And now, after a long time waiting; welcome back to our Multiversal adventure starring Kitty Pryde, her friends and her counterparts! In our last chapter, Kitty recruited the final member of our crew, none other than Ultimate Kitty and yes, I'm sure you still have some questions about their interactions and hopefully you'll be satisfied with this chapter! But before we jump into it, let's take a look at the reviews!
Poser: I'm sure you'll find a very important conversation over here, and we're now one step closer to the full blown battle
Defender: It helps a lot to know about how things went differently and learn from one another, especially considering as I explained in one of the previous chapters that some timelines share the same path with the main one but diverge in one single change
Fear of Worthy: Oh trust me, the next chapter will be the BIG ONE, consider this the "Calm before the Storm" chapter, and yes, there's a small connection as well with the Spider-Four story since both parties were on Loomworld. As for Spidey and Yana, things will change for Kitty's sake, which will come eventually, just not now. It's a good thing that Peter is not the resentful guy (except to Tony, of course)
sonicflash78: Then this chapter won't let you down! (Hopefully)
Timeless Writer: I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes, they finally brought in their final member; they're just one step closer to the big fight!
Epiphany616: Even though their stay was a short one, I made sure that it'll be worth it, as you can see with their gathering. I'm really glad you're enjoying them in spite of my tardiness, and rest assured, we're getting closer to the end on both sides, so I hope to see you on the finish line!
Sergio Kirelli: Get ready for the next one, because our girls are determined to bring him down! Also, there some of the stuff you mentioned may happen and some may not (like Johnny being fixed in the current storyline, that'll come eventually of course).
Unknown Speaker: You can be sure there's a bit of character development for a few of our girls, but most importantly, the highly anticipated "Pep Talk" that I wanted to work is finally here, hope you enjoy it
cornholio4: You will see that hope is still alive for the Ultimate Universe's couple
young justice 17: Close enough, you'll find that out in this chapter
Wilcard Sparda: There was a reason behind bringing her back as the Shroud actually. My original idea was that Kitty was completely off the radar, she quit from being a superhero altogether and just laid low, since Miles and his friends moved to 616 (and as I mentioned in the last chapter, they're considered gone), she just opted to stay away, but then I thought that Kitty shouldn't just give up that easily (and she tried before, back when she was living with Jessica Drew in the All-New Ultimates) so I decided that while she did relocate to Chicago, she would still act as the Shroud but still away from the public eye (at least until now)
Specter11Dragon: Actually, none of them have or will meet Spider-Zero, you'll see it as the chapter goes
CRUDEN: Glad you liked it!
Guest: Good Lord, poor Ham! Shadow-Pryde would be the one who jumps and turns him into bacon slices
Ka1zen: If you thought that was a good interaction, then wait until you read this one, my friend. As for Yana figuring out Peter's identity, she's getting closer to find out, and things will be interesting in another point, but as I mentioned before, they'll eventually get along for Kitty's sake. And I agree with you in how things are different in the "Mutant Nation" department. Both Marauders runs had their moments, but I concur that Duggan's run was mostly focused on Emma (he does have a thing for her) instead of Kitty (given her poor character development). Orlando's run was an improvement, but the focus went differently from the premise with the focus going to the whole "First Mutants" thing.
The God of Rom-Coms: First of all, thank you for following my stories, I'm glad you enjoyed them! As for my status, I know I've been giving lots of excuses for my tardiness and how complicated things have been to update in the pace I used to be. To make a long story short: Adult Life has been giving me the proverbial "Kick in the Nuts" lately. I am trying my best to organize and keep delivering, but I'm not the kind of guy who abandons stories. I hope that someday I'll go back to a much better pace, though.
After our brief commercial break, let's get right on it!
Enjoy the reading!
SHADOWCAT: INTO THE KITTY-VERSE
Chapter 12: Prydes Unite
"Welcome to Earth-001, a.k.a. Loomworld!"
With those words, Kitty Pryde welcomed her counterparts and her friends to the only Earth neither of them has ever explored. The girls look around in awe as they walk around the wide space around them, looking at different buildings designed differently, as if they were pieces of different worlds altogether, and at the end of the line lays a hill that goes upwards, leading to a tall temple-like structure.
"What's that over there?" Soulsword Kitty asks with curiosity.
