04x02 - Chapter II: The Cat

[bunniefuu]

Mary Jane is gone. Gone!

She wasn't the Goblin's real target.

It's all my fault.

Now I see her face
everywhere I look.

I need to talk to somebody
before I explode.

But who?

Who can understand the
pain of this kind of loss?

Felicia! After what happened
to Michael Morbius

she knows what it means
to lose someone you love.

I think we're great together.

- So what do you say? Felicia?
- Hmm?

You weren't even listening.

I'm sorry, Brace.

I've got a lot on my mind.

What's wrong, darling?

We've gone out several times
and no matter what we do,

you always seem to
be somewhere else.

Come in, Felicia.

Why are you doing up at this hour?

I like being up late.

That's when I get
to see you, Daddy.

We're very much alike kitten.

We're both most comfortable

when we're wrapped in the
dark blanket of the night.

- Felicia?
- Hmm?

- You're home.
- Oh! Oh Brace. I'm, I'm sorry.

I'm, I'm a little
distracted tonight.

I'll call you soon.

Sure.

This is a nightmare,
a nightmare that won't end!

Haven't you done enough to me?

What of all, that I have
suffered at your hands?

The loss of my funding. Prison.

You now compensate
me for all that.

Unless of course, you like me
to divulge your connection

to the infamous theft of
the Ausbach's fortune.

Oh wait, alright!

Just give me a little more time
to get the money together.

Mother, what's going on here?

Felicia, stay away!

Young Miss Hardy.

How very nice to hold
you in my arms again.

Don't hurt her.
I'll do anything you say.

Of course you will.

You're completely at the
mercy of Dr. Octopus.

Felicia will help me
deal with my grief.

I just hope I'm not catching
her at a bad time.

- No.
- Scream all you want, my dear.

- No one can hear.
- Spider-Man!

What? How could you
have known I was here?

Must be my sense of smell.

Let us see how well developed
your pain receptors are.

Just a little short
of the mark, huh.

Wrong!

Get away from there!

This little exercise has succeeded
only in demolishing your home.

It changes nothing.

I have you right where I want you.

I will not rest until I have
squeeze the Hardy Foundation dry!

I don't understand why they
can't keep a creep like him in jail.

Spider-Man, please
don't leave us alone.

Don't worry, I won't.

Look, I'm sorry about the mess.

Maybe I can help
you clean things up.

Wonder who this is?

Felicia's father?

When are you ever going to understand
that we don't want your help?

Mother, Spider-Man
tried to save us.

How? By charging in
and ruining everything?

Why can't you just
mind your own business?

What is going on here, Mother?

Why were you bargaining
with that... that lunatic?

Did she say bargaining?

With Doc Oct?

I don't want to discuss it.

Certainly not in front of him.

But Mother, I...

The police are coming.

I have to keep them out of this.

Are you okay?

No. My world is
crumbling around me.

You wanna talk about it?

The only good thing
in my life is you.

How did you know
to show up anyway?

Ah, I happened to be in
the neighbourhood, and...

Alright then. Don't tell me.

But I'm still grateful.

What kind of deal was your
mother making with Doc Oct?

I... I don't know.

They mentioned something
called the Ausbach's fortune.

Look Felicia, I'll do
everything in my powers

to get your mother out of this.

But right now, it's best if the
police don't find me here.

- I'll see you later.
- Sure. Later.

Why do I always fall
for mysterious men?

Jason, Michael, Spider-Man.

Men who are wrapped in
the dark blanket of the night.

Maybe that Ausbach fortune Octavius
mentioned will shed some light on...

Ah, here it is!

It was a jewel theft 15 years ago.

A large cache of
diamonds was stolen.

The crime was attributed to a
mysterious burglar known as the Cat.

Well, lets see if he
was ever caught.

Got it!

Capture and trial of
the legendary Cat.

John Hardesky.

Wait a minute.
I know that face.

John Hardesky is Felicia's father.

So this is what Doc Oct was up to.

