- Hey, Maloy, I've got some good news for you.
The next morning, which fell on a Saturday, Peter's old telephone rang, and he needed more time to change while he had money. And now he had another number besides the teachers from the last school, Professor Connors, Aunt May and Mr Stark - Felicia's phone.
Last night he had received another kiss, this time on the cheek before she got into the taxi. Before that, they'd walked through Central Park and talked about everything. The altercation was as if it had broken down the wall between them and removed the difference in social status. However, it rather encouraged the guy to make more money.
- I realise it's nothing like kissing a hottie, but there's an opportunity to make three thousand quid for lab duty.
- I'll take it... Wait, you followed me? - the teenager was outraged.
- Of course, I was. But don't worry, your pranks in the toilet and bathroom will remain only with you. No one is interested in them - Stark grinned into the phone. - I'll expect you today; a flyer will arrive at your house at noon. We'll need to monitor the serum's effect on the mice and, if necessary, destroy the samples. I can't trust anyone to do that, and you'll need the money to take your girlfriend to a better place than McDonald's. And buy yourself a proper phone!
- Mr Stark! - shouted a very embarrassed Parker, but the phone was hung up on the other end. - You're always like this!
However, no matter how indignant Peter was, Stark saved him and pulled him out of the vicious circle of humiliation by Flash Thompson and, indirectly, out of a painful crush on Mary Jane. Three thousand quid is three thousand quid. And for a really easy job. Parker suspected that Mr Stark invented this job for him because he knew Peter would never take money for nothing. However, suspicions can't be used to make a case, so the boy started his warm-up after putting the silver bracelets on his hands and ankles. Earlier in the morning, he couldn't even get up properly, he was so sluggish, but now, after the spider bite and the habit of daily training, he jumped up like a cucumber. A regular workout, though, even if he did push-ups on his finger while standing on one arm, it wasn't even a warm-up. What helped were the bracelets, which created a resistance field. Parker did not know how they worked and stopped to rack his brains, and Mr Stark dissuaded that it was "magic". But the point was that he could set himself any load he wanted, thanks to the bracelets.
Besides, his room was adjacent to the workout room left over from the previous tenants. Their flat was quite large and had four rooms that were quite large in size. One was given over to the living room, one to the aunt's bedroom, one to the gym, and one to his. Push-ups, shadow boxing, practising makiwara kicks from vibrantia, pull-ups, etc. And also, most importantly, stretching. Parker, from childhood, was quite a thin but flexible type. At one time, when his parents were still alive, he was given to gymnastics. Not the kind where champions are trained and maimed simultaneously, but so are sports, where he was given good flexibility, which has yet to completely disappear. After the spider bite, he became a yogi who can twist. However, Sif, noticing this trait of the lad, went further and made him do even more stretching, along with teaching him something like taekwondo mixed with karate, muay thai and boxing. As his mentor said: it's harder for women to gain muscle, but that's the same for the legs. You can use them to put in a punch several times stronger than with your arms. But it takes stretching and practice. After a forty-minute warm-up, Peter showered and went to the kitchen to the smell of frying bacon and eggs.
- Who's the lucky girl who made you smile all night and today? - As soon as he got downstairs - the flat was two storeys high - his aunt, with a spatula in her hand and an apron on her body, asked him with a wry smile.
- Aunty, isn't there any other reason to smile? - The lad was embarrassed.
- 'But not all evening and morning, such a thing I haven't seen after you ever since I met Mr Stark!
- Okay, you got me... But I don't want to say anything about it yet! It's too early to say anything definite, and I'm afraid of spooking my luck.
- You see," May waved her spatula as she took the bacon-smelling scrambled eggs out of the frying pan to give her words more authority. - As soon as you got fit, started dressing properly, and got a haircut, you immediately got a girl!
- But what about inner peace?