"That over there is the Temple of the Web" Kitty replies with a hint of pride in her voice "Is in that place where the Web of Life and Destiny is located, which acts as a link to the Multiverse" she explains, remembering the adventure she had with her boyfriend "That place also acts as the main headquarters of the Multiversal Spider-Army, in fact, the Master Weaver herself is the one who gave me this" she then shows her dimensional watch "This is what allows me, as well as the other spiders, to traverse through the Multiverse, but enough about that, the reason I chose to bring you all here is because we can use this place to take a much needed rest before we raid the Mojoverse, not to mention that we need to build a plan"
All the girls nod and mumble with each other in agreement, deciding to follow Kitty as she begins to lead them to a checkpoint from the place, yet Magik and Sofia stay behind, looking at the temple at the top of the hill.
"You want to go up there, don't you?" Sofia asks Magik, who nods in response.
"I'm not leaving this place without checking that thing" Magik replies, pointing at the temple "Besides, this has something to do with Spider-Man, and I have to find out what's the big deal" she adds, to which Sofia sighs in response.
"We better come back here before Kitty leaves" Sofia mutters as she follows Magik, all the while Kitty walks inside a room resembling a lounge, full with a round table and couches surrounding the furniture. Kitty leads the crew as they all take a seat in order to rest, taking a much needed break from the whole ordeal.
"Alright ladies, first of all… I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, we're marching into a dangerous territory, some of you already have past experiences dealing with this scumbag called Mojo" Kitty begins to lay out the main plan "Now, for those who don't know what he can do: Mojo is a creature from the Mojoverse, he uses all kinds of technology and reality warping to scheme dangerous situations in order to quote/unquote 'satisfy' his viewers"
"In other words, TV Mogul meets Televangelist meets Alien Scumbag times a thousand" Shadow-Kitty comments.
"So what's the attack plan?" Director Kitty poses the question.
"Keep in mind that Mojo is unpredictable, he can come up with a last minute thing under his sleeve to stall us, but fortunately we can take our time to reach our objective… the main broadcasting device" she then uses her Webware device to project a hologram of the main system "Once we shut down that thing, we give Mojo a strike so hard, his ratings will plummet like the Coyote after chasing the Road Runner"
"Who?" Kung-Fu Kitty asks visibly confused.
"It's a reference to an old cartoon" Veteran Kitty replies "I guess your world doesn't have that"
"Back to the game plan" Nomad interjects "If we're here to destroy that thing, don't we need a huge weapon to accomplish it?"
"Yes, we do" Kitty replies "And fortunately, we have one" right then she looks at Star-Lord "Hoping that you know what I'm talking about" she adds, prompting Star-Lord to look at her Prime counterpart quizzically until she slowly begins to realize what she is talking about.
"if you're thinking about what I'm thinking, then yes, it's a huge advantage, but I'm afraid I no longer have that weapon at hand" Star-Lord replies, looking back at the rest of the group "She was talking about the Black Vortex, a cosmic device that upgrades your powers to almost unlimited levels, and I'm talking about cosmic levels" she explains the power she –and her counterpart- once wielded "But I used up that power a few days after having it"
"Is alright, the whole point of having this conversation is about making a plan and of course, having some backups" Kitty explains "But it matters that we got the point that we have a target and we'll take it down, if we have to improvise, we'll do it, we have the power to do so"
"Oddly enough, some of us do have different powers and skills, now that I think about it" the Veteran Kitty steps in "For instance, you, our illustrious leader, are the Prime reference, and Miss S.H.I.E.L.D. Director and myself share those attributes and skills" she explains as she looks at her Director counterpart "Our younger version is connected through the Soulsword" she looks at Soulsword Kitty "We have at least three different close-range combatants" she notices Kung-Fu Kitty, Nomad Kitty and Pirate Kitty, all having different fighting skills "We have stealth" she looks at her Ultimate counterpart "We have offense" she then looks at Shadow-Kitty "And we have Big Guns" she looks at Star-Lord "So I think we have a solid plan"
"Yes, we do" Kitty replies with a wide smile on her face "We have plenty of skills, and we'll make use of every single one of them on the road to victory" she speaks with determination on her voice "We're all gonna bring everything we have on the table" she looks at each of her counterparts as she speaks "Which leads me to the other point I wanted to say a huge thank you to all of you"
"Is this the part where the boss is getting all mushy?" Pirate Kitty quips "because if it is, I need a drink"
"In all seriousness" Kitty retakes her speech "Any of you could've easily said no, but instead, you agreed to join me on this crusade, it's good to know that across the Multiverse, there are other versions of me still willing to fight the good fight"
"I may not be your typical superhero, but I ain't backing down from a fight" Shadow-Kitty comments as she crosses her arms and shows a smirk on her face.
