What to do about this piece of information?
There were several factors that determined the answer to that. Some she knew already, and some she would need to figure out.
...
"How is the man really? Did he actually make good on that chance we gave him to start over?"
"As far as I'm aware, the man seems to have turned himself around quite nicely. A real, law-abiding family man. Him and Prowler as both."
"Rose." She said flatly.
"Yes. I was as surprised as you. Not the first man I'd expect to have turned himself around as well as that, but hey, sometimes people surprise you despite themselves. They manage to turn their lives around completely without any help from you."
She glared gloweringly at him in response to that, though he pretended not to notice.
"So… You mentioned Prowler?"
"Yes. He is currently a low profile, mild laid back apothecary owner, a family friend of the Midoriyas, currently finding his brother's career as a cop."
"Under another set of false identities no doubt."
"Yep."
Felicia pinched her brow hard in frustration.
Complications, complications.
"So… What's your thoughts on Izuku?"
That was the big question, wasn't it?
That, more than anything, was what would determine whether she toppled Rose's new life or not.
"I'm rather fond of the kid. Much more so than I am of Tomo, that's for sure."
Matt had the audacity to smile at the implication.
"Spider-man and Black Cat huh? Seems that's a pattern that goes again."
She snorted.
"Izuku isn't Peter, and Mina isn't me, Matt."
That part was true enough. And the fact was, while there were plenty of similarities between the two(Both in how they used their powers and their personal background), in terms of temperament and personality, Izuku had far, far more in common with her second husband, more so than her first.
"Peter was a nice guy… But he also had a darkness in him. A side that he struggled with throughout his life. Izuku… Does not. At all."
She took another sip of her beer.
"Tell me, can you ever imagine Izuku letting an armed robber go due to spite? Or fighting in an underground fight club to earn cash? Cause I sure can't."
"Probably not. So… How long do you suppose this "courtship" period is going to last? 10… 20 years maybe?"
"Har, har."
"In all seriousness… What do you plan to do with our friend "Hisashi"?"
"Well… It would be a pretty dick move to expose him. We were the ones who let him go in the first place… And in any case… He's out of the country at the moment isn't he?"
"Yeah."
"Then… We'll let it lie for now. I'll judge him for myself when he actually comes here… That said… Does his family know?"
"Izuku? Probably not. His wife knows though. At least enough to know she needs to hide it. Unfortunately for her, her excellent poker face whenever her husband comes up, doesn't mean much for someone who can catch her heart in any lie."
Of course, she did.
Felicia sighed.
"Does she now? A naughty lawyer then…"
"As opposed to your husband?"
"Low blow Matt… Low blow."
Matt frowned.
"He… He does know right?"
"Of course he does! What, you think I would EVER marry someone I didn't completely trust?"
Matt, who had for a moment been very, very tense, relaxed.
"My kids don't though." She admitted. "And I intend for it to stay that way."
"You're not too dissimilar to Rose then. A spouse who knows all your secrets, wanting your kids to stay far, far away from all of it…"
"Last time I checked Murdock… Stealing, and killing, were two very, very different types of crimes."
She pulled out another beer.
"Admittingly… I don't think my kids would see that much of a difference. Especially not Mina."
"They look up to you then."
"Yeah… Well, not Ben… But the girls do. As far as they're concerned, their momma is the embodiment of everything a hero should be."
She took another drought before continuing.
"I have no illusions on how it's gonna go if they find out I spent my early years stealing things left and right."
"And Ben?"
He tried to say it in the same way as he did the previous lines, but she was easily able to notice the tone, the way his voice changed as he mentioned the name.
She did not begrudge him.
He had no connection to her girls. Not really. The same was not the case for Ben Parker.
"Ben… Is a different story. But my problems with him don't really have anything to do with hero work or my past."
"So you are quarreling with him."
She snorted.
"I wouldn't trust info from the news and speculation and gossip boards if I were you. They have a very pigeonholed view on it. Namely that if I fight with him, it MUST be because he in the end chose not to become a Pro Hero."
She snorted derisively.
"As if I give Two FIGS about that!"
Matt chuckled.
"Yeah… They don't know you very much, do they?"