He was probably threatening

to embarrass the Hardys
by telling the world.

Who dares...

Freeze freak.

Who are you?

Who dares to abduct Otto Octavius?

Such histrionics, Doctor.

Kingpin! What is this all about?

Your paltry blackmailing scheme
against Anastasia Hardy

has jeopardized one of
my long-term projects.

I'm listening.

There will be nothing else to hear

until you guarantee
me your cooperation.

I guarantee you nothing.

Your choice, Octavius.

Either fall in line
or fall 70 storeys.

Kingpin, I'm sure we can work together
to some mutually beneficial conclusion.

I knew I could count on you.

Landon, say hello
to our newest ally.

Ah, Octavius, how timely.

We're ready to communicate
with the Chameleon again.

The Chameleon?
But isn't he in jail?

Exactly. And because he is
such a danger to the world,

he was incarcerated in the
highest security prison ever built.

A prison whose very location
is a military top secret.

Just as I expected.

- Then how can you find him?
- Watch.

When I allowed the authorities
to apprehend the Chameleon,

Landon here had already infused
him with a techno-organic virus.

It altered his physiological makeup.

He is now part machine.

This allows the Chameleon
to have his morphing ability

without the cumbersome apparatus
of his image-inducing belt.

It has one other benefit.

He is now biologically emitting
a powerful homing signal.

Imagine our surprise
when we first learned

that he was somewhere in the air.

The air?

We're within range.

I'm activating the
neuro-optic imager.

Everything the Chameleon sees
is now instantly broadcast to me.

Incredible.

Chameleon, show
us your cell mate

in that highly guarded
security facility.

That man. It's John
Hardesky, the Cat!

Exactly. And if what the
Chameleon tells us is true,

Hardesky holds a secret
that is worth a king's ransom.

All we have to do is get it.

But where is this
prison in the sky?

That is my next surprise.

Have you ever heard of SHIELD?

Could this Cat really
be Felicia's father?

And if so, what became of him?

I can't find any record what
prison they sent him to.

Another odd thing.

In most of the pictures, there's the
same guy always near Hardesky.

Maybe if I enlarge the shot,
I can ID him.

I know that face.

Yeah, it's Nick Fury,
the head of SHIELD.

What did he have
to do with all this?

If I knew that,
I might be able to help Felicia.

Wait! There may be a way.

Welcome to Supreme Headquarters

International Espionage
Law Enforcement Division.

We call it...

SHIELD.

Now I need for you to wear this.

If you see anything suspicious,
tap on this pin.

An undercover SHIELD
agent will respond pronto.

I've got to get that badge.

I'm in luck.
Jameson's on his way out.

So where does a guy like Jonah
keep a little com badge

for a top secret agency?

He wouldn't frame it, would he?

Wait a minute.

Uh oh.

If you want good reception
head for the top of the world.

Or at least the top of the city.

After all this,
it better still work.

Maybe they'll send one of
those flying limos for me.

Yeah, now that's service.

Spider-Man, please
surrender peacefully.

Surrender? Hey, I just
want to talk to Nick Fury.

Agent 13 is now approaching
you with restraints.

This isn't going to work.

Look, don't you guys understand?

Immobilizer. 5 o'clock. Fire!

I can't move.

Cables, fire!

Now I know what it feels
like to be vacuumed packed.

At least I've gotten them to take
me to their castle in the sky.

Here he is, Colonel Fury.

Well, long time no see Spider-Man.

I thought you had your fill of us,

when we tackle the
Chameleon back at the UN.

I need information about
a criminal named the Cat.

The Cat? This isn't
like ordering a pizza.

SHIELD doesn't deliver classified
information within 15 mins,

where the first
state secret is free.

I regret that I can't
help you at all.

- But...
- Take him back and drop him off.

Gently this time.

Come with me, Spider-Man.

Sorry, I'm not ready
to leave just yet.

Don't force me to
get tough on you.

Well, that will cut down
on my webbing expenses.

I just have to
download a little info

then I'll be out of your hair.