"I joined this journey alongside the fiercest and bravest warriors, and every moment I spend here, I learn a lot from each of you, and every knowledge is a treasure where I come from" Kung-Fu Kitty, bowing down as a sign of respect.
"I'll say that I never thought I'd be part of something this crazy again, but I know it's totally worth it" the Veteran Kitty comments with a smile on her face.
"I agree with her" Director Kitty steps in, adding to her counterpart's words "Saving the World has been a synonym of Kitty Pryde, and we shouldn't be the exception"
"Oh golly! Honestly, I'm still nervous about being here" Soulsword Kitty comments, showing the nervousness she already mentioned "But… at the same time, I've never felt more sure that this is where I'm meant to be, working the ladder to become the hero I know I can be"
"I'm not gonna refuse a chance for a whole new adventure" Pirate Kitty comments, yet she receives skeptical looks from the rest of the group "I know, I know, I asked for something in exchange before I joined but come on, can't a girl change her mind along the way?"
"This isn't my first multiversal adventure" Nomad comments "I know how high the stakes are, more than enough reasons to join your crew"
"I practically saw everything the universe has to offer, and yet I'm marveled at what I'm experiencing here" Star-Lord comments with a smile on her face "I'm sure this is something to talk about when I'm back with the Guardians"
"As for me, well…" Ultimate Kitty steps forward "I've been doing this stuff all my life, and in spite of recent events, I'm not turning my back to something like this…" she speaks with seriousness on her voice.
"You guys… Thank you" Kitty replies, feeling a little bit emotional "This is definitively the craziest adventure I've had so far, I can't wait to tell Peter about this" the mention of that name sparks the attention of the group of girls.
"Oooooooh, so you're dating a Peter, huh?" Nomad raises an eyebrow as she comments, teasing her Prime counterpart.
"I guess it's a common trait that most of us share, that all of us have dated or are still dating a Peter" the Veteran Kitty comments.
"Is it Rasputin?" Director Kitty asks her but Kitty denies with her head.
"No, it's not a Rasputin, I think I mentioned it before but for those unaware, I almost married my Earth's Piotr Rasputin, but I backed down at the last minute" she explains her circumstances "I know it's an awful thing but… in the end, it was for the best"
"At least you dodged that bullet" Shadow-Kitty quips at her, yet some of the counterparts glare at her.
"Come on, you say that because you had a bad marriage" Pirate Kitty responds to her comment "Now, I'm perfectly fine with my life as a bachelorette, but surely some of us do enjoy the married life, in fact, I think our space-lady over here is indeed married" she then looks at Star-Lord, remembering that she did mention that she got married to her Earth's Peter Quill
"Now that you mention it…" Nomad comments and then looks at Kitty "If it's not Rasputin, then is it Quill the one you're dating?"
"Nope, things between him and me never worked out" Kitty replies, noticing that the mention of Quill's name awakens something in her Star-Lord counterpart "I take it that you miss him"
"I do…" Star-Lord sighs in response, feeling a bit nostalgic about it.
"Don't worry, once we're done with this, we'll be back to our respective universes and you'll be with your Quill" Soulsword Kitty comments, yet the response does not improve Star-Lord's mood.
"We… hope we're not intruding but did something happen between you and your husband?" Kitty asks her with concern in her voice, to which Star-Lord simply closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.
"Might as well tell the full story" Star-Lord murmurs mostly to herself and then she opens her eyes again "I did mention that I married my Earth's Peter Quill, but I guess that I should've told you the entire thing about us" she then clears her throat "We were a different couple, we were jumping from adventure to adventure, it was because of him that I overcame my fear of space, and after one crazy thing featuring the aforementioned Black Vortex, Pete proposed to me" she smiles as she remembers that moment "I'm not gonna lie to you, I was nervous, especially after I was told that I would become the Empress of Spartax by marriage"
"Wait, you also have a Royal Title?" Pirate Kitty asks in awe, yet the rest glare at her for interrupting.
