this world having had left it at least slightly better then he entered it.
Felicia let go off her tears, crying freely as she saw the information. Yes some of the money landed in his pocket, but frankly he deserved it and needed it for his equipment.
''What about this? Suddenly there is more money going in his pocket,'' Felicia asked him.
''Love makes a fool out of us all. Is what I would say, if I didn't know what a healthy relationship looked like. I guess your father didn't recognize how toxic your mother was. But then again, you wouldn't exist in that case, hadn't they coupled.
It is a slippery slope, that argument,'' Bell told her, making her clench her jaw. She wished she could kill the whore all over again.
''Even so, I killed someone. I doubt I can be a hero,'' Felicia told him. She watched him raise an eyebrow and she blushed.
Oh.
''Let us try this again, now that you clearly have calmed a LITTLE down and don't expect me to take advantage of you.
Hello, I'm Bell O'Quinn,'' Bell introduced himself and extended his hand.
''I'm Felicia Hardy, '' She told him as she took his hand and shook it slightly, before just letting it hang in his hand.
''I heard that you came upon difficult times. As a fellow hero, would you accept my help and work towards making things better?,'' Bell gave her a look. She gave him a squeeze of his hand and looked into his eyes.
''Yes, I would,'' she told him firmly.
Bell nodded and attempted to let go, but Felicia held his hand for a little longer, gave it a small strong squeeze and then let go her self.
Hmm.
''Well, my fellow hero, luckily for you not everything is as doom and gloom as you made it out to be. You can still graduate from your school. Don't worry I will ensure your safety from my side. Just only show up for your exams and for your graduation day. Nothing else. I promise you I will keep the big bad men away. You probably need to wear a wig to hide your beautiful white hair unfortunately.
I know. Sacrilegious. (*Felicia giggled*)
Once that is done, we will fabricate a story and keep you out of the public. At least until they day Kingpins empire is toppled. But until that day, you need a place to crash. Grab your things kitten, you are crashing at my place. Don't worry my friends will welcome you warmly. And as for this? No one will ever know what happened to Victoria Hardy. A pity,'' Bell told her his plan as she saw all the evidence that told off an altercation be gathered into a ball.
She quickly went to her room and grabbed everything she needed, including her costume, without protest, trusting that Bell would keep his word. When she came back she saw the living room spotless, without any trace of her mothers corpse or anything destroyed.
Felicia shuddered slightly at the casual display he could make someone disappear with.
''Everything gathered? Let's go then,'' Bell told her as he put on his helmet again. She went to him and forced him to carry her bridal style as he flew over the city with his telekinesis.
She rested her head on him, as the event of today came crashing down on her.
At home Bell would bring her down to his man cave and open up the couch turning it into a makeshift bed. He put her down gently, not waking her up and then put a blanket over her.
Sometimes he wondered what the fuck he was doing, Bell wondered as her starred down at her, before leaving.
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''Yes?,'' Kingpin answered his phone.
''Victoria Hardy disappeared completely sir. She also did not appear to work today. What should we do?,'' his henchman asked him.
Ah, she was dead then. As were the people who were tasked with taking Black Cat and Black Cat herself. He could guess what happened.
''Replace her then. Give the previous person his position back,'' Kingpin hung up.
For now, he had a soccer play to visit and watch his son with his wife.
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''This is a lot of info,'' Bullseye grinned.
''For a dangerous enemy. I already have an idea, that we can try,'' Taskmaster revealed grabbing their attention.
''You said you never miss? From how far?,'' Taskmaster asked.
''As far as it needs to. I never miss,'' Bullseye boasted.
''Then you take that Chitauri sniper and we will give you the opportunity to shoot him. We will do this, this way....,'' Taskmaster shared his plan.
...
Somewhere Bell grinned. Oh, they just gave him the most wonderful idea.