The platform was in absolute chaos. Two clear sides where separated by a no-man's-land that was less than five hundred metres long. The only occupant of that no-man's-land was a half destroyed helicopter. On one side of the divide stood the Ultimates. Thor, Iron Man and Captain America. Beside them stood Agents Coulson, Stacey, Drew, Kong and Thompson, along with the second Spider-man, Ms Marvel and Katherine Pryde. The prisoner they had captured, who had been dubbed 'X-23', was slightly apart from them.

On the other side of the divide was what could only be described as a horde of monsters. Each of them stood at at least six feet tall, save for a few, which resembled X-23 in some regards. They wore thick battle-armour, which seemed to be overkill, as they seemed to be able to recover from any injuries they sustained. Each of them was brimming to the top with muscles that would put bodybuilders to shame. Some of them had brown hair, while others had dark black. Ninety-percent of them where men, while a small few where women.

"Take them down!" Captain America roared as he hefted his shield, and threw it towards the horde as he sprinted forwards. The shield struck one of the larger monsters on the head, knocking it back. But that effort was completely futile, as three more managed to grab the patriotic hero by the shoulders and pin him to the ground. In response, Spider-man hurled himself at one of the monsters, while Ms Marvel hauled another into the air.

"I prefer 'up!'" Mary-Jane yelled as another monster tried to grab her from the side. She knocked it away with a solid punch to the face. The monster fell to the ground, writhing in agony as yet another managed to grab her from behind. This gave the previous two she had downed time to get back up, and grab her arms and legs. Although she was the strongest person there, the three monsters where enough to overpower her struggling arms. They managed to force her back to earth, even as Captain America tried to pry them off.

Another being tried to take him out, and was promptly tossed aside as Agent Coulson whirled around with his rifle. He fired it twice before Agent Stacey pushed him out of the way of a charging opponent, one who easily dwarfed them all in size. The charging monster was in turn confronted by the Norse god of thunder, who struck him on the side of the head with his hammer with a hoarse bellow.

The monster, who was easily the largest one there, barely budged at all. And the monster was fast enough to be able to grab the Thunder-god's wrist before he could get in a second swing. The famous hammer was dropped, and the Asguardian Prince was forced back by several feet. The monster, who it seemed was the leader of the pack, swatted it's gigantic hand to the left, and caught Agent McFarlane in the ribs. The blow sent him flying, crashing into the remains of the chopper. Agent Thompson sprinted after him, which was no surprise to anyone who saw it happen. Because even before the military, they had been best friends.

"Have...at...thee...!" Thor bellowed as he forced his current opponent back by several feet, by striking it in the ribs with his knee. The monster bellowed, as six fully-armed soldiers sprinted to his side, firing their weapons as they did so. Each bullet bounced off the being's armour as it charged towards them. Thor stretched out his hand, calling for his hammer, which came to him at the last possible second, allowing him to strike the creature in the jaw, as Iron man flew overhead. He blasted the beasts as best he could, while trying to keep them away from any vulnerable combatants.

He was so preoccupied with his offence, that he forgot to check his blind-spots. A large, flying hunk of metal crashed into him from behind. One of the creatures had pulled a section of the platform free, and used it as a projectile against him. The weight of the chunk was sufficient to bring him back down to the ground, and allowed two beasts to tackle him. E tried to free himself, but their weight crashed down on him in a tidal wave of muscle. Even his strength-enhancing robotics where not enough to overcome the sheer brute forces that where being applied against him. Little by little, the two beasts began to pry off bits of armour. It started with non-essential bits, such as the shoulders and the back before they reached for the helmet and chest piece. He knew that they where going to kill him.

Fortunately, Kitty Pryde grabbed his wrist, and phased him out of the their grip. He had long ago shielded his electronic systems in every way possible, so they still functioned to their full potential, and he fired a blast of energy towards a charging monster, who reeled back in pain. He fired off a second shot, before being tackled from the side. He tried to get a third shot off, but his opponent was way to fast for him, and managed to divert his arm. Tony was sure that the beast would have ripped his head off, if it weren't for the fact that Kitty Pryde managed to deliver a kick to the side of his head.

However, the beast caught her by the throat, and lifted her straight into the air. She was unable to escape, because of the forcefulness of the attack. Her mind was reeling as the beast's hand closed in on her windpipe. She kicked and struggled all she could. Tony tried to help her, but found himself confronted by six beasts. Agent Drew and Agent Coulson tried to rush to their aid, but where cut off, as another beast blocked their path.

And all the while, Kitty Pryde continued to struggle. She kicked and punched the beast's hand, noting the 'X-50' tattoo on it's wrist. But, she nearly stopped herself once she looked deep into the beast's eyes. There was something familiar about them. Something...different. They where unlike the rest of the beast, which was cold and savage. These eyes bore the tiniest spark of defiance, and of remorse. It was like a dream, she realized that her opponent was not a monster at all. It was a human being, one which was being controlled against it's will. Someone was making it do things that it would never even dream of.