- Hmm, well, imagine, - May took off her apron, divided the eggs into two portions and sat opposite. - You're lost in the forest, and you see two apples. One is absurd, small and lying in the mud. And the other is hanging on a branch, ripe, juicy... And even though it may turn out to be wormy and rotten inside, you will likely try the second one. Only in life, especially beautiful girls, have boxes of apples. And she will first try all the delicious-looking ones and on them, most likely, will stop, not reaching the rest. Let there may be more suitable for her taste.
- What about money, charisma?
- All these things are important, but they're also usually seen at first sight.
- It's not fair. Some people get everything, and some people get nothing," Peter muttered.
- Did you pay much attention to other girls yourself? Mary Jane was the only one I looked at, though Nellie from the parallel school did pay attention to you and tried to get close to you. Do you remember the little one, the chubby one?
- With the long nose?
- That's right. So don't accuse others of what you're guilty of," May jokingly shook her fork at him as if it were a pitchfork, lacking only horns to complete the image.
Parker mumbled something under his nose and, blushing, ate in silence. After all, it was the truth. He didn't pay attention to the not-at-all-ugly, just not up to MJ's level. And at the same time, he wondered why Felicia was so interested in him. At first, he'd mistakenly thought he was just an interesting toy for her, but the kiss didn't fit that. Or maybe he just wanted to believe it. Either way, he needed to be up to her at his current level. Her custom-made school clothes were more expensive than his entire wardrobe. Well, except for the stuff Mr Stark borrowed.
And all the scientists he came into contact with were well-spent. Mr Doom owned his corporation and ruled Latveria, a small European country. So he decided to take advantage of Tony's offer and contacted his patent office with the help of his business card for advice and assistance. Not for free, of course, but for eight and a half per cent for all future patent royalties, but it was a small price to pay considering the completeness of the services. They would offer his patents to other companies, negotiate with them, demand compliance with patent laws, and see if they violated them. Peter recognised: he would be screwed over, or no one would enforce his patents at all, and he would drown in the courts with these whales to contend with.
- Yes, Mr Parker, all the documents are ready; our agent will come to you tomorrow for consultation;- they put down the phone on the other side.
And that said, Mr Stark had anticipated this too. Sometimes he frightened him with his shrewdness. And he was also tough and unscrupulous. For example, now the news is about his fight with the IAEA, the international nuclear energy commission, the NRC, the American Nuclear Regulatory Commission over the licensing of their nuclear reactors, and General Motors and Ford over mobiles and speeders. And strangely enough, he was winning. What was particularly odd was when the main opponents suddenly shut up or changed their minds. But this is big business, and Peter realised that it was unlikely that they had just had a beer together and decided to be friends. Most likely, there was a terrible struggle behind the scenes, with threats, bribes, and who knows what else. Maybe even some magic. But that's not his problem. As soon as Peter put the phone down, it rang again.
- Simple guy, are you free today? - came Felicia's melodious voice.
- I'm sorry, I already promised Mr Stark... my boss, that I'd be on duty today," the teenager said, happy that she'd called and upset that he couldn't go.
- Wait, your boss is Tony Stark?
- You know the other one?
- I can see why you fly a flyer. And I can't understand why you don't have any money.
- We just bought a condo in Manhattan," groaned the guy, for whom the subject of money was a sore thumb.
- Wow, that makes sense. All right, well, do your best on duty, kisses.
Parker felt some strange notes in Hardy's voice but did not notice them. Still, the flyer will arrive in half an hour, and he will fly on duty.
***
The duty turned out to be dust-free, and the assumption that Stark had invented this job, especially for him, became a certainty. However, Peter was a responsible guy and did his job honestly. What was it? Keeping track of exactly the same cloned mice in transparent vibrantium containers. There were three dozen of them in four cages. One of them was a control group, and the other three were testing different versions of serums. So he wrote short notes in scientific protocol language every hour, like "No behavioural changes detected" or "The mice devoured each other with extreme ferocity". So why wasn't his work worth three thousand dollars? Because the lab and the cages were full of cameras.
