Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to another brand new story of my now insanely popular "Alt-616 Universe"! As you have seen, this universe already has built all kinds of stories with assorted characters, from Hawkeye & Mockingbird, to Bucky and Scarlet Witch, going through the Avengers themselves, but the "Crown Jewel" of my universe belongs to the "Power Couple" of Spider-Man and Kitty Pryde, so for the first time, they'll be going solo for a while, starting with this story for Kitty (Peter will have his own one with the Fantastic 4).
And of course, you don't think the whole "Travel through the Multiverse" is done, right? NO SIREE! This time, Kitty's the one going across different universes, a few familiar ones and a few "new" ones of sorts. This one's gonna be a short one compared to the others (Probably around 15 chapters, maybe one less) but I hope you guys enjoy it.
But before we go down to it, here's the usual disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THESE CHARACTERS. THEY ARE THE PROPERTY OF MARVEL COMICS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE CREATORS.
Enjoy the reading!
SHADOWCAT: INTO THE KITTY-VERSE
Chapter 1: Another Typical X-change
It has been a week since the events of mutantkind's grandest event, the 'Hellfire Gala', brought all eyes to the mutant nation and their accomplishments, including the terraforming of the planet formerly known as Mars as the new home of mutants called 'Planet Arakko'. People still talk about the event, some highlight that point, others point out what transpired afterwards but others still talk about the appearance of the 'Order of the Web' spearheaded by Spider-Man and his partner and girlfriend Kitty Pryde.
Before that, everyone kept talking about the events occurred at Times Square where Spidey, Kitty, the Order of the Web, alongside an army of Spider-Totems from across the Multiverse fought and defeated the Last Inheritor. The entire journey earned Kitty a place as 'Honorary Member' of the Order of the Web, and made her take a deeper appreciation of what Peter Parker is as a hero.
And as expected, Kitty's friends at Krakoa still have questions about everything that went down in that battle as well as the Gala, which is why she was invited for a brunch aboard the Marauder with two of her close friends. Kurt Wagner, the mutant known as Nightcrawler, who also happens to be the Captain of the ship and of the Marauders; and Illyana Rasputina, the mutant known as Magik and who also is one of Krakoa's Captains.
"I know why you invited me guys" Kitty comments with a tone that mixes annoyance and playfulness "I mean, aside from the free meal and a 'Gate-Free' trip to Krakoa, you want to ask me about what happened in Times Square, right?" she asks her friends just as Kurt begins to serve the food "It's been a month and a half since that happened, don't expect it to be a sort of Spider-People invasion or something like that, it was something Spidey and my new friends had to deal with and of course it threatened the Multiverse" she comments as Kurt sits between the women.
"I know you spoke before with Emma, Kätschen" Kurt interjects to reply "When those events occurred, the Quiet Council talked about it, Ororo and myself spoke highly about you and Spider-Man's efforts, the rest… you can expect how it went" he adds.
"Although I'm surprised that Emma now talks about Spider-Man as an 'esteemed ally', her words" Magik adds to Kurt's comments, surprising Kitty with that point.
"Emma talked good about Spider-Man?" Kitty asks with a surprised tone of voice "Now that's new" she scoffs.
"I find that odd too, but anyways… the big question is: Where the #$%& did all those Spider-People came from? Those portals sure mean they came from another dimension" Magik comments, cutting to the chase.
"Actually, they came from different universes" Kitty replies with a hint of pride, after being part of such an event "I mean, travelling to other worlds is common practice for the X-Men but I never experienced it like this before" then she looks at Kurt "Remember that train that took us through lots of other dimensions back when we started Excalibur?"
"Oh Ja" Kurt replies "Those were the days" he adds with a small laugh.
"That pales compared with what I went through" Kitty comments, sounding more and more ecstatic "There was an Alternate-1920s where the X-Men are sociopaths, there was one that kinda looked like a video of MTV with Dazzler still in her disco gear and owning a dance club, which I helped save by beating another Watson on the dance floor, there was one where I'm blonde and called Stephanie, there was one where it's a full-on Tokusatsu show, there was one where you and Emma are part of a resistance…"
"Finally a good one" Magik comments, yet she remains interested into Kitty's story.
"There's even one where you and I are dating" Kitty mentions the world she visited where her counterpart dates Magi, causing her mouth to go agape.