"Not in the slightest."
"So… Why are you squabbling with the boy?"
Boy. Murdock had hit the nail on the head without even trying.
"My problem with him is that he is Wasting his life . He is an idiot..! Which is damn impressive, given he is the only of my kids with actual wit and brilliance in his skull. And yet somehow… Mina keeps proving herself the more successful of the two."
"Wisdom and age aren't always the same."
"Mina isn't wise at all. In fact, she'd pretty stupid to be blunt with you… And despite that, she's actually managing to make something of herself far, far better than Ben ever did."
"That's… Pretty harsh."
"I'm not one who ignores harsh reality because it's inconvenient Matt. The girl has the ability to think on her feet and make decisions on the spot. She's got good instincts… But instincts aren't intelligence. And yet, despite having barely passing grades, she's proving herself way, way better than her infinitely far smarter brother."
"I was under the impression he was doing well enough for himself on the stock market?"
She snorted.
"Oh yeah, he's doing JUUUST fine… Of course, he is also playing with fire, given that most of his success can be chalked up to having a sixth sense that tells him of incoming danger, that he thinks no one else knows about. Very nice to have when determining whether to buy or sell. Of course, it doesn't work when he's asleep, so he always risks waking up to things having drastically changed since he went to bed… Not to mention that if he's ever discovered as using such a power in this manner, he is SCREWED."
Matt paused.
"So… He did inherit his father's powers then? Not yours?
"Yep. Ben is absolutely Quirkless. His powers are all from his dad. It's developed way, way slower than Peter's did, mind you, but that's the difference between mutating, and being born with it I suppose."
"... Then he is technically not breaking the law. He isn't using a quirk after all."
Felicia laughed.
"I'll be sure to send his case over to you guys if he's ever caught. Not that that's likely to happen. He didn't develop his spider-sense until his teens. So I never bothered to register it along with his other powers."
Matt did not point out the fact that she'd also committed a crime then. Though technically, she'd been committing a crime before that by claiming Ben had a Quirk at all.
"It… Seems to be Quite a bit different in your household than I had imagined."
"I'm sure you expected him to be Peter born again, right? He isn't. He is not a bad person… But is a slacker, irresponsible, and frankly would probably build a better character if I forced him to have to budget his earnings with a home of his own, rather than keep living with me."
"...You really aren't one to mince words it would seem. It's… Quite different than the old days."
"In the "old days", I didn't have a grandkid on the way because my son was too stubborn to listen to his mother about contraception. I told him, time, and time again… Don't use a condom Ben, condoms aren't reliable for people with superhuman bodies, they break way too easily, use pills instead. Did he listen to me? Nooo… Rather than having to plan things out, he instead had to have the convenience that a condom has compared to a pill… End result? His girlfriend got pregnant, had a huge fight with her parents that ended with her moving in with us, and now he has to spend every waking moment on his job trying to make cash before the kid is born!"
She was starting to get juuust a bit drunk.
Probably best to end this now, before she really got going.
"But we've gotten way, WAY off topic here. We were supposed to be talking about what's going on in the world… With Web, and the Prophecies and all that…"
"Yes… I suppose we were."
What had they been talking about again? Oh right. Madam Web.
"You're… Tracking Madam Web… What are you going to do if you actually manage to find her and confront her face to face?"
"I have several means of tranquilizing her that should render her psychic powers ineffective for the moment."
She cocked her head.
"That… Would require you to get right up in her face though wouldn't it?"
"Yes."
"Damn, you are a brave man. Probably not wise, but brave."
"The woman is a danger to herself and others as she is now. A ticking time bomb. This is for her own good, as much as everyone else. Not to mention… Hopefully, this way we can learn what she knows in full."
"Oh, I don't disagree. But this is likely to end with your mind broken to pieces, you know that right?"
"It's a possibility."
"Yeah… Brave. Also… Wait… You came here right? Wait… Is Madam Web in this city?"
"Yes. Though I don't think she's made contact with Iida yet. I'm gonna be sticking around until she does."
Felicia nodded, suddenly feeling very, very relieved that she had made sure Izuku and Mina got a better, and more importantly different hospital than the Iida boy.
...
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