I'm working on Marvel's Spider-Man in American comics.

Chapter 120 Felicia Hardy (Seeking monthly votes!)
Kingpin's clues weren't anything special. In general, it was that illegal human trafficking and kidnapping had been happening in New York for years, both in prisons and slums. As the underground emperor of New York, Kingpin did some investigation and came to the conclusion that...

This matter involved either the authorities or a super-powerful figure like Stark or Osborn, far exceeding the control of Kingpin, a New York mob boss. Therefore, he chose to completely ignore it. After all, nobody cared about these slum dwellers and prison inmates; if they died, they died. Spider-Man, on the other hand, even helped him explain where these missing persons had gone.

Upon learning this, Matt said he had a way to handle it; he had a detective friend investigating a strange disappearance case who could help her. Peter also obtained the name of the missing person: Tandy Bowen, the future Dagger.

Then Peter ran out of clues. After all, he had nothing, so what could he do? He went to school as usual the next day.

There are detective agency activities in the afternoon, but we can't exactly let the detective agency investigate these cases. Putting everything else aside, it's not safe either.

With this in mind, Peter handed in his reasoning report. Senior Jessica really enjoyed writing cases and having the club members deduce them; she never tired of it. To be fair, her writing skills were indeed quite good, and her reasoning was very clever. However, Peter wasn't in the mood for this today, so she pointed out several errors. The reasoning itself was correct, but there were some oversights in the details that could be refuted.

"I still don't understand, why is it that the detective agency with dozens of people on the list only has the three of us coming here every week?"

Peter looked at the club activity room with a puzzled expression. He knew that the detective club must be quite large and well-funded, otherwise it wouldn't have such a big activity room. But there was no one there, not even the three of them who were new members.

Jessica looked at Peter, pouting unhappily.

"Alright, kids, it's time to tell you the truth about the detective agency."

After a helpless sigh, Jessica revealed the truth about the detective agency: "Most of the members are like you, math and science geniuses, spending their time in various competitions and internships at universities. There are hardly any other members besides me. As for new recruits, we only recruited the three of you this year, since I was the only one who went on recruitment day."

"If that guy who was supposed to come along could have made it back from Europe, I wouldn't have only managed to get three people!"

"I think I heard someone's talking bad about me." A sudden voice interrupted Jessica's complaint, and the four of them turned around simultaneously to look at the person who had opened the door to the detective agency's activity room. It was a silver-haired girl wearing a short-sleeved shirt and denim shorts, her sunglasses pulled up high. Her long hair reached her collarbone, the ends slightly curled. Her sapphire-like eyes scanned the newcomers, and her classic oval face, paired with delicate features, always wore a smile that exuded comfort and languor.

This was absolutely the most beautiful girl Peter had ever seen; no one could compare. Amadeus simply lowered his head, while Harry, well, stammered, probably unable to say anything.

When Jessica saw this very beautiful girl, she jumped up excitedly and hugged her neck: "Felicia! You're back from Europe!"

Felicia?

Drawn by the name, Peter looked at the girl, then at Jessica: "President, may I introduce you?"

"Oh, this is my good friend, classmate Felicia Hardy. She was supposed to be the vice president of our detective club and participate in recruitment with me, but unfortunately, she went to Europe for a while and hasn't come back. Felicia, you and I promise you'll be back when school starts! Look, with Felicia standing there, our detective club will definitely be able to recruit a lot of new people."

"I'm sorry, but I really have something to do..." It really is a black cat.

Felicia Hardy, the black cat, is neither a hero nor a villain. Like Catwoman from DC Comics, she's a notorious thief who often sides with the heroes. Most importantly, and perhaps least importantly, in the comics, she's one of Spider-Man's girlfriends.

Peter was surprised that this person was so young, and also surprised that their paths had crossed so quickly. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly realized something.

“Most people who apply to join the detective agency just because they see Felicia probably can’t deduce that such a beautiful woman is just a recruitment tactic. If they can’t do it, you’ll be eliminated, boss.” Peter started by using the question Jessica had in mind: “If they’re here for the deduction, their primary focus shouldn’t be on Felicia, right?”

Felicia looked at Peter with a hint of surprise, then asked Jessica, "Who is this smart and generous boy? Your new hire is quite good."

"Putting everything else aside, their reasoning is quite good. Peter Parker, a freshman." Jessica then introduced the others: "This is Harry Lyman, and Amadeus Zhao."

Felicia greeted the group of people as well.

"Good afternoon, boys. Like Jessica, I'll be a regular in the club. If you think Jessica's questions are too difficult, let me know, and I promise she'll make them easier next time."

Jessica grumbled unhappily, while Peter finally asked the question he wanted to ask.

"Did you go to London when you went to Europe, senior? I really want to visit the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street, and other places in London are also great, like the London Eye and the Broken House..."

No, I didn't go to London.

Peter waited for Felicia's next words.

“I went to Budapest, which is a really nice city, and Warsaw, oh, and Vienna.”

Felicia said matter-of-factly, but Peter was certain that at some point just now, the other woman had glanced at him, and his spider-sense had felt a slight sting.

In other words, Felicia Hardy, who is only seventeen or eighteen years old, is already a "black cat".

Peter didn't ask any further questions, because, as expected, Jessica had blocked Felicia's gaze for him. Unsurprisingly, she asked Felicia for photos from their trip to Europe, thus helping Peter escape Felicia's sight.

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(End of this chapter)