The time has come, True Believers! After dealing with emotional turmoil, grueling traps, mind-bending puzzles and even annoying confrontations with very annoying people, Spidey and Kitty, alongside their friends, improvised and otherwise, are ready to face off against Arcade's final weapon in order to escape Neo-Murderworld alive. How will that battle end? Let's find out!

But before, to answer the review of Guest44: No, they're not aware of the deal with Mephisto (No one does), but I assume your question refers to the people gathered discovering Peter's identity, that's a whole different explanation that I hope to address in the last few chapters of this story.

Enjoy the reading!

SPIDER-MAN AND KITTY PRYDE: DANGEROUS GAMES

Chapter 16: An Uneasy Escape

After enduring a long journey with all kinds of traps and puzzles, alongside with the potentially deep emotional trauma of dealing with the most awkward scenario possible, both Spidey and Kitty are ready to tackle the last weapon Arcade has on his arsenal with the largest assortment of heroes gathered in the room: Between Spidey's sister Teresa Parker, Emma Frost, Nightcrawler's Marauders, Black Cat, Silk, Star-Lord and Peter Wisdom, there is enough firepower to bring down whatever Arcade has in store for them, but of course, they first have to step out of the zone they are all located.

"Alright people, gather round here for the plan" Iceman makes the call to the group "Those who want to take the 'Ice-Frost Escape Route', follow me, those who want to take the 'Bamf Express', accompany Captain Wagner" Iceman tries to call those who want to join him on the way out. Mary Jane, Emma Frost, Star-Lord and Wisdom are the ones who step to Iceman's side.

"Never thought we'd have a celebrity on board" Emma comments to MJ "I assume you're associated with Spider-Man?" she asks her, yet MJ looks at her with a glare.

"I know who you are Ms. Frost, we have another mutual acquaintance; you remember Wolverine, right?" she asks her, who raises an eyebrow after that question "and before you can answer; no, I am not one of his God knows how many lovers"

"Curious, since he does have a thing for redheads" Emma sarcastically quips, while the ladies walk alongside Star-Lord and Wisdom, who is slowly recovering "Feeling better Mr. Wisdom?"

"Cuntspiek, brawknjaw" Wisdom mumbles due to his broken jaw, which causes Star-Lord to step in and intervene.

"Can't speak properly, 'Downton Whiney' over here got his jaw broken" Star-Lord quips

"I'll go with Bobby" Kitty tells Spidey, surprising him a bit, but he understands why, given that they both still have a lot to assimilate "Don't get me wrong, I'm still happy to see you here, I really do, but…"

"I know, let's first handle whatever Arcade has left and then I'll get my chance to make it up to you" he replies smiling at her to let her know his feelings, a sentiment she replies in kind, hoping to talk it over once this is all done. Kitty then heads to her group alongside Emma, smiling at her and Bobby in gratitude "I'm really relieved to see you guys" she smiles at them, then she looks at two of her ex-boyfriends, trying to grasp the situation "So…never thought I'd see you in person again…and never thought I'd even cross paths with you ever again" she quips those last words to Wisdom with a snarky tone, remembering how bad their relationship ended.

"Hey, like I told Spidey, you were part of the Guardians, and we Guardians always watch our backs for each other" Star-Lord explains "So…you didn't marry Colossus? Just a bit surprised, actually I'm glad you recovered and are hanging out with Spidey" he talks to her as they both follow Iceman and Emma.

"Yeah, things with Colossus didn't ended as I hoped they would and with Spidey…" Kitty replies with a hint of concern, but Star-Lord gently puts a hand on her shoulder.

"He told us what happened between you guys, he's really worried about you and he wants to make it up, so while I'm not precisely the most reliable guy in these kind of situations, I'd say you should give him a chance" Star-Lord talks to Kitty, encouraging her to patch things with Spidey.

"Honestly, I'm surprised to hear it from you, but I'll do that, thanks Pete" Kitty replies amicably "So…how are things with you guys?"