Let's see what SHIELD
has on the Cat.

DOWNLOAD COMPLETE

Now comes the tricky part,

getting out of this flying fortress.

Uh oh. Now what?

I don't know who's behind this,

but it looks like the agency just
got caught with their shield down.

I trust that you now appreciate
the full genius of my plan?

This flying fortress is amazing.

My attacking stealth airship could
not have gotten close enough

without my cloaking technology.

But can you defeat an
enemy this well armed?

I don't have to defeat SHIELD,
just distract them.

Someone open this door, now!

Colonel, how did you get in there?

I was locked in there by
an escapee prisoner.

Find him!

Well done, Chameleon.

Now bring Hardesky to
the rendezvous site.

Where are you taking me?

All you need to know is

somebody went to a lot
of trouble to spring you,

and it's not because
of your charm.

How about my talent?

It's him. Felicia's father!
He's alive.

What's he doing here?

Stand back!
The Cat is my prisoner.

Excellent. It will be hours
before those fools realize,

that I have left them
with a fake Cat.

Now for step two.

Doctor, there is someone that
I need for you to bring to me.

I tell Felicia her
father is still alive,

I need to get all the
facts straight first.

Classified file, John Hardesky
alias the Cat, 1943.

John Hardesky would
have only be a boy of 13.

Seems that his file begins here

with him creeping into
a top secret facility,

thinking that he'd been hired by
the government to spy on Nazis.

Trained as an acrobat, the boy
possessed tremendous agility.

Gentlemen, it is time to unveil the
volunteer for this top secret experiment

Private Steve Rogers.

Young man, the risk you take today

could very well tip the scales
of the w*r in our favour.

I pray it does sir.

Hardesky had one
other important skill

a photographic memory.

And with it, he undertook the mission
of memorizing a top secret formula.

It won't be long now.

This is only the beginning.

That secret formula held the key to
producing an amazing transformation

in a normal human being.

Rogers is merely the first of a
new breed of super soldiers,

who will free the world from
the tyranny of the Axis powers.

Gentlemen, meet the new champion
of the Allied Forces, Captain America.

Young Hardesky realized that what
he has seen been made that night

was history.

It was also a tragedy.

In the name of the Fatherland I will
destroy this American w*r machine.

Run! It's going to explode.

Hardesky escaped from
the exploding complex

but there were new realizations that
clouded the success of his mission.

I'm here for deliveries.

Storeroom.

Ah Cat, you made it back.

Were you able to
retrieve the information?

I would expect nothing less from
the son of the great Hardesky

the finest escape
artist of our time.

I memorized the formula,

but there's something
I don't understand.

Why would Axis spies name
their agent Captain America?

They weren't Nazis, were they?

You're the Nazis.

You're trying to get me
to betray my country.

I'll never tell anyone the formula.
Never!

After him, you fools.
Don't let him escape!

John Hardesky grew
up to be the Cat.

SHIELD took him into custody to
prevent the super soldier formula

from falling into the wrong hands.

Felicia's mum must
have change their name.

But what do I tell Felicia?

Hey, I've got some good
news and some bad news.

"Well, the good news is
your father is still alive."

"The bad is they've lock him
up and thrown away the key,"

"because he knows too much."

Nervous, Miss Hardy?

You!

Ah! What are you doing here?

Just picking up a special package.

No!

Felicia's been through
so much lately.

I'm not sure how
she's gonna take this.

Felicia?

Whatever happened here,
I'm too late, again.

I vow never to reveal
that formula to anyone.

I may have been a crook, but I
am not a traitor to my country.

I don't care what you do to me.

Mr. Hardesky, I have much more
persuasive methods at my disposal.

- Put me down, you big...
- Impeccable timing.

Wilson Fisk?

What is the meaning of this?

One might say I have gone into
the business of family reunions.

How long you enjoy
each other's company

depends on how well
you cooperate with me.

Felicia Hardy, allow me to
introduce you to your father.

TO BE CONTINUED...