Now Playing: 7 Rings by Ariana Grande

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Beware the Black Cat, the thief in the night. The one who steals big and never gets caught. The Black Cat brings bad luck to those who cross her. Many fear her and others want her. The Black Cat was as stealthy as she was beautiful. Her snow-white hair to her dark, piercing eyes, every part of her was perfect and trained to thieve. Felicia Hardy was a weapon. Yet she danced along the line of hero and villain. She was never truly a villain and never truly a hero. She was a survivor looking out for herself. She was a thief.

Felicia Hardy always strove to be the best, to be noticed, and to do the best she could. Her heists proved to the world she was one of the best. She’s stolen from SHIELD, HYDRA, The Defenders, anyone who she took interest in or anyone who paid her enough to steal from someone else. From living on the streets to a life of luxury, Felicia had risen to her peak, and she still wanted more. Something was missing in her life. Her heists no longer gave her the same amount of joy or adrenaline. She wanted danger, to live her nine lives.

The thief smirked as she slipped into the house unnoticed. The security cameras had been cut and all other security measures malfunctioned. Black Cat picked up a shiny, diamond necklace and admired it. Such beauty belonged on her and not trapped in a glass box. She paused and stared in the darkened corner. A man holding a smoking cigar smiled and leaned into the moonlight.

“I see you got my message,” he observed, puffing his cigar. “I need your help taking something back that belongs to my employer.” Black Cat narrowed her eyes and stepped to the side. “And you are just the person for the job.”

“What’s in it for me?” Black Cat purred, pocketing the diamonds. “I don’t work for cheap, darling.” She glanced at the man and commended his taste in fashion. He wore an expensive suit and tie. He had money, and she wanted money.

The man reached for an envelope and handed it to the woman. “Inside is a picture of an amulet that was stolen from me, and my employer isn’t happy. He needs it back.” Black Cat opened the envelope and her eyes widened. It was gorgeous! "It can be tracked using this device." He held up a disk. "This will track the amulet's power."

"Awe, honey, of course I can," Felicia cooed. And that's how Felicia Hardy found herself driving away from New York City. Everytime she left, she found it harder to go back. There was a whole world out there she longer to explore and steal from, yet New York was her home, her little slice of heaven. Rarely she left her home, but with the promise of a lot of money and an amulet after she would double-cross her employer, she eagerly left.

Before she left, she fed her cats, left Peter a note to check on them, and upped her security for her safe houses filled with stolen treasures. The drive was uneventful and boring in her opinion. The disk would beep when moving in the right direction. The con was that it never told her how close she really was. Yet, she didn't mind. For this mission, she'd have to get her hands dirty and dig.

After driving for hours, Felicia found herself in West Virginia. The hotel she booked wasn't exactly the best, but it would work. No one would expect her to be in a less than three star hotel. 'Expect the unexpected, darling.' She wore a simple black jumper with brown pants as she took to the town. The disk was safely in her bag.

Walking around town, she looked for any potential victims or anyone who could be of interest to her mission. Felicia smiled and winked at others. The small town felt homey and Felicia almost wished she could live in a town like this. Almost. She would never trade the life she had, all the battles she fought and won.

The one place to get some initial research done was obviously the library. So, Felicia got herself a card and began her extensive research. After spending hours studying the picture, she managed to track down its Egyptian roots. 'Intriguing!' she thought as she flipped through pages of old Egyptian encyclopedias. The Internet helped her a lot. The amulet had been found in a dig site near Cairo and was believed to have belonged to one of the ancient Pharaohs. "Corrupted Destiny," she said the name out loud with wonder.

The more Felicia dug, the more information she found out. Hours turned to days and days to weeks as she studied and researched. Revelations revealed that the amulet had belonged to an ancient mutant modern day cult worshiped. 'That's creepy.' Felicia shuddered. Cults were a big no for her. She found no need for them. And most of them were evil. She didn't see herself as evil.

Corrupted Destiny was the mutant's most prized possession and was stolen from him years before his death. The powers of the amulet differed from article to article. No one had a clear answer. But the one thing in common was the amulet's ability to corrupt its holder. 'Lord of the Rings much?' Felicia chuckled softly, rolling her eyes. At least she knew enough about it, even if she didn't believe half of the stuff she read.

Moving on to phase two, Felicia dumped her burner phone and library card and skipped town. Most of the New Yorkers would have definitely noticed her absence by then, so she had to keep moving. West Virginia turned to Virginia as the disk started to beep louder and louder. So, the amulet was in Virginia. Not a small state to search. Most people would have gotten angry and quit, but not the Black Cat. She had nine lives to wait to claim her prize. The prize was only half the fun. The true joy came from the hunt.

And the Black Cat never lost a hunt.

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Hey guys!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Felicia is an icon, and I love her so much!

Comments and votes are appreciated! I love hearing from all of you!

Have a wonderful day!

~Kat