On the last Saturday of September 2012, Peter Parker woke up early and headed to the soup kitchen where Aunt May worked. Peter occasionally helped out when he had time. And today, he indeed noticed significantly more homeless people than before Kingpin's incarceration.
New York's underworld lacked a social organization capable of replacing Kingpin. The NYPD simply didn't want to, nor did it have the power to manage these affairs; a significant portion of police officers were corrupt, bought by Kingpin. The remaining few, like George Stacy, were dedicated officers who, despite their willingness, were powerless and unlikely to climb higher in rank. The Avengers, with the exception of Spider-Man, largely didn't concern themselves with the minutiae of New York life.
And Peter alone couldn't solve all these problems. With Kingpin imprisoned, his subordinates began consolidating their power, and the rise of new gangs inevitably caused a certain degree of unrest. If, during this process, as many gang forces as possible could be expelled from the communities they once occupied, and this unrest could be ended quickly, that would be a decent outcome.
If Peter Parker were Superman or The Flash, he might try to clean up the entire city of New York in a day, but unfortunately, he wasn't.
"Hey, Aunt May."
Peter entered the soup kitchen kitchen and found Aunt May, explaining his purpose: "I heard you say last time that the soup kitchen had a lot more people needing help, so I came to see if there's anything I can do."
"Oh, Peter." Aunt May smiled with a hint of helplessness: "We're managing just fine. You just started high school; you should focus on your studies. Mr. Li and I can keep the soup kitchen running normally."
"I finished all my homework before coming, you know me." Peter picked up on Aunt May's topic and asked: "Where's Mr. Li? I haven't seen him."
"It's strange, actually. Mr. Li hasn't been to the soup kitchen for two days now. If he doesn't come today, it'll be three days," Aunt May said with a touch of worry. "I called the police, but they said Mr. Li was fine. If Mr. Li still doesn't come back, I'll have to ask George for help."
"He'll definitely be fine." Peter reassured her, then asked, "Is there really nothing I can help with?"
"Hmm, the new girl in the back kitchen is baking cookies. Why don't you go see if they're ready and then help hand them out to everyone."
Peter nodded in agreement, walked to the oven in the kitchen, intending to ask if the cookies were ready, but saw Felicia, her silver hair simply tied back, wearing an apron with a little black cat print, holding a baking tray. With a flip, a whole tray of cookies tumbled onto a plate, piling up into a small mound with the cookies already there.
She flipped the baking tray back, turned, saw Peter, and smiled a greeting.
Peter was dumbfounded.
"How are you... why is Felicia-senpai here?"
"What a strange question." Felicia tilted her head curiously, asking in return: "Why not? It's very meaningful."
Watching the speechless Peter Parker, Felicia couldn't help but laugh. She took out another tray of cookies and poured them onto the plate: "Alright, don't just stand there傻. Divide the cookies on the plate and hand them out. Since you're here, you might as well do something before you leave, right?"
Peter nodded, then looked at the cookies piled on the plate. As he took out small dishes, he asked, "How many cookies did you bake?"
"Right now, five per person, I guess. I asked the person in charge here how many people are staying, then checked how much flour there was—excuse me."
Pouring another tray of cookies onto the plate, Felicia placed the baking tray on a heat-resistant mat, wiped the oil off it with a towel, then joined Peter in dividing the cookies into portions.
"I didn't know the person in charge here was also named Parker—is she your mom? She's very kind."
"No, she's my aunt. My parents... died in an accident three years ago. She and my Uncle Ben have been raising me ever since."
Felicia's expression stiffened for a moment, then she apologized softly. Peter just smiled; it wasn't an offensive remark, and he wouldn't mind such a thing.
The cookies were quickly divided. The two of them carried small plates, distributing them to the homeless people in the soup kitchen. The cookies Felicia baked were already enticing just by their smell. The pure scent of baked wheat, combined with the aroma of butter and white sugar, and the fresh-out-of-the-oven, still-warm-to-the-touch temperature, was a rare treat for these often-hungry homeless people.
After they finished, the two also helped fix the old TV's bad signal in the soup kitchen—Peter fiddled with it for ages, but Felicia just gave it a couple of taps, and it worked.
It wasn't until nearly noon that news finally arrived. Peter pulled out his phone and checked the message. The NYPD precinct in Harlem had been vandalized, and the detention room where the superhero known as Power Man was held had been damaged. This news, of course, didn't come from the media, but from Detective Jessica Jones.
It was time.
Peter and Felicia exchanged glances. Peter first told Aunt May he had to go, and then Felicia also said her goodbyes a moment later. After all, they were just volunteers, not employees of the soup kitchen. Aunt May didn't stop them, only feeling a little regretful that she hadn't managed to get the two kids to stay for dinner.
Peter climbed to the soup kitchen's roof and retrieved his hidden old suit. Just as he finished putting it on, he heard a sudden voice: "You're changing clothes here? This isn't exactly a private space."
Spider-sense's characteristic of not alarming when no danger was detected once again caught Peter off guard. Startled by Felicia, who had already changed into her Black Cat costume, Peter touched his chest: "I'm pretty sure you weren't here when I put on my pants."
"Who would have thought a guy could change slower than a girl?" Felicia laughed, sitting on a nearby flowerbed: "By the way, nice body."
"...Thanks."
"This time I really am complimenting you."
Felicia stood up. "I'll be too slow getting there on my own. Can I hitch a ride?"
"If you don't mind me holding your waist..." Peter looked at the smiling Felicia: "No problem."
"So the plan is, we let our Power Man cause a ruckus, and then we go save all those poor people who underwent human experimentation?"
"It's not just one Power Man."
Spider-Man, now fully masked, and Black Cat leaped off the soup kitchen roof together. Spider-Man put his arm around Black Cat's waist, swinging towards the Viper Security office building.
"Those are New York's Defenders."