But he was free to do his own thing when he wasn't writing protocols. What does a teenager do in a lab alone with a super-powered computer? Spectroanalysing his DNA for mutations, of course. That only took half a day, though, and the rest of the time, he was doing things unnatural for a teenager, like surfing YouTube and playing video games. Shamefully, horribly, even geniuses need a rest once in a while, especially as the calculations from Dr Connors were done and the new works of Reed Richards and Victor Von Doom were read. Just as Parker was looking at the kitty, who was startled by his own tail, his superhuman hearing picked up the sound of a light tap on the glass in the next room. Looking at three of the four groups of surviving mice, Peter didn't pretend he'd imagined it, like in bad horror films. But he didn't sound the alarm, pulling his web-shooters over his arms.
After leaving the lab and closing the door behind him, which could be opened only with the help of an electronic pass and a fingerprint scanner, the guy went into the next room, which turned out to be an office with white partitions with a height just below human height and a lot of computers in peculiar cubicles. At first glance, there was no one here. However, concentrating, Peter heard the quiet sound of ventilation and the heavily muffled hum of passing cars on the street - New York never sleeps - and a rapid heartbeat with held breath. It's like someone has run a hundred metres and is trying not to breathe too often to be heard. If it hadn't been so quiet, even with his hearing, he probably wouldn't have heard anything.
- It must have seemed like it," Peter said, not loudly, as if under his breath, but clearly audible to the unknown thief or whoever had broken in.
He did it, firstly, not to scare him off, and secondly... Well, he'll go at him directly and have a gun. As fast as he was, Parker wasn't faster than a bullet. He could dodge the trajectory of the hit. Still, it was hampered by the environment - it was too cramped, and he couldn't even climb on the ceiling - the suspended fibreglass panels wouldn't hold him. When he opened the door, he immediately closed it and glued it shut with a shot from the web shooter; at that moment, he jumped on the wall and crawled a little further into one of the cells. Only about three minutes later, a dark silhouette rose up somewhere in the centre of the tangle of workstations. Very quietly, which spoke of skill and experience, began sneaking towards the exit. As the silhouette approached the door, Peter abruptly switched on the light and rushed in. His eyes could not get used to the bright light after the gloom. Still, the enemy skilfully repelled his first blow, which should have knocked him out. Still, the guy didn't hit hard because he didn't want to become an assassin. When Parker got used to the light, he had to change the direction of a stronger kick, which he used to break one of the partitions.
- Felicia? What are you doing here?
The girl wore a leather or latex black jumpsuit covering her figure like a glove, emphasising every bulge and roundness, especially her large breasts. Her white hair was gathered in a ponytail, and a masquerade mask was on her face.
- Peter? How did you recognise me? - She stepped back and rubbed the hand that had been hit first and then in passing. - You hit like a hammer.
- How could I not recognise you? White hair and your face are barely concealed!
- Damn it, I knew I should've gone for a deep cleavage so no one would look at my face," she muttered, but Peter heard her and agreed. Not that he wouldn't have recognised her that way, but that he wouldn't mind looking at it.
- What the hell are you doing here?
- I was curious about what you were doing here.
- And that's why you had to break into Stark Tower? Do you realise that's a crime?
- Can we just agree that you didn't see me? - Felicia tried to run to the window, but showing great agility and speed, the guy caught her and broke her.
- A-a-ay, Peter, it hurts me. Let me go, - whimpered the girl, almost crying.
However, Peter was immune to this because Lady Sif had once invited her red-haired friend to practice "foul tricks." The latter wasn't as strong as the Asgardian, but she had something different. She had no forbidden places. She bit. She could kick balls, bare her breasts or naturally cry with tears. Peter would buy and be beaten, not so hard, but extremely humiliating. He hasn't bought a woman's tricks since. However, that didn't stop him from feeling pleasure from a trained, pleasantly touchable girl's body.
- I'll let you go when you tell me why you're doing this in the first place?
However, he didn't have time to hear the answer because a sphere appeared right in the centre of the room, scorching everything within it without flame. When it disappeared, a man in a red-and-black suit with two hilted swords behind his back and two holstered pistols on his hips was inside.
