More and more, her criminal empire was crumbling thanks to the Red Hood, who was capturing or killing her henchmen. She had made a deal with the Captain to stop him, but the opportunity had simply never come up. And when it did, the Red Hood used his tricks to escape, pulling all sorts of gadgets from somewhere.
"Damn it, I hate his tricks!" she exclaimed. "I guess that's how Spider-Man felt every time she got away," she thought.
"Now's not the time to lose your temper, Cat," the Captain replied.
"I've noticed a few things about him these past weeks..."
"Like what?" he asked, crossing his arms.
The Captain turned to look at her and stepped closer with some reports in hand.
"He's been targeting all of Spider-Man's enemies," he said, handing her the papers. "And some people have seen him with Shocker." He sighed. "He's being careful..."
"Doesn't sound so careful if you know all that," she pointed out.
"These are statements from some of Shocker's men I captured," he explained. "He's planning something."
She was about to reply, but a distant explosion caught their attention. The Captain looked at Black Cat, who nodded.
"And don't even think about using the chaos to steal anything," he warned.
"You have so little faith in me..."
"I have plenty of reasons for that," the Captain stated.
They both arrived at Ravencroft Institute. The Captain frowned as he saw several villains escaping through a large hole.
"Great, just what we needed," he grumbled. "Having to deal with Spidey's other lunatics." He looked at her. "What do we do?"
"We stop them."
They started running, but then another explosion widened the hole even more. As the dust cloud cleared, they faced the villains.
"Shocker, I thought you were with the Red Hood," said the Captain.
"Tsk," Shocker muttered. "I've had it with him. He wants to make me a damn snitch." He growled. "Enough... with the others, we'll take him down."
The villains exchanged cocky grins.
"You couldn't handle Spider-Man... you think you can take someone even more aggressive?" Felicia mocked.
Electro frowned. He hated the Cat ever since she joined others in trying to expose the identity of the Spider "rat."
"Spider's bitch," he growled. "Now you're America's bitch too, huh?"
"You..."
Everyone started looking around, searching for someone. Shocker was scanning the area, growing increasingly irritated.
"Where are you, you damn coward?!" he yelled. "Come out already—uhg—"
Red Hood dropped on him, grabbed him by the neck, and lifted them both off the ground.
"Still an idiot, huh, Herman."
Shocker grinned, grabbed him by the torso, and activated his gauntlets, launching him toward the Captain and Black Cat.
Red Hood got up and glared at the "heroes."
"If you're just gonna get in the way, better get lost," he said in a rough voice.
"No killing," the Captain ordered.
"I'll see what I can do..."
................
At the Avengers Tower, the team was watching everything happening at Ravencroft. Without hesitation, Stark gathered the team and signaled to head out.
"Are we going to stop him?" Natasha asked as she entered the Quinjet.
"I need to know who he is," Stark replied, finishing his drink. "He knows things about us, and I don't like that."
"He took down several mafias in Asia," she informed. "I think we should bring reinforcements."
"I'll call the Fantastic Four."
"Something tells me you should call the X-Men too..."
"I'll consider it."
.................
Some of Spider-Man's villains managed to escape, which frustrated them. But they still had to deal with others, like Shocker, Sandman, and the Lizard.
The Captain and Black Cat managed to stop the Lizard, and although Sandman was tougher, they eventually won—Felicia remembered how Spider-Man used to beat him.
During the fight, they got separated from Red Hood and were now running through the halls to find him.
"Karen," the Captain said, panting, "see if you can access the local cameras. I want you to find the Red Hood."
"As you command, sir," the AI replied. "He's chasing Shocker, heading for the rooftop."
"He's going to the rooftop," he said. "Chasing Shocker."
Felicia stopped. The Captain kept going until he realized she wasn't behind him.
"Why'd you stop?" he asked.
"If he's on the rooftop, we can use the grappling hooks to go straight up," she said, approaching a window. "Or do you plan on running all the way?"
Shocker fell to the ground. His mask was cracked, and his nose was bleeding. He was crawling away, but Red Hood grabbed his head and forced him to look at him.
"You're such a moron," he sighed. "But what else can you expect from someone like you?"
He kicked him in the stomach and hurled him into the ventilation ducts.
"Red Hood," the Captain called. "Calm down."
The masked man turned and saw the Captain approaching with Black Cat.
"This is what he deserves," he replied.
"You don't get to decide that," the Captain growled. "You don't decide who lives or dies."
"You're doing it all wrong," Black Cat interjected.
"Says the thief," he sneered. "Your hypocrisy is disgusting, Felicia. One week a hero, the next a thief."
Black Cat clenched her teeth. He knew who she was—and that wasn't good.
"You know who I am," she growled.
"I know a lot of things," he replied.
"Wait, Felicia..."
She refused to listen and lunged at Red Hood. They traded blows and scratches. The Captain sighed as he saw Shocker trying to escape again, threw his shield, knocked him out, and returned to help the Cat.
They started attacking together, but Red Hood dodged easily.
He threw them both back. The Captain noticed Felicia was angry.
"Calm down," he ordered. "You're attacking without thinking. Don't let your anger control you."
"He's destroying everything I've built these past years," she said. "He has to pay."
She threw a bomb, but Red Hood managed to dodge it.
"I love your new tricks, Felicia."
"And I'm tired of yours," she said, frowning.
Black Cat drew her claws and lunged with scratches, but he kept dodging.
He managed to grab her wrist and threw her at the Captain, who caught her before she hit the ground.
"Told you—you're attacking just to attack," he scolded. "I know this guy pisses you off, but breathe and listen."
"Tsk," she looked at him. "Fine."
"He's clearly experienced. His hits land, and he dodges efficiently. I bet he has something that alerts him to danger..."
"Like a spider sense?"
"Yeah, something like that," he said, getting ready. "We have to attack together."
Red Hood clapped, drawing their attention.
"Good plan, Cap," he stopped. "But I've fought six at once," he readied himself. "I've taken on whole mafias. So what are you waiting for? Come on!"
They exchanged glances and charged at him at full speed, giving him no time to react.
Red Hood started to back away—which was a bad sign. He got distracted for a second and felt the Captain grab his face to slam him. But he reacted quickly, grabbed the Captain's arm, and slammed him to the ground.
His spider sense flared. He spun and found Black Cat, kicked her, and sent her flying. But she recovered mid-air and landed a punch to his face.
He dropped to his knees, feeling the mask crack. The Captain stood up with Felicia's help and looked at Red Hood, still on his knees.
"That was good," the Captain praised.
"I know..."
Red Hood stood and faced them.
"That... was amazing," he said. "I think I got too excited."
The sound of several ships filled the air. A spotlight lit up the rooftop, revealing the broken part of the mask. Felicia frowned.
"That hair... those eyes... they remind me of Peter," she thought.
"Damn it," the Captain growled. "They're just going to slow us down."
From the ships came the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men.
"This guy must be dangerous if they need half the hero community to help," Human Torch commented.
"What about the thief?" Stark asked.
"What are you doing here?" the Captain asked.
"This guy," Stark pointed, "knows things about us—and I don't like that."
Red Hood snapped his fingers, getting everyone's attention.
"Since I got to New York, I haven't faced a group," he began, stretching. "But looks like it's time." He assumed a combat stance. "I won't hold back anymore."
"He's pretty confident, huh?" Reed commented.
"To be honest, Reed," the Captain said, "I can barely land a hit on him."
"What are you all waiting for?" Red Hood taunted. "Come and get me."