A Heist to Remember (Marvel, Black Cat, F)

[normandy]

I wrote this a while back, and figured I should post it here!

A Heist To Remember

Felicia Hardy had never seen one quite like this before. The cat-burglar extraordinaire had been tasked with stealing not a precious diamond, or even an invaluable work of art, but rather an ages-old manuscript of indecipherable hieroglyphs. Felicia had even asked the client why her services were required—after all, the book was held in one of New York City’s most well-known libraries. Why couldn’t they just check the book out themselves? When the client responded by describing how the book was located in a special area of the library that blocked the average person from entering, Felicia knew that the game was on. The Black Cat rose once more—braving the frigid New York winter weather in order to collect a prize unlike any other.

Shivering at the howling wind, Felicia found herself perched on the library’s roof, ready to commence her entry. Aided by the light of the full moon, the Black Cat ever so gently removed the frame of the library’s rooftop air vent, and seamlessly wedged herself between its metal frame. Having memorized the library’s floor plan, Felicia had crawled through the twisting and turning vent system with ease, careful not to make a sound. After what felt like her fiftieth turn, the burglar looked down through the vent and caught a glimpse of tables filled chock-full of leather-bound volumes, a plethora of shapes and sizes on full display. Felicia carefully removed the vent below, and with an agile descent, she found herself in front of the tables, and breathed a small sigh of relief—she was in.

Withdrawing a small flashlight from her suit sleeve, Felicia crouched and used the device to sift through the numerous titles in front of her. The client had prattled on and on about the book’s distinct maroon color, with a gold outline surrounding its cover and spine. The Black Cat had moved up and down the tables for what felt like hours, before finally noticing a bright gold hue stick out from under the flashlight’s glow. Eyes widening in anticipation, Felicia scooped up the book, then verified its title—this was indeed her objective. Felicia curiously opened the book, genuinely wondering what had made it so valuable to the client. However, the manuscript then shed a plume of thick dust from its worn pages, illuminated by the flashlight. The Black Cat recoiled as her eyes watered and nose twitched. Tucking the flashlight back into her suit, Felicia balled her newly-freed hand into a fist, attempting to stifle the growing tickle residing within her flaring nostrils, but not before…

“Ht’kshtt! Ip’tschh! Hih’hhitschhGNX!!”

Felicia attempted to stifle a trio of sneezes into her fist, pinching her quivering nostrils upon the final sneeze. That maneuver backfired, however, as another rampant tickle tore through her nose, and left her eyes squinting, mouth agape, as…

“Hih..hih’scheew!”

Felicia doubled over at her forceful sneeze. Even worse, her knee-jerk reaction had knocked a book over, alerting a security guard outside the gallery’s opaque door.

“Is someone there?”

Felicia stood up, eyes widened in horror as she froze in front of the table, her free hand placed over her mouth and nose. It took the sounding of an alarm to finally snap the Black Cat back into action, as she climbed a shelf behind her in order to scurry back up the vent. Tracing her steps, Felicia found herself back onto the rooftop, shivering again at the freezing weather awaiting her. Even worse, the cold wind had intensified, blowing a layer of heavy sleet almost sideways. Lamenting the poor conditions (and the lack of insulation in her suit), Felicia leapt through the library’s adjacent rooftops in an attempt to reach her apartment. With her building soon in view, Felicia let out a small sigh, her breath visible in what felt like subzero temperatures. Despite her drenched suit, as well as a few hiccups (or more specifically, sneezes,) Felicia had completed her latest assignment without any major setbacks.

At least, she thought she had, until…

“Hehh-aATSCHIEW! AhHTSCHIEEW! Hah…HAK’TCHOOO!”

Felicia sneezed forcefully into a tissue she held in front of her reddened nose, before she blew her nose productively into the now-damp cloth. She groaned, and lobbed the crumpled tissue into a now-overflowing trash can stationed at her feet. After shivering through her apartment in her damp suit the night before, and not going two minutes that morning before being startled with a quick fit of sneezes, Felicia realized that in her trek through the snowstorm, she had come down with a terrible cold. The feared criminal now laid on her couch, resorted to watching TV with her head rested on a leather armrest. She had earlier traded her suit and mask for a plush black robe, with a white FH monogrammed on its front pocket. The book laid on a coffee table in front of her, next to a box of tissues and a desperately-needed cup of tea. Felicia wiped at her nose with a soft sleeve, her normally immaculate white hair a mess, and her nose red and chapped from the throes of her plentiful sniffles and sneezes. Felicia had even taken the rare step of calling her client to delay the drop-off (and the back half of her pay), due to her fear of being seen in such a miserable state. The client wasn’t pleased, but at least at least she felt she had adequately masked the congestion in her voice during the call. Felicia looked to the table in front of her, bringing the teacup under her nostrils in hopes of alleviating the stuffiness in her nose. However, the steam raising from the cup tickled her sensitive nostrils, and not before long…

“Haa’ekkSHIEW! Ehh-t’sheww!”

Felicia transferred the cup to her left hand, then sneezed twice into the waiting sleeve of her other hand. She then sipped the warm liquid before setting the cup back on its coaster. Sniffling, Felicia switched the TV to its main news channel.

“…to sum it up, folks, this snowstorm will be staying with us for quite some time. Bundle up!”

Felicia rolled her eyes at the perky meteorologist on screen. Her attention refocused as she sat up upon seeing the same library she had robbed the night before on the TV, police cars surrounding its entrance.

“Breaking news today as another New York City building fell victim to a robbery, the latest in a string of peculiar thefts. Although police have not settled on a suspect or motive, the question remains…could the Black Cat be behind all this? If so, where could she be at this very moment?”

Feeling another sneeze coming on, Felicia leaned forward and plucked a tissue from the box, her eyes still glued to the screen.

“Little do you snf dow, she’s stuck at hobe with a cuh…cold….”

Felicia pressed the tissue to her nose just before she-

“Huh-tshh! Huhh’tsch! Huhh…huh-tchoo!”

…sneezed into the white cloth, blowing her nose before dropping the tissue on top of the pile protruding from the trash can.

“Guh… I snnf hade it whed they cobe id threes.”

[djm4991]

Very surprised no one commented on this! I really liked it! :D

[Likesn]

I really liked it as well and I hope to see more from you.

[NickG1998]

I love this story please update this amazing story whenever you can

[poiub]

Very nicely written!

[NoV]

Great story to compliment some top notch sneezing  I would always be up for reading more if you wanted to continue