"One would say" Star-Lord replies "So yes, the thing is that thanks to him and his friends, I pushed away that nervousness and agreed to get married" she then remembers the moment, a beautiful celebration in the main square of Spartax, with the surrounding structures adorned with white and pink decorations and large banners in celebration of the coming nuptials, including portraits of both Quill and his soon-to-be wife "It was a beautiful ceremony, since my friends and family couldn't make it, we worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. to have some holographic connections with them" she laughs a bit at the memory of that "it was… so wonderful" she remembers walking down the aisle with Quill in front and being married by Spartax Law "It was a dream come true… and we were happy" she smiles with nostalgia at the memories "You would say that we had our 'Happily Ever After', and we did… for all the five minutes it lasted" right then, her tone slowly started to become a more somber one, and the girls quickly noticed the change in the mood.
"What happened?" Kung-Fu Kitty poses the question.
"You know what they say about superhero weddings? That there's always a party crasher?" Star-Lord replies with a question "We had one" she comments as the memories of the one who attacked her wedding come to mind "her name was Hala"
"Hala the Accuser?" Kitty stands up, remembering the name of that one" She attacked you too?" then she looks at the rest of the group "Hala was a Kree soldier who blamed the people of Spartax for the destruction of the Hala planet" she explains the story "The one who did it was J'Son, Quill's father, but since he lost the throne, she blamed the one occupying it" she begins to feel tense as the memories flow from that fight with the Guardians "It took us a long time to beat her, not even Gamora was able too, and she almost spent her Black Vortex boost fighting her"
"How were you able to beat her?" Ultimate Kitty asks Star-Lord, whose face and tone take a deeply somber tone.
"We fought" Star-Lord replies "We fought long, we fought hard, the Spartx troops brought everything they had, even other galactic allies tried, but it was in vain" she explains, remembering the brutal fight, with explosions everywhere, even the decorations being set on fire "I tried to phase her down to the ground… it didn't work" she the looks up to the ceiling "When we thought this was it… Rocket finally stepped up and showed why he's the best engineer in the galaxy" she remembers Rocket crafting a large weapon from the remains of other ones, building a canon large enough to fire a blast that would both weaken and immobilize Hala.
"So you were able to beat her…" Kitty intervenes "But then… what happened to Quill?"
"Well…" Star-Lord replies "Just when we thought we won, we lowered our guard…" she begins to explain the last moment "Hala still had enough strength to fire one final blast, which was aimed at me" she reveals the moment when Hala struck one of the guards and took his energy gun, aiming it straight at a distraught Kitty Quill, a moment that her husband immediately noticed "But the shot didn't made it… because someone intercepted it" right then, all the girls look appalled and in awe as all of them practically picture the moment and reach the same conclusion: Quill jumped at the line of fire and took the hit that was meant for his wife.
"He took the shot…" Nomad murmurs, barely containing a tear that comes out of her eye.
"I'll never forget her words" Star-Lord replies as she can vividly hear those words once again "I may not have destroyed the world of the ones who murdered my home, but at least I made sure to send the culprit down to Hell" Hala's words echo through her mind.
"What happened to her? To Hala?" Shadow-Pryde poses the important question about the perpetrator.
"Gamora used her very last of her Black Vortex energies and vaporized her head" Star-Lord replies, no longer holding back her tears "But the damage was done… My husband was on my arms, I tried to call for help… but he was saving his breath for his last words…"
"Hey babe… hey… is alright… being in your arms… saving your life… is the best kinda way to go… I love you Kitty… I love…" the last words spoken by Peter Quill as he died in his wife's arms ring through her head, prompting the rest of the girls to approach Star-Lord and give her a much needed comfort.
"So that's why you kept the mantle of Star-Lord" Kitty comments, now seeing why she not only kept Quill's name, but also kept the Star-Lord mantle, a very different reason than the one she had back in her home "Hey… even though things didn't worked out with my Peter Quill, I still value the good times we had, and I know he does too, that's why I'll treasure the friendship he and the other Guardians gave me, and I'm sure that it's what your Quill would've wanted too, to hold on the good memories and carry on" she comments, giving her a much needed motivation.
"I know…" she whispers, slowly wiping away the tears from her eyes "And I always will" she adds, starting to show a small smile "Thanks for the words"
"No problem" Kitty smiles back at her, giving her a much needed hug.
"Alright, now that we settled this story" Pirate Kitty once again intervenes "There's still the mystery of the Boss' boyfriend named Peter" she comments "So, it's not a Rasputin and it's not a Quill, is there another Peter in your love life?"
"Actually, there is…" the Veteran Kitty takes the response.
"But let's hope it's not that one" Director Kitty adds to her counterpart's words "So please, please don't say it's Wisdom" she comments, prompting Kitty to frown her face.