"You and me!?" Magik asks in visible shock, to which Kitty nods in response "I mean, I could've expected, I don't know, Rachel, but you and me? That's… quite a shocker".
"I know, I was baffled too, but hey, the Multiverse is full of possibilities" Kitty replies "And speaking of Rachel, whatever happened to her? I thought she was going to join us"
"X-Factor's been quite busy ever since the Gala ended" Kurt replies, causing him to gasp "Mein Gott! I forgot that I have to be at the Council meeting in Krakoa!" he then stands up and looks at Kitty "Kätschen, I leave you command of your old ship, we're almost near Hellfire Bay anyways" he then looks at Magik "I'll let you know what the Council have said" then he steps away "I hope I make I in time to complete my 'Labors of Redemption', wish me luck!" he then Bamfs out of the ship.
"Labors of Redemption?" Magik asks sounding a bit confused.
"Yeah, you remember Teresa, right? My old roommate who also happens to be my boyfriend's sister" Kitty begins her response, to which Magik nods "Well, she's also an Agent of Wakanda, and one of her teammates is Broo, you know?" she then grabs a loaf of bread and takes a bite "Broo set up a camera streaming set so the Agents of Wakanda could watch the Hellfire Gala, and of course everyone saw what happened, including…"
"Kurt being a drunken arse of himself" Magik completes the sentence, remembering the 'spectacle' Nightcrawler pulled after getting drunk "Yes, I can imagine her being upset at the sight of her boyfriend being beyond ridiculous"
"Her friends weren't that sympathetic, especially that Yenta of Bobbi Morse" Kitty replies, showing her disdain towards Morse, having met her briefly before and remembering the time she broke Teresa's nose "So yeah, Kurt's working hard to 'redeem upon the eyes of his dear angel', so there's that" she comments, grabbing her glass of juice to drink a sip "And what's going on? I mean, to have both the Council and even X-Factor that busy, it must've been something huge…" she asks her, to which Magik looks at her friend.
"You didn't know?" Magik asks her back, to which Kitty shakes her head in denial "Bozhe Moi…" she whispers and then takes a deep breath "What I'm about to tell you is what you would call 'Classified Information', because we can't risk to spread it and make the situation worse than it already is…" she talks with a serious tone in her voice and then looks at her eyes "Wanda Maximoff was found dead at the end of the Gala" that fact makes Kitty's eyes to go wider than before, gasping out of the shock
"WHAT!?" Kitty exclaims after that revelation "The Scarlet Witch's Dead!?" she tries to assimilate what she just heard "I mean, I know that Wanda never has been on mutantkind's good graces ever since the Decimation" she references the infamous moment when Wanda's spell brought mutantkind to the brink of extinction "And back in the day, I heard rumors of bonfire stories about her calling her…"
"The Pretender" Magik finishes the sentence, revealing the 'nickname' most mutants have imposed upon her due to her status as a 'false mutant' "She earned that name, and even though I barely was able to go eye to eye with her in spite of working with Doctor Strange at his Academy, it was wrong to inflict that upon her, mostly because it violates the 'Kill No Man' Law" she gives her argument about the situation "But yes, this has put everyone on high notice…"
"And you have a suspect?" Kitty asks her, but then she begins realize something "Wait, does Erik know…?"
"He is the Prime Suspect" Magik replies "Which is why it's very Classified, no one from the Council is allowed to discuss it and between X-Factor, X-Force and the Captains we have a lot on our plate" she adds, finishing her argument.
"That explains why Emma was so grouchy when we met for brunch the day after" Kitty comments, referencing an earlier encounter with Emma Frost in-between those days "Listen, I won't talk about it, but this is something huge" she expresses her concern about it.
"Believe it, we already had a bump trying to deal with the Avengers" Magik replies, also showing concern "In spite of the differences, the last thing the Professor wants is for Krakoa to go another war against them" she comments, stating the obvious reference of the previous conflict between the Avengers and the X-Men.
"Ugh, I totally get it" Kitty replies "We better stop talking about it, Krakoa has many ways to eavesdrop" she comments, to which Magik nods in agreement "Still, I'd like to drop by the Boneyard, maybe we can wait for Ray over there while she gets her job done".
"I agree with all of it" Magik replies, now feeling more relieved "Now let's enjoy our food before you take the helm and lead" she jokingly comments "By the way, is it true that you shredded your Gala dress? Because I heard Emma's little girls mention that Jumbo was crying about it" she comments but Kitty giggles in response.
