Chapter 13: Chapter 13
Disclaimer: If you recognise it, surprise, I don't own it.
Chapter 7– Pilferer in Training.
Edited: 15/03/2023
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"Hmmph, I swear, this is so unfair. It took me years to refine my art to such a degree, and yet here you are after a couple of hours, reaching my level of skill with such ease." Felicia harrumphs after seeing me crack open a safe in under a minute, and not just any safe but a high tech almost unbreakable safe held within the basement of one of New York's most luxurious jewellers, which I had just finished cracking with unbearable ease.
"Well, it isn't that hard, what with the vaults nowadays being more technology-based than having any manual processes to open it. So all it took was quickly crafting some tech to help with the techy bits, just a scanner to find the fingerprints on the number pad of the safe and figure out the passcode from that.
I then extrapolated the fingerprints for the fingerprint scanner as well as used those same fingerprints to look through various databases across the world to find the owner, and then using the preprepared copies of all the worker's eyes, I used the correct one on the eye scanner." I say, standing back up to my knees and grabbing the handle of the safe and spinning it, hearing a series of clunks as it does so.
"I only told you that we would be cracking this safe yesterday when you agreed to start helping me with my jobs. How could you have prepared so much in such little time? And that still doesn't explain how well you dealt with the practical part of the safebreaking, turning the dial and listening to the mechanisms. I only started teaching you that part earlier today on the bunch of safes I have stored in a warehouse to keep my skills from going rusty, and just now, you cracked the safe almost as quickly as I would have. It's frustrating. how?" She questions as the handle of the safe finally stops spinning and comes to an end.
Reaching towards it, I grasp and pull on it to avail the insides of the nigh unbreakable safe. What greets my eyes are stacks and stacks of cash, along with priceless jewels, jewellery and diamonds neatly arranged upon shelves.
"What can I say? I had a lot of time on my hands, and I always like to be prepared. Plus, the technology isn't that hard to make if you know what you are doing. You don't even need any expensive or rare materials, just the know-how. As for the actual safebreaking, the two hours you spent teaching me were enough for me to become proficient at it. After that, I only needed the technical knowledge and the information about the inner workings of safes in general and as a whole. After that, my powers did the heavy lifting. The keen senses help me to hear precisely what I need to, and I just need to be aware of what it is I am actually trying to listen for." I answer her taking a step back to admire my work, proud that I had become an excellent safecracker in less than a day, but as I do so, Felicia saunters inside to take a glance at the valuables held within.
"Hmmph, cheater. Well, I don't care since you are on my side now, and this way, I won't have to go to the Tinkerer for tech anymore. That bald old man always charges an arm and a leg. Ooh, shiny. A treat for a job well done, gimmie." Felicia finishes as she reaches out and picks up an enormous diamond, most likely worth millions, and brings it towards herself, using her other hand to grasp the suit and pull it wide to reveal her cleavage, which she goes to place the diamond within.
"Stop." My hand grasps her forearm, keeping her from stowing the diamonds between her breasts, where I would never have been able to retrieve the diamond from. But, instead, her greedy eyes rip away from the sparkling blue diamond to behold my own firm eyes that make it clear that I will not allow her to take this diamond out of this safe, not under any circumstances.
"Remember our deal, Felicia. I will only help you steal from bad people and those who can afford it, and that is it. I will not help you steal from establishments like this, museums, or innocent people. If you want to do that, then do it on your own time because I will not be a witness or an accomplice to it. So put the diamond back, and let's get going. this was only supposed to be a test, after all." I state firmly, staring her dead in the eyes, my will unrelenting. No matter how much I may try to deny it, there are still vestiges of Peter and his morals inside me, so I absolutely will not steal from those who do not deserve it.
Plus, this helps me to set the terms going forward working with Felicia and serves to make sure that I am not her obedient little lapdog or minion or something so that I will not be dragged under her spell. I have a firm rule that I will abide by that will help me to keep aware of who I am and what I want. I haven't figured out the other rules yet, but I am firm in my decision that I will not harm any innocents at any time. Apart from that, I could do what I wanted.