"EW! NO!" Kitty exclaims in disgust "There's no way in Hell I'd ever go back with Pete Wisdom!" she then looks at her older counterparts "You better than anyone should know why, you already lived it" she then looks at the rest of the group "So if any of you ever bump into a guy named Wisdom, avoid any romantic entanglements with him"
"Solid advice, Boss" Nomad shows a thumbs up gesture at her counterpart.
"So… aside from the fixation with the name Peter, is there anything else we have in common?" Star-Lord, now feeling calmer, poses the question, sparking the curiosity of the rest of the group.
"We share the same friends, at least?" Kung-Fu Kitty replies awkwardly.
"I don't know, I mean, the boss is friends with her Earth's Emma Frost" the Veteran Kitty replies, to which Soulsword Kitty gasps at the revelation.
"You're friends with that mean old crazy woman!?" Soulsword Kitty exclaims in surprise.
"Now, now, come on" Kitty tries to defuse the situation "I know that in some worlds Emma is still as evil as I met her" she comments as she looks at her group "But in my world she's not as bad as everyone thought she is" the she looks at Pirate Kitty "I mean, in her world she's a Constable, she's a figure of authority"
"Albeit not a good one" Pirate Kitty interjects "but of course, she's not that bad" she shrugs her shoulders "She does have a sort of debt with me" she then begins to walk around the place "Long before she became a Constable, she was just Royalty, and as it happens with every Royalty girls, they're bound to be kidnapped"
"From that bearded guy with the eye patch!" Kung-Fu Kitty replies.
"That one" Pirate Kitty points at her "Blackbeard Shaw was a nasty piece, and he was a rival, one of the many I've had in my life as a pirate" she then looks at her counterparts "So of course, who was the one who ended up rescuing Lady Emmeline Frost?" she then points at herself to reply.
"Let me guess, you also took out his eye" Shadow-Pryde quips, remembering that he carried an eye patch back then.
"Yup, gouged it with this hand right here" Pirate Kitty replies, gesturing with her hand as she imitated the motion of plucking the eye out of his head "So because of that, Frost and I have reached a sort of deal" she stops and turns to face the group "She gives me information about my rivals and I get rid of them, as well as any other scourge infesting the seas whilst she keeps a blind eye of the things I do"
"Sounds like a solid deal" Director Kitty replies "But then, why does she insists in capturing and incarcerating you?" she throws that question at her.
"Because that's the way she is" Pirate Kitty simply shrugs her shoulders as she replies.
"Alright, so we have connections and we have entanglements, is there yet another thing that makes us connected?" Nomad throws another question for the group.
"How about the horrible fashion sense?" Shadow-Pryde quips as she looks at the group "I mean, we have tactical gears" she points at Director Pryde "We have jumpsuits" points at the Veteran Kitty "Shiny Armors" points at Soulsword Kitty "Weird Monks" points at Kung-Fu Kitty "Funky Astronauts" points at Star-Lord "Tacky Pirate Suits" points at Pirate Kitty "And spandex" points at Nomad.
"Says the girl wearing a leather get-up?" Nomad quips back at her.
"We don't look that bad… right?" Kung-Fu Kitty asks the rest of the group, with some muffling their laughs.
"Well, at least some of us had it worse" Kitty replies, looking at Star-Lord and her older counterparts "I'm sure the three of you remember the terrible, horrible, criminal multicolored attire I had when I was Sprite, right?" she asks, remembering her neon colored suit, considered by herself and her friends as the worst example of a superhero costume.
"Good Lord, I worked so hard to erase that from my mind" the Veteran Kitty facepalms at the thought of that image.
"It's not just the neon, it's the roller skates" Director Kitty adds, laughing at the memory.
"Good thing that suit burned down to the depths of fashion Hell where it belongs" Star-Lord jokes with the group.
"In other words, we all suck at wardrobe choices" Kitty quips, prompting all the girls to laugh at the matter "Actually, now that I think about it, there is one thing I haven't done, and I'll never, ever do" she points up "I will never, and I mean never, never ever wear a miniskirt as a hero suit" that comment prompts all the girls to murmur in agreement, yet one of them looks a little bit nervous about it.
"Yeeeaaaah, who could do such a thiiiing?" Ultimate Kitty comments, feeling slightly nervous, yet her counterparts easily detect that part and look at her.
"You've done it, haven't you?" Shadow-Pryde pokes fun at her with that question, prompting Ultimate Kitty to sigh in embarrassment.