"It was shredded, but not because I disliked it" Kitty coyly replies "As for the reason… I'll keep that one close to the vest" she adds, not wanting to reveal that the dress was ripped off in a night of passion with her boyfriend, yet Magik knows her friend too well and she notices it, prompting her to smirk in response.
"Oh I think I know what happened… 'Kinky' Pryde" Magik pokes fun at her friend, dropping the nickname she gave her after her visit during Valentine's Day, and it works to lighten the mood as they head to the island, hoping to go through the day without further incidents.
MEANWHILE, IN MOJOVERSE
The Mojoverse, a twisted world that is ruled by a cruel, deranged, ratings-crazy creature called Mojo, someone who has been a frequent enemy of the X-Men for a long time and has constantly fought then, yet always ended up in defeat, mostly due to outside interference. His 'Modus Operandi' always consists on using their conflicts as excuse to broadcast them across his world and twist the story as he sees fit, something that has annoyed the X-Men, and the many heroes that came across, to no end.
When the 'Krakoan Era' began, Mojo attempted to gain benefit from it by appropriating some of their customs and methods, including their genetic material for cloning. He even forced other mutants like Spiral, Adam X and Shatterstar to become his 'Top Streamers', but the Krakoan X-Factor team put a stop to his work to the point that he was no longer allowed to use mutants without Krakoa having knowledge beforehand, employing Sofia Mantega, the former student known as Wind Dancer, as diplomatic envoy to ensure that the Mojoverse is no longer a threat.
To say that Mojo was not amused by the results would be a huge understatement given his long history with the X-Men. He was still reeling from the time he attempted to terraforming the Earth to convert it into an extension of the Mojoverse before the Krakoan Era began, and now he is back to the basics.
"Boring, boring, boring, boring –yawn- Boooooooring" Mojo talks with a deadpan tone as he 'channel-surfs' through his large control room "Boring! Boring! BORING!" he then throws the remote control, shattering one of the screens "Why is it SO HARD to find extremely disgusting and bloody violence on TV nowadays!?" he then turns to look at his control crew "MAJOR DOMO!"
"Yes sir?" Mojo's assistant Major Domo appears right next to him.
"You remember how things used to be good around here, do you? Always pestering those muties for my entertainment until this gigantic crap of Krakoa blew up on our faces" Mojo begins to complain and whine all the while Major Domo remains standing by his side.
"Well sir, if I may be honest, it all went down when X-Factor showed up, sir" Major Domo replies with his nonchalantly tone "Not to mention that our revised version of the Otherworld Conflict was very criticized by…"
"WHAT CRITICISM!?" Mojo explodes spitting on Major Domo's face "That pile of crap brought the highest ratings we had since my attempt of beating the X-Men with their 'Greatest Hits' and taking over Earth!" he exclaims, moving his arms to emphasize his complaint "The only complain we had was from that stupid blonde Russian #$%&+ because she didn't like her romance with Pogg! HA! I'd like to see her reaction when she sees the reviews we had, especially about the intimate scenes, do you have any idea of how hard it is for a gnome to follow directions!?"
"I do, sir, I was there, sir" Major Domo replies as he wipes Mojo's drool off his face.
"And now we can't even touch the freaking muties without earning their wrath, not to mention that everything involving them must go through the mutie Lele Pons they set up here" Mojo keeps complaining, mentioning the status with the Krakoan Envoy.
"May I suggest something, sir?" Major Domo interjects "Perhaps it would be better to check recent events around the superhuman community" he points that out.
"Oh I could, but what else will I find amongst Earth's Lamest Heroes?" Mojo complains as he looks at the screens to check the recent events "Symbiotes? I'm already fed up with all that goo! Mephisto? Please, that bastard will try to force his input at the first chance and I'M NOT ALLOWING IT! Aliens? Please no, although that new hippie look Star-Lord is rocking might help to bring new audiences… I have not… WAIT A MINUTE! WHAT IS THAT!?" he then looks at footage of the Battle of Times Square between the Spiders and the Last Inheritor.
"It was a battle that came across a couple of months ago, sir" Major Domo replies "The dimensional readings were off the charts and the media coverage from Earth was unprecedented considering it involved Spider-Man, someone who still to this day is heavily underappreciated" he explains it to him.