"Doing good, Rocket and I are running the team, I'm with Gamora, deeply in love, but she's running her own crew of Guardians now" Star-Lord quickly puts Kitty up to date with some of the prominent details, leaving her surprised at the news of his relationship with Gamora.

"You and Gamora? Oh my God…" Kitty replies "Well, Mazel Tov to you, I never imagined you two together but if you two are happy together, then go for it" she congratulates her ex-fiancée, giving him a nice pat on his shoulder.

"Thanks, one of these days you should visit" Star-Lord comments, but Wisdom interrupts the talk with his groans and mumbles.

"Nuhbuhduhcursuhbutyuh" Wisdom mumbles with his broken jaw, occasionally holding it due to the pain caused by the strain of simply trying to talk.

"For one I'm glad I don't understand a word you're saying, but from what I know about you…you had it coming" Kitty scolds her ex-boyfriend after that commentary, rolling her eyes to show how annoyed she is.

"Thank Webs for that one, this bozo was insulting you so Spidey snapped and broke his jaw" Star-Lord reveals, once again surprising Kitty at the knowledge that her boyfriend stands up for her.

"While I agree that Wisdom deserved that broken jaw, I also agree with him that nobody cares about you two catching up since we're wasting time and we should be leaving" Emma interjects the conversation.

"I agree with 'Ms. Overdressed for the Occasion' over here" MJ adds to the commentary, showing her dislike of Emma, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Ladies, let's save the catfights for later, right now, just follow me" Iceman points out and starts to lead the way, retracing their steps out and using his ice powers to mold the necessary shapes to help their friends to climb the cylinders and go through the platforms as they march their way back.

MEANWHILE

Nightcrawler gathered the remaining heroes to be transported; Spidey, Silk, Black Cat, Colossus and Teresa. Spidey looks around and approaches his sister, who looks at him with concern.

"Seems that Arcade really played a number with you" Teresa comments "But what worries me the most is your face out there…you think that Arcade now knows as well?" she asks him, prompting Spidey to release a deep sigh.

"Probably, but right now my concern is ending this thing now" Spidey replies, looking back at his sister "End this and fix what's happening with Kitty" he reveals his situation with Kitty, causing Teresa to gasp, but he steps in before she could talk "I'll fill in the details later, but I promise you I'll work on it" he tells her with a more confident tone of voice.

"You better, 'cause I helped a bit in fixing that" the voice of Silk interjects in the conversation, stepping in to chat with his friend "You're welcome, by the way" she laughs a bit, prompting Spidey to share the laugh.

"Thanks for the help Cin, haven't seen each other since…" Spidey tries to recall their last encounter, but Silk cuts in.

"The Kindred mess, it was tough…but we made it through" Silk explains "And by the way, I'm glad you're finally getting back on track sentimentally, Kitty seems like a very good catch for you, but you really need to be more honest with her about your past stuff, maybe you guys should talk more often about everything, not just the past relationships but all the kind of stuff you guys've been through" she encourages Spidey to talk to Kitty, giving him a much needed advice.

"Look at you, imparting words of wisdom" Spidey jokes but puts his hand on her shoulder "But you're right, I really needed those words, thanks Cin" he smiles at her, but then he sees Black Cat approaching the group.

"So…the Spider has a new partner, but seems to be the wrong feline" Black Cat comments with a mix of resentment and sarcasm, causing Silk to roll her eyes.

"Here we go again" Silk whispers while she covers her face with her hand in a facepalm.

"Felicia, you really expected for me to call you after MJ and I broke up to rush back into you? 'Cause I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the world doesn't spin around you" Spidey replies, starting to feel frustrated at her attitude "And what happened to your nose?"

"Your dear girlfriend gave it to me…that makes her three people who committed this atrocity" Black Cat replies, remembering the other two people who broke her nose with one punch; Eddie Brock during his early years as Venom, and Otto Octavius when he was inhabiting Spidey's body as the self-proclaimed 'Superior Spider-Man'.

"Knowing you, you probably had it coming" Spidey replies "But in all seriousness Felicia, you know you and I have a…peculiar friendship, but that's it, we're friends and allies and nothing more, my love and my life are now with Kitty, and I can feel that she is the right one, I know these aren't the words you want to hear but you and I know that I just couldn't work" he explains his point of view, and while Black Cat does not show it, inside she disagrees about the part of not working together.