Her opponent opened it's mouth, and let loose a garbled sound, unlike the savage war cries of the others. She would have stayed there, if possible. If the beast wasn't choking her to death, she would have wished to stay there. However, six military-grade helicopters swerved around the side of the Triskellion. This seemed to get the monster's attention, and they where halfway across the platform before the helicopters began to open fire. High-calibre bullets impacted the ground as the beasts retreated. Kitty had half a mind to chase after them, but decided against it. There where to many wounded to pursue.

xxx

"How many casualties?" Captain America asked as he set down his shield. He bared his shoulder, allowing Jemma Simmons to tend to the wound that had been created by one of the invading monsters. Across from him, Nick Fury leaned against a wall, his injuries having already been tended to. Carol Danvers was sitting beside the Captain, getting a small chunk of concrete pulled out of her side.

"Fifty-seven dead," Agent Coulson replied with a sigh as he leaned against the table. "One hundred and sixty with minor and mild injuries. Twenty in critical condition. We-"

"How's your team?" Captain America asked with a slight shudder, as Simmons dabbed alcohol on his wound. "Agent Coulson, we need to have everyone up to-"

"Agent McFarlane just went into surgery," Coulson replied with a sigh as he took of his tattered suit jacket, and wiped his brow. "The doctors say he'll pull through, but he needs time to recover. Miss Watson is being tended to by Agent Drew." The Captain let loose a sigh of relief, as Simmons began to sew his wound back together. It was two hours after the attack, and they where all feeling rather thankful towards the Captain, who had ordered the military to mobilize a strike force, mere minutes after hearing about the attack on SHIELD. He had then been able to summon two members of the Ultimates, Iron Man and Thor, in order to launch a counter-assault.

They had arrived just in time, no doubt about it.

"And any intel on where those things went?" Danvers asked as her arm was wrapped in a bandage. "Because I for one am itching for some payback. We-"

"Are not going in there without a solid plan," Fury snapped coldly, "we don't even know where 'there' is. Or what those things are. Once we have a firm grip on what they can do, then we'll plan our next step."

xxx

"Ouch!"

"Stop moving your arm!"

"Stop stabbing me with a needle!"

"I've gotta sew this back together!" MJ sighed as she gripped the clone girl's arm, and held it steady enough for her to wind the needle through the exposed skin on her back. Jessica was hunched over, covering her front with a towel as Mary-Jane examined her injuries. They wheren't nearly as bad as most had received, such as Ken McFarlane, who needed to have his stomach sewn back together, as well as a calf muscle.

"Well do it in a less painful manner," Jessica replied with a huff, as she flicked her hair out of her face.

"Ohh," MJ quipped as she continued to sew. "Miss Bad-ass is afraid of a needle."

"I'm not afraid of a needle," Jessica replied. "I just don't like getting stabbed. Especially not multiple times."

"You big baby," MJ mocked as she cut the string, ending the process. "Peter never complained that much when I did the same to him. And You're basically the same person. So what's your excuse?" The two of them shared a bright smile, that spoke several volumes about the connection that they felt they had with one another.

"I remember how he felt about you playing doctor," Jessica smirked as she grabbed her shirt.

"You mean the way he would sit, so that I wouldn't see the boner through his spandex?" MJ replied, as she sat down next to Jessica. "Yeah, I remember that. And how he used to blush whenever I got close," she continued, as she noted the fact that Jessica's cheeks had indeed gone a slight shade of red.

"How about how he'd make you giggle when he tried to be romantic and hold your hand?" Jessica replied, as her hand slipped over MJ's. "Like this?"

"Yeah," MJ sighed as she leaned her head against Jessica's. "Just like this," she said as she felt her heart begin to race,ever so slightly. A pant rose up in her breath, as she felt her mind begin to whirl. She hadn't felt this way in a long time. Years, in fact. It confused her to the core.

Why was she suddenly feeling this way about Jessica Drew?

xxx

She couldn't get that image out of her head. The eyes just kept staring at her, right into her soul. A part of her mind wondered why the beast hadn't crushed her skull, as she knew it was capable of doing. And another part of her mind said that it was a mindless brute who wanted to kill everything in sight. The two sides where completely at odds with one another for hours. They went back and forth, each providing good points against the other.

The eyes. They seemed familiar.

The actions. She never associated with a brute killer.

The eyes. They spoke volumes.

The actions. They where those of a beast uncaged.

The eyes. They where of a lost soul.

The actions...the action. It had spared her life. She realized that there was something she needed to prove, something which she needed to know. Whether it was for herself, or for the entire world. Which was why she went directly to the laboratory, where SHIELD Scientist Leo Fitz was currently running over their data systems, seeing if anything had been taken during the assault.

"Can I help you?" he asked as he turned away from his computer, in order to face her.

"I was hoping that you'd be able to run a DNA test," Kitty asked politely, "on those...things."

"I can," Fitz replied, "but with nothing to compare it to-"

"I have someone to match it against," Kitty replied curtly, "but I'll need the room."