"Spider-Man!? Are you serious!?" Mojo asks in disbelief "I already dealt with that moron long ago when he and Wolverine went through time, Damn that Time Variance Authority and that idiotic brainless gangster thug with that Time Diamond Bat" he mutters, remembering that failed ordeal with Spider-Man and Wolverine sending them through time "But you said dimensional readings, right?"
"Yes sir, from different points across the Multiverse" Major Domo replies.
"OF COURSE!" Mojo joyfully exclaims "WHAT A MAGNIFICENT IDEA! Only a brilliant mind like mine would've come up with something that splendorous" he gives himself the credit as he looks at the portals opening during the footage from the battle "They say I can't deal with the muties, but they never said that the deal counted across other universes" he rubs his hands with his wicked grin on his face "MAJOR DOMO! Have my crew prepare the devices, we're going to milk every drop of this until they BOW DOWN TO ME! AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Mojo exclaims with a wicked laugh while Major Domo simply sighs and nods in agreement.
"Right away, sir" Major Domo replies, leaving the room while Mojo keeps staring at the footage, taking notes for what he promises to be his next masterpiece.
BACK IN KRAKOA
After a calm trip, the Marauder arrived at Hellfire Bay, but Magik decided to give Kitty the 'quick trip' and, after the usual quick stop to Limbo, she used her teleporting disks to go to the Boneyard, X-Factor's headquarters on the island, and as they had heard before, the place was deserted due to the team's busy schedule with the ongoing investigation about Wanda Maximoff's death.
"Well, they really have the confidence that no one will break in because this place is as empty as the head of the Jersey Shore cast member" Kitty quips as she and Magik walk inside the place, but then, the sound of an animal barking echoes across the place, revealing the presence of a small creature that quickly appears in front of the girls "Hey! Amazing Baby!" she greets Rachel Grey's warwolf cub who rushes towards the women.
"It's odd that Rachel would leave him on his own" Magik comments as they walk inside and reach the living room.
"Oh, come on Yana, Amazing Baby's old enough to take care of himself as long as he's fed" Kitty replies as she pets Amazing Baby and she takes a seat in the couch, turning on the TV "I take it that you'll be leaving for the Council meeting"
"Yeah, if I see Rachel I'll tell her to come by" Magik replies but before she could teleport herself to the Quiet Council, the sound of static bursts through the TV, cutting to the visage of Mojo appearing on the screen.
["Well Hellooooooooooooo there, my dear viewers!"]
"Holy #$&%, is that Mojo?" Kitty asks as she looks at the screen.
["For those uninitiated, and believe me, it would be a huge insult if you don't know who I am, my name is MOJO, the name you will remember to appreciate for the rest of your lives"]
"This can't be good" Magik comments as she looks at the screen as well.
["I'm sure you remember a little something I had going on called HEADSHOT TVTM, my grandest design until the people of Krakoa complained, took away MY streamers and cut off my broadcast"]
"YOU HAD A $#%&SHOW OF ME BANGING A #$%&+*%$ ALIEN TROLL IN A CROCK-SUIT!" Magik complains, yelling at the screen
"Wait, WHAT!? Yana, what the #$&% was that!?" Kitty asks; baffled at what she just heard.
"I'll explain it later" Magik quickly replies, gritting her teeth at the sight of Mojo.
["But if there's one thing my loyal followers, and my favorite enemies know, is that I'm ever resilient and ready for the next round! And for that today I bring to you MOJO'S FANTASTICALLY ASTONISHING TRIP ACROSS THE MULTIVERSE!"]
Hearing those words cause Kitty to jump off the couch and stare in shock at the screen after hearing the word 'Multiverse´, meaning that Mojo is ready and willing to endanger everyone for his sick and twisted goals.
"This is not gonna end well" Kitty mutters, sensing that something big is about to happen.
And with that, a brand new adventure begins!
Mojo is ready to bring his brand of "Entertainment" since he can't deal with the mutants at Krakoa, but that doesn't mean he won't be giving them major headaches. Fortunately for them, Kitty Pryde is right there to lend a hand to their old friends, because in spite of her reservations about Krakoa's current status quo, she's still willing to help her old friends. And now, for the next chapter, shell be heading into the Lion's Den at the Mojoverse where she'll find the tools she'll need for this adventure. See you around folks!
NEXT CHAPTER: ENTER THE KITTY-VERSE!