- Too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too-too, I'm back! Kable's bloody car! - Playing a tune from the Terminator film, the man exclaimed happily. - Whoa-whoa, sorry for interrupting your role-playing. Hmm, a black cat? What about Spidey? Have you really traded him away... Who's that?
- Who are you? - Parker was so stunned he froze. He didn't feel threatened. Still waiting. Rather, he got cognitive dissonance from the surprise.
- I'm Batman! No, not that universe. I'm a pink strap-on pony? No, not today. That's right, I remember. I'm Deadpool! - he stuck out his chest proudly. - You remind me of someone else. You don't like wearing red and blue suits, spitting spider webs, do you?
- Let go of me, Peter, you see he's sick and armed! I am still determining what he'll do!
- Peter? Peter Parker? I'm a big fan of yours. Can I have your autograph? - Deadpool took a scribbled notebook out of his trouser pocket. - I've already got autographs from Hitler, Stalin, Andrew Garfield, Ryan Reynolds and Tobey McGuire. Tom Holland's was a no-go. He sucks.
Peter was in doubt; on the one hand, he had a heavily armed psycho in front of him; on the other, he didn't attack them. So the guy did what he should have done about ten minutes ago. He twisted the ring Mr Stark had given him on his right hand, and in an instant, he was right in front of him.
- I wondered who was distorting space," Stark grinned, already in his armour. - Take your girl and go, kid.
- Hey, I haven't got an autograph yet," Deadpool said, but Tony blocked his path.
- I can give it to you later or sign it myself.
- I already have five Iron Man autographs. But you're the first guy who's ever been able to show up like that. Poof, that's it. Even magicians can't do that.
- A multiverse?
- You know what you're doing? Even fanfic ideas are realised here, like in this world.
- What are you talking about?
- Nothing, nothing," Deadpool grinned, winking at the reader. - I need some help here. Could you tell me the way to Earth 616? I got shot in the time machine.
- Can you show me? - Strangely enough, Stark didn't believe the stranger; he didn't want to fight him in his building.
If we can settle this thing amicably, why not do it? And weapons... His suit and himself are fearsome weapons. The man with the katanas handed him a box with an actual bullet hole, not a simple bullet, but an adamantium bullet. Tony cast a time-reversal spell, and soon the hole disappeared, and the device itself was as good as new. Removing the matrix from the device, Stark handed it back to him.
- Wow, Tony Stark and the Magician, what an interesting world! I'll keep his coordinates and come back later for autographs. Bye, and don't piss off the author, or he'll spoil it. - The strange guy disappeared, and Tony repaired the damage to the room with a wave of his hand and then looked at the cameras as two teenagers talking to each other on the seventy-third-floor balcony. Smirked and disappeared.
At the same time, Peter and Felicia were sitting on the balcony, right on the edge of the railing, with their legs overhanging into the abyss. The former didn't particularly want to sit so dangerously. Still, it was Hardy who had done so first, and to back her up, he positioned himself next to her.
- My father was the Black Cat," the girl said after a long silence, chattering her feet.
- The legendary thief who stole the Mona Lisa? - showed his knowledge of the guy.
- Exactly, - the girl smiled sadly and nostalgically. - I almost painted it with felt-tip pens when I was five years old. However, only some people know that he stole the fake and returned the original, which had been stolen by Ambal's men.
- Is that why you decided to become a--
- A thief? - The girl stood on the narrow railing and began to walk back and forth, which made Parker's heart drop with inexpressible fear. - No. More than that. You have no idea what it's like to be the daughter of a multimillionaire. By the way, my mum made her initial capital thanks to my dad, and she was afraid I'd follow in his footsteps. I had every damn day on a schedule. Even socialising with my "friends", those arrogant brash majors who looked down on everyone, including me.
- Why? You're one of their circle, are you?