"It's your loss, Spider" Black Cat simply shrugs her shoulders "But you know I won't stop treating you the way I always do" she adds, winking an eye at him.

"And I thought Emma Frost was the only 'Fifty Shades' type of aficionado" Teresa sarcastically quips, causing Silk to stifle a laugh at her joke.

"At least I got better style than you…whoever you are" Black Cat replies with a snarky tone, to which Spidey intervenes.

"She is Agent Teresa, also known as my sister" Spidey reveals, shocking both women at the revelation.

"WHAT!?" both Silk and Black Cat asks simultaneously, and even Nightcrawler looks shocked since he also heard that revelation.

"Engel is Spider-Man's sister?" Nightcrawler whispers, amazed at the revelation, but his reaction is noticed by his fellow European teammate.

"You are smitten by the Agent with the wings?" Colossus asks him "Smooth move, Tovarisch" he jokes, patting his back while Nightcrawler laughs nervously.

"Heh, thanks Mein Freund" Nightcrawler replies, scratching the back of his head "Ahem! Alright everyone, is time to leave these premises, but fair warning, first, I'll be teleporting you one first, then in pairs to avoid further strain, plus, given that it will be various jumps, you may end a bit dizzy once we reach outside" he explains to the gathered group as he starts the plan and decides to teleport Colossus first, being the 'heaviest' of the gathered heroes.

Following that, he proceeds to take Silk and Black Cat away, jumping from floor to floor until he reaches the top, getting out of the site while Peter and Teresa prepare for their turn.

"Gotta give that elf some credit, he sure knows how to make a plan" Spidey comments about Nightcrawler's plan, to which Teresa nods.

"He is so…Amazing, in more ways than one" Teresa replies, sounding smitten at him, which Spidey notices right away.

"Did you just sounded like a fangirl?" Spidey asks, causing his sister to blush, but before she could speak, Nightcrawler Bamfs between them ready to take them out.

"It's your turn, hold on tight Engel, you as well Spider" Nightcrawler comments, holding Teresa from her waist while he holds Spider-Man from his shoulders, but before Spidey could react about how he called Teresa, he Bamfs out of the place.

"Did you! Just gave! My sister! A nickname!?" Spidey exclaims in-between Bamfs but Nightcrawler could not answer since they all reached out, finally reuniting all the heroes out to the main platform.

IN ARCADE'S ROOM

His plan was marching great, almost perfectly; he was submitting his prisoners to a long torture with each of his traps and puzzles, but somehow everything started to fall down. However, Arcade always has a plan under his sleeve, and for that he activated his final weapon, a mechanized six-legged machine that he controls remotely with a combination of Kilgore Weaponry, Baintronics Technology and his own systems.

Arcade activates the control system, receiving an old school arcade-style pad with a joystick and a set of six buttons, one red and the other five in black. He presses the red button and the screen changes to an HUD with stats, ammo counter and cross-hairs with the words 'Weapons Activated' and 'Awaiting Targets' appearing in front of him.

"Let's roll" Arcade licks his lips and accommodates on his chair as he starts to move his joystick, activating his machine, but then he lifts his sights to the other screen to discover how his now former prisoners have managed to escape the games area and are now roaming free on the surface of the main platform "It seems that my guinea pigs are out of the cage…it's a shame that they couldn't go through my games, but I'll make sure this last one be very fun, fun for me that is" he comments to himself as his machine slowly raises out of the water nearby the island and heads to the area where the heroes are gathered.

ON THE MAIN PLATFORM

Both groups have manages to leave the traps and finally get free, but they are all aware that the danger is far from over. While Iceman and Emma kept their group united, Nightcrawler brought separately their respective allies, leaving them all right in the center of the platform.