"I was a teenager, OK? I was easily impressed about everything! So in my defense, that was what the X-Men offered me as I joined their ranks" Ultimate Kitty tries to defend herself from the quips "Besides, what's wrong with the miniskirt? In a way is more flexible than spandex"
"Because it's a skirt!" Kitty replies "One jump, one kick, one spread, one false move and you let the pervs sneak a peek"
"Didn't you wear anything underneath?" Director Kitty asks her "Shorts? Leggings?"
"Weeeelllll…" Ultimate Kitty once again shrugs her shoulders out of embarrassment, prompting all the girls to groan in frustration "At least the boyfriend I had at the time didn't complain!"
"Of course he wouldn't, he was your boyfriend!" Soulsword Kitty quips at her.
"You know what? I don't need this" Ultimate Kitty scoffs and turns around to leave, much to her annoyance, while the rest of the group just look puzzled at what happened, thinking it was just some friendly roasting, yet Kitty is the one who stands up.
"I'll follow her; you guys just stay here" Kitty speaks as she begins to follow her Ultimate counterpart, walking down an uninhabited street and reach an open plaza "Hey! Come on, it was just teasing!"
"Yeah, right" Ultimate Kitty scoffs again as she walks away, prompting her Prime counterpart to phase through the ground and displace through it faster so she could intercept her "GAH!"
"Listen, you shouldn't feel bad about it, but if you did, I apologize on behalf of the group" Kitty explains, trying to apologize, yet Ultimate Kitty remains upset, but she slowly begins to calm down "We didn't mean to upset you in any way; Hell, if it's any consolation, I once snuck into a mission in my ballet outfit"
"Never mind" Ultimate Kitty sighs, walking towards her "But… before we go back, now that we're alone, there's something I need to ask you" she speaks with a different tone, one that makes Kitty feel curious about the incoming query.
"Yeah?" Kitty asks her, raising an eyebrow.
"You said you're dating a Peter…" Ultimate Kitty begins to speak calmly "But after discarding all those surnames, another one popped into my mind and…" she begins to feel a bit more nervous, sighing before talking again "I just want to know, that Peter you're dating, is it… Peter Parker?"
Hearing that name coming out of her mouth surprised her a bit, but not at the simple fact, but because this actually confirms the suspicions she had since the previous occasion when she helped her Peter across the Multiverse and discovered the counterpart that dated hers, so with that, she nods her head in response.
"Yeah, he's the one I'm dating" Kitty replies, to which Ultimate Kitty just looks at her, her eyes starting to water from the tears, releasing a small sob after hearing that "Wait, are you OK?"
"Y-Y-Yeah" Ultimate Kitty replies, trying to contain the tears "it's just that…"
"You dated him in your universe too, didn't you?" Kitty asks her, to which Ultimate Kitty nods in response "And I assume that things ended and both of you haven't explored anything remotely to a friendship ever since then"
"It's… complicated" Ultimate Kitty replies, quickly wiping her tears, yet Kitty remains calm, showing empathy to her counterpart "It's just that… the Peter from my Earth and I, I thought what we had was special"
"What do you mean? Why it didn't work?" Kitty asks her out of curiosity "It's OK if you don't want to talk about it" she adds, but Ultimate Kitty shakes her head.
"No, don't worry, it's OK" Ultimate Kitty replies "When I met Peter, I had this enormous crush on him because he was… the cutest guy I ever met, and when we had our first date, I knew that I was in for a wonderful time with him" she speaks with a nostalgic tone, remembering the time she spent with him "But I'd eventually discover that I always had a shadow casting over me, because no matter how much time we spend together, she was always there"
"Let me guess… Mary Jane Watson" Kitty comments, sighing at the thought of seeing her counterpart dealing with that situation.
"It was painful to see that he never got over her" Ultimate Kitty replies, remembering, yet not mentioning, the time when she caught him kissing MJ, the moment she knew their relationship was over "Things ended like that, we even tried to keep it 'professional', you know"
"So things went sour?" Kitty asks her as she sits on the curb alongside her.
"In a way…" Ultimate Kitty replies "It was hard, especially because I registered into Midtown High, his high school, so we became classmates, and yeah, it was hard… but somehow we made it through" she then sighs slowly "But then… Then, he died"
"He died? How?" Kitty poses another question, her curiosity growing more and more.