"Ben, you do know that this diamond, much like every other thing in this fault, will end up in the hands of some corrupt politician, some ruthless mobster, or even some supervillain. So it doesn't matter if we take it now because it would be similar to just taking it from them later. this just saves us time that we can use to take even more stuff from more people who are undeserving of it." She tries to argue, but I am hearing none of it.
"If this stuff is just going to end up in their hands, then we will wait for it to do so, wait for them to pay for it or take it and then we can take it back from them rather than stealing money from the pockets of the people that work here. You need to understand that, or we can't work together, and you will just have to go back to buying tech from the Tinkerer." So I state, as a matter of fact, my resolve unshakeable. Either she abides by my rules, or I walk. There is no other option, and I have already learnt what I can from her, and I can learn the rest from other places.
"Tch, fine, I'll put it back. Are you sure you are Spidey's clone? He would usually say, stop stealing from people, become a hero, use your skills to help others, while you are telling me to do it when you are not around. Quite a big difference." She lets out grumpily as she pulls her hand out of my grasp, which I let her do, knowing that she won't be trying anything again.
Felicia moves to place the diamond back on the shelf she took it from, though she is clearly not happy with it as she makes sure to try and get a little dig in and be spiteful by mentioning my clone status, which doesn't even phase me after all my origin has much more complicated issues than just cloning.
"Being made up of someone else's DNA, someone else's everything, being a clone really changes your perspective on life. Being in such a situation where I had no choice in my creation made me realise some things. Primarily that I can only control myself and what I do, and I cannot control others and what they do. So if you want to steal from people who don't deserve it, then go ahead, I can't stop you, but at the very least, I will not be part of it." So I tell her as we both exit the safe with the diamond placed back where it belongs, leaving the inside of the safe practically untouched.
Part of the reason behind my new philosophy is the morals left by Peter inside me, and part of it is the fact that I don't want to create trouble for the superheroes in the world so that they can continue keeping the world safe and allowing me to live a good life. So I will control myself and my actions to make a minimalist impact on the planet, and my existence will undoubtedly have an effect.
On the other side of the spectrum, I cannot control what others try to do, meaning people who may significantly impact the world, like supervillains or superheroes. However, Felicia doesn't make much of an impact being a selfish cat thief, but even so, I don't want to change who she is and what she does.
"What, did you get that from a self-help book or something? Do you have any more inspirational quotes of wisdom for me?" Felicia snidely says as I close the safe door and spin the handle to lock it back up. When the thunking and clunking from the mechanisms inside finally stops, I take a step back to look at the shiny safe door, which shows the reflections of myself and Felicia.
Felicia is dressed in, surprise, surprise, her Black Cat outfit and me wearing the clothes she had procured for me earlier. From top to bottom, them being a black cap, the black sunglasses I had procured for myself, and a black rag that I had wrapped around my lower face, which completely disguised my head. And then I had on a plain black T-shirt, a black leather jacket, a pair of black leather gloves, black leather pants, and, to finish the ensemble, black leather boots that ended at my calves.
Obviously, Felicia decided on these clothes due to my comments the other day, where I said I would not be caught dead in leather. But unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about my choice of clothing as I had to come out for this expedition, and Felicia no doubt knew that I would have no time if I accepted her offer. No point dwelling on it.
"Quotes of wisdom, quite a few, actually. How about 'You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you'. That one, I quite like." I don't feel anything at the barb she sent at me, but I still know that it carried malicious intent. So I pretended not to notice it and answered her query calmly though I do be a little mean, and gave her a quote that may hold particular meaning for herself. I am a little bit of a dick, but what goes around comes around. You shouldn't dish it out if you are not ready to take it.
Felicia goes strangely quiet at my words, and we just stand there in silence. I feel a bit strange at that since I am used to her being chatty and giving as good as she got, but when I look at her face, she seems weirdly reflective, so I leave her to it. I also take a moment to think about the quote I just said as well. I couldn't control what happened to me, but I can control how I view it, and instead of letting it change me, I can choose how it changes me, something to ponder on.
"Sigh, alright, we can't just stand around here all night. It's time we leave, so let's get going." I say, breaking the silence and ripping Felicia away from her thoughts. She looks startled as she looks up at me, only just realising that she has been lost in thought, but she quickly smirks at me and takes the lead in walking towards the exit, and I move to follow her.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone