Claws & Effect

At Morelle Pharmaceuticals Building, the Black Cat has discovered that their Project: First Strike is a group of self-repairing cyborgs. Attacked by these warriors, she is joined by Cardiac who has come to shut down the First Strike. Even though Cardiac had threatened to kill her a few days earlier, she accepts his assistance because she is outnumbered.[1] Through trial and error, they discover that the First Strikers are able to repair the damage inflicted upon them by foes, they cannot repair damage to each other. The pair takes advantage of this design flaw to incapacitate the cyborgs. With the battle over, Cardiac takes the opportunity to scold the Cat and Spider-Man for stopping his earlier attack on Morelle as he was trying to stop this from happening. Their presence begins a download of important data to Doctor Morelle and activates a self-destruct sequence. Cardiac destroys the computer to stop the transfer and leaves. When the Cat tells him to help her to get the First Striker's out of the building, he refuses to help.

Unable to carry everyone outside by herself, the Cat tries to stop the self-destruct sequence. However, she fails when Cardiac's hawk-glider swoops in and carries her out seconds before the building explodes. She is furious that he would leave those inside to die, but he points out that he saved her because they have mutual goals. Demanding to know what he knows about chimera, he tells her that it is not a thing, but a person, a genius and a strategic analyst. With this said, Cardiac makes his escape via his glider. When the Black Cat tries to snare him with her grappling hook, but he is too far away. With no other options, the Black Cat decides to go home and treat her wounds. At that moment, Brian Lash has had recently broken out of maximum security prison and arrived in New York. After recovering a stash of hidden money, he pays a visit to the arms dealer known as Vandal to purchase weapons that he wants to use against the Black Cat. Vandal insists that these weapons would be adequate. When Lash tries to steal the weapons, Vandal has one of his robotic bodyguards detain Lash until he hands over his money.

By this time, the Black Cat has returned home to discover that someone has broken in. At first, she thinks it is a robbery until she sees a message reading "You're Next" written on her wall. Seeing that she has a voice mail on her phone. The message is a man saying one-word "liberty", and Felicia recognizes it as the voice of Brian Lash. She realizes that she and her loved ones are in serious trouble. She gets in touch with Loop with a communicator that connects her with the television he has in his minimum-security cell. She tells him that his son Brian has broken out of prison. He just recently found out and has been trying to contact her to warn her as his son is obsessed with getting revenge against her. Deciding to wrap up her current case while she can, she decides to pay a visit to Paul Proust and find out what chimera is once and for all. Breaking into his mansion, she finds him lying in bed. As she approaches, he reveals that he is awake and has been waiting for her. He offers her a glass of champagne, but the Black Cat is not interested in having a drink with him. She has figured out that he is a chimera. She realizes that he hired him to test his own security. As she tells him how the security in his home needs improvement, Brian Lash comes bursting through the window. Decked out in high tech gear, he tells Felicia to call him Scar the Stalker and fires his wrist-mounted crossbow at her. The arrow strikes the Black Cat in the middle of her chest and she falls to the ground.

Recurring Characters

Black Cat, Cardiac, Paul Proust, Scar, Loop, Vandal

Continuity Notes

1. The Black Cat last fought Cardiac in Felicia Hardy: The Black Cat #1.