"A final fight against that crazy psycho of Norman Osborn" Ultimate Kitty replies, explaining the death of her Earth's Peter Parker "When that happened… a part of me broke inside, when we finally started to become friends again, everything ended just like that" she quickly wipes away another set of tears that flowed down her cheeks "So I tried to move on, I mean, since we broke up I tried to move on, dating other people, I dated one of my classmates, I dated Logan's son" she makes the references to her exes, Kong McFarlane and Jimmy Hudson "I was even this close to consider dating Peter's clone, and FYI, his clone is a girl"
"Whoa…" Kitty mutters upon that revelation "I mean, dating his clone? That's a whole different kind of weird"
"Even weirder that dating a girl?" Ultimate Kitty asks her.
"Oy, girl" Kitty laughs "Our group has at least 3, including myself, who are also into girls" she comments to assuage her "But then, if he died… how did he…?"
"Came back?" Ultimate Kitty finishes the question "From what I gathered from news and other Intel, apparently it was a side effect of the OZ Serum that the spider that bit him carried on, because both him and Osborn are alive again" she explains from what she knew about it "Both of them came back, it was all over the news, so it wasn't a secret that he was back in action, even more so now that his identity is public" she adds, referencing how the world knew Peter was Spider-Man after he died, but now that he is alive again, his identity is public.
"So… you haven't had any kind of contact with him?" Kitty asks her, hoping to help her depending on her answer, to which Ultimate Kitty sighs in response.
"No…" Ultimate Kitty replies with a sad tone "Why would I? Why should I? He made his life, I'm sure he's back with Mary Jane Watson, he's doing the superhero thing, he was with the Ultimates, although last I heard, he left them or something" she talks about what she knows about him "But why should I even bother?"
"Why? You think he wouldn't care about you?" Kitty replies with a hint of surprise "You were part of his life because it's obvious that you do care, if you weren't you wouldn't even asked me about him before" she adds, looking at her face "I know myself, if I'm into someone, I never stop caring, so I know that you do as well… and from what I can tell, you still love him, don't you?" she asks her.
"I never stopped loving him" Ultimate Kitty replies with honesty "Even when I told him that 'dating him was a mistake', I never stopped loving him, it hurt me to say that to him and it got even worse when he died because I felt so much remorse…" she sobs as she replies "I wanted to avoid dealing with the heartbreak again, but after hearing this… I'm both happy and mad at the same time" she keeps her argument going "I'm happy because there's at least another universe where we're still together but then I'm mad because… because it's not happening to me"
"I… I can understand that" Kitty replied, trying to sympathize with her counterpart.
"I even tried to stay away from the superhero stuff for a long time, Hell, even Nick Fury has been trying to contact me recently" Ultimate Kitty explains her reasoning behind her recent actions "I just wanted to stay away from that world as well"
"And yet, you're doing the vigilante thing" Kitty points out that detail from when they met.
"If you're dating Peter Parker, then you know how that mantra of his influences you" Ultimate Kitty replies, making an obvious reference to the eternal mantra of Power and Responsibility that embodies what being Spider-Man is all about.
"Believe me, I know it too well" Kitty replies, laughing a bit "So you still love him, but you haven't made contact with him, what's topping you from doing that? The fear that you won't be back with him?" she makes the rhetorical question "Listen to me, a few months back I was helping my Peter in a multiversal quest to fight some crazy energy vampire, and along the way, one of the spiders we brought in to help, was one from your Earth" she points that out, sparking Ultimate Kitty's curiosity "And from what I heard, he wants to make amends with you"
"Really? I-I-I mean, did you really hear that?" Ultimate Kitty asks her, feeling a glint of hope in those words, to which Kitty nods in response.
"I did" Kitty replies "And judging from what we just talked, I think you both want the same" she adds.
"But… how do I know we really want the same thing?" Ultimate Kitty poses a very important question, prompting Kitty to hug her counterpart's shoulders.
"I get the uncertainty, not knowing if those feelings are all the same" Kitty tries to comfort her "But you shouldn't push him away just like that, of course, I'm not saying that you should also jump into his arms at the first chance" she points that detail to her "Just… the first thing you should do is to finally reconnect with him, but take things slowly, don't jump into the relationship yet, make it worth it and start being his friend, if he really cares, he'll respect and follow that path" she explains, with Ultimate Kitty paying attention to each detail "Stay with him in every step, so if the door opens and there's a chance, then you jump into it and you never, ever let him go, you heard me? Because if your Peter is like mine, then you're having the greatest man in your entire life, and that's worth everything" she smiles at her, a reaction that she slowly reciprocates.