"Emma" Kitty mentally calls the White Queen to speak with her in private "When this is over, I need you to do me a favor" she asks her, turning to see at Star-Lord, Wisdom and Colossus "I need you to erase the memories of Spidey's identity from their minds" she asks that favor to Emma, hoping to avoid the inconvenience of having more people knowing the identity of Spider-Man; she could trust in Colossus and maybe in Star-Lord, but definitively is a 'No-No' for Wisdom.

"You know is not what I should do…but I concur, let's not complicate things for your boyfriend" Emma replies, agreeing to erase that knowledge from their minds.

"I'll be the first one to say it, can somebody please call the Avengers or the X-Men or whatever supers team to get us out of here?" Black Cat complains, yet while the rest rolls their eyes, Mary Jane steps in to voice her agreement.

"She's right, and I can't believe I just used those words about her, but we should call some of the big guns" MJ intervenes, but Nightcrawler steps in to respond.

"Miss, I can assure you, my crew can handle everything, besides, we will get reinforcements" the German acrobat replies, hoping that now that they are free, Emma can summon some reinforcements via telepathy.

"I don't want to be 'That guy' but is there a way someone can call Abigail Brand so I can return with my teammates?" Star-Lord poses the question, hoping to reunite with the rest of the Guardians.

"We're all aware that all of us want to go home, but we can't lower our guard, this is far from over" Kitty intervenes, keeping her guard up and staying alert for any sign of Arcade's weapons emerging.

"She's right; we have to be prepared to…" Spidey tries to corroborate Kitty's words, but he is interrupted by the buzzing in his head that is his Spider-Sense "Oh no…" he whispers, turning around, trying to search for the source.

"You felt that too, Peter?" Silk asks, since her Spider-Sense also warned her about the imminent danger and as if right on cue, the water nearby starts to shake and another structure starts to rise from the depths of the water.

All of the heroes suddenly stumble and reunite around the middle as they all witness the large six-legged machine, with cannons protruding from both sides, alongside a pair of Gatling guns in front and a large oval shaped screen in front and a string of upward cannons in what could resemble its spine. Once the machine stands in front of them, the hologram of Arcade's face appears in the screen.

"Here we are, together at last…all piled up for my benefit, because in this place, there are no building to swing to, there are no structures to shield you, there's only empty space and me, and believe when I tell you this, Murderworld will be your grave, SO SAYETH ARCADE!" Arcade exclaims while he shoots the first barrage of bullets from the Gatling gun, prompting everyone to jump and dodge them, while some adopt defensive tactics like Emma shifting into her Diamond form or Iceman creating a small barrier of ice.

"Kurt! Where's the rest of the team?" Emma asks Nightcrawler about the rest of the Marauders, reminding him to bring them in.

"Right on it, but first…" Nightcrawler then jumps towards Mary Jane "I apologize in advance, but this is not a place for someone like you" he then Bamfs out of the platform and right back to the ship, startling the rest of the crewmates over there "Bishop! Pyro! Ororo! We need your help, Arcade brought the big gun" he tells the rest of his crew while MJ, still in shock for the sudden change of location, stumbles back to the wall.

"Who's she?" Bishop asks while he holds his energy rifle.

"A civilian who was another captive, she'll be safe here while we handle the rest" Nightcrawler tells the rest "I apologize miss, but this is for your own good" he tells her, to which MJ nervously shakes her head.

"Let's head into battle, then" Storm makes her move taking off to fly towards the platform, already seeing the large machine starting its assault while Bishop and Pyro approach their Captain, who immediately Bamfs back to the battle with them in tow, ready to bring the fight back to the villain and en this once and for all.

We're almost near the end, folks! Arcade's machine is out and ready for the kill. Now, if I had to compare this machine with something more familiar, I'd say that the machine resembles the Metal Gear tanks from the PS1/PS2 installments of the Metal Gear series, but larger in size.

With that said, it's a guarantee that next chapter will be the FINAL BATTLE between our heroes and Arcade. How will this battle end? How big will be the damage? So many questions, but the answers will have to wait until next chapter…Stay tuned, folks!

NEXT CHAPTER: FOURTEEN HEROES AND ONE DESTRUCTIVE MACHINE, WHAT COULD GO WRONG?