- Because nobody likes an upstart. Many wealthy families have generations of history and even their own dynasties. Besides, the mother is a woman, and everyone knows where she got her capital from, to begin with. As if they are so clean, even Rockefeller said he was ready to account for all his money, except for the first million hypocrites! Dig under anyone, and you'll find so many skeletons in the wardrobe you'll find enough for a whole cemetery.
- Where is your father? - Peter asked, watching the girl's movements very carefully. He could not enjoy her grace and form because of the banal fear that she would fall off and fall. And this damn girl was doing feints on purpose as if she could hardly keep her balance. - He's...
- No, he's not dead," she sighed, squatting down, looking straight into Peter's eyes. - I'll tell you someday. But this is a problem I have to deal with on my own. I'm much more interested in who you are. - She moved closer and hovered over him so close that Peter could smell the pleasant scent of her body.
- Have you heard of neogenic mutants? - Without looking away from the girl and breaking her gaze, her boyfriend asked her.
- Are they the ones who got their powers not from the X gene but because of some accidents? I've heard. So you're one of them?
- Yes, I was bitten by a radioactive spider. However, if Mr Stark hadn't saved me... I wouldn't be talking to you right now.
- And what have you gained? What kind of power? - she asked, turning her head sideways.
- Just strength, speed, plus I can glue myself to objects - the guy didn't like to brag, even in front of the girl he liked.
- It's boring...
A strong wind blew at that moment, and the girl stumbled and flew down. A thin black cable flew out from under her sleeve. Still, Parker was already flying after her, caught her by the waist, and pulled her back up, shooting a web shooter at the bottom of the next-floor balcony.
- N-don't do that again," Parker told her in a broken voice, taking hold of her trembling knees. He was more scared for her than he was for himself.
- Your invention? - She asked rhetorically, twitching a thin white web resembling a dishevelled rope. - Quite useful. And for rushing to my rescue, I can't leave you unrewarded.
The kiss was passionate and sensual, especially against fear and excitement. Actually, Felicia was hard to get excited, especially with men. But Peter was not like that; he was modest but not a wimp and could really be relied on. He was confident but rather innocent and, what can we say, handsome. Beneath his white dressing gown, you could feel the steel-textured muscles, and he wasn't bad on the face. When the guy's hand was already on her breast, suddenly the girl was paralysed for a second with horror, and she jumped from his arms, stammering, and said:
- No, no, wait. I'm sorry.
- Did I do something wrong?
If someone else had been in the guy's place, she would have run away. Still, Peter's face displayed such anguish, remorse and incomprehension that Felicia melted again. And the negative emotions were immediately swept away by a wave of tenderness.
- No, it's just," she didn't want to tell that story. Still, now she realised that if she left without an explanation, it would be the beginning of the end of their relationship, not even the beginning of it, but their attempts to start it. She would avoid the subject, and he would feel guilty. She leaned on the railing from this side and began her story: "Anyway, I told you I had friends on a schedule, didn't I? Well, it was the same schedule that picked my future husband.
Peter didn't interrupt, listening intently.
- And that bastard. Decided that since we were engaged, there was no point in waiting until we were married... As you realise, I'm no longer a virgin. He raped me.
Parker wanted to be outraged, really being in anger and clenching his hands so much that the concrete railing began to crumble. Still, Hardy was understandable and pleasant to his reaction, but now she needed not that. She needed to be heard.
- You shouldn't think that I haven't dealt with it in these three years. Oh, I wanted revenge. But I couldn't do it through his mother because his father was a very serious man. So I started training like a man possessed. When you have a lot of money, you can spend it not only on bling, cars and dresses but also on personal trainers, shooting ranges and the most advanced doping with no side effects. Just when I was ready. That bastard died. Crashed his Ferrari.
- I don't know what to say to that. I don't think you want my pity, but, you know, I would never do that to you, and I won't let anyone do that to you!
After Uncle Ben's death, Peter knew only one possible comfort. He hugged the girl, confused at first, then hugged back, then sobbed, spilling what she couldn't let out with anyone else, not even her mother.