"That last part… I already knew it" Ultimate Kitty replies, still smiling "But yeah, you're right… I've been holding on to this fear for too long, I won't have him out of my life ever again" she then give her counterpart a hug, grateful for the moment "Thanks for this, I really needed it"
"You're welcome" Kitty replies after the hug "And again, I apologize for the roast from early"
"Is alright" Ultimate Kitty replies as she stands up "In retrospect I should've seen it coming, at least it wasn't something skimpy" she quips at her "And if it helps, I stopped wearing the skirt after I left the X-Men"
"Good call" Kitty jokes as she stands up as well.
"And as for the plan, this is the time I wish I brought with me that last canister of Pym Particles" Ultimate Kitty comments, prompting Kitty to turn and face her.
"Wait, what? How'd you got one of those?" Kitty asks her, sounding a bit surprised.
"It was when this huge creature called Galactus showed up on my world" Ultimate Kitty explains "So to beat him, it was a huge gamble, so I grew in size and gave him a well-deserved punch in the face" she comments, leaving Kitty with her mouth agape.
"But, but wait, how's that even possible? I mean, you phased through him?" Kitty asks her, now even more curious about how did that fight went down.
"I did at first, but then I hardened my body to deliver the punch" Ultimate Kitty explains, prompting Kitty to stop and put her hands on her counterpart's shoulders.
"Waitaminute!" Kitty faces her counterpart "Do you…? You have Hyper-Density too!?"
"Yeah…" Ultimate Kitty replies "I mean, don't we all have the same powers?"
"Not like this" Kitty responds to her question "I mean, I'm still working on how this Hyper-Density thing works on me, I discovered it almost a year ago and it's still a work in progress for me, not to mention that you and I are probably the only ones who got this boost up, maybe the other ones have it but haven't realized it yet"
"I get it… then, what do you suggest?" Ultimate Kitty asks her.
"Let's keep it as a wild card" Kitty suggests "After all, like I said, there's only two of us who has it and not even our enemies are aware of it" she smiles at her counterpart, having found their moment of peace and even a pep talk for Ultimate Kitty, giving her hope of the one thing she has yearned for long.
MEANWHILE, AT ANOTHER POINT
"Let's hope we're not in trouble after staying away for so long" Sofia comments to her friend as they return to the point they arrived after having visited the Temple of the Web.
"What's the worst that could happen? Kayta being upset at us for poking our heads elsewhere?" Magik poses the question at her "Besides, we didn't do anything wrong, we just went up that temple and found out that Lockheed is here somehow" she explains as they keep walking, finally reaching the place where all the other Kitty Prydes are gathered "Hey, did we miss anything?"
"Where's Kitty?" Sofia poses the question
"We don't know" Shadow-Pryde replies shrugging her shoulders "Our boss went after our last recruit; she got upset because we were roasting her about her fashion sense"
"Relax! We're here!" Kitty's voice is heard across the room, announcing her arrival alongside her Ultimate counterpart "it's all good guys" she then notices that Magik and Sofia have arrived "Guys? Where you've been?"
"Oh, around" Magik shrugs her shoulders.
"OK then, we ready to roll?" Kitty asks her group, prompting them to gather close to her.
"Thought you'd never ask" the Veteran Kitty replies.
"Then hold on to your horses and get ready" Kitty comments as she begins to set her Dimensional Watch "Because our next stop is…" just before she could activate it, a massive light glows in the distance, prompting the group to run outside to take a look "WHOA!" she exclaims as she sees the Temple of the Web glowing, albeit for a few seconds as it begins to fade away.
"What was that?" Soulsword Kitty asks as she points at where the burst of light came from.
"It came from the Temple of the Web" Kitty replies "I wonder if this has anything to do with Peter…" she ponders in her mind.
"Well, it's not our thing" Magik intervenes "Sofia and I were there, we met the little girl who acts as guardian and told us that we weren't allowed unless we were with a totem or something" she explains.
"True, only Spider-Totems and companions are allowed in there, I was fortunate enough for being Spidey's partner that time" Kitty replies, recalling that moment while Sofia looks at Magik.
"Aren't you gonna tell her about meeting Lockheed there?" Sofia whispers at Magik, prompting her to glare at her.
"If I do, she'll deviate from the mission, an we're close to the end, I'll tell her about it when we return home" Magik replies whispering and then looks at Kitty "Maybe it has something to do with the Web of Life or something that you mentioned"
"Yeah… maybe, either way I'm sure Spidey can handle it and he'll let me know if anything happens" Kitty replies "I really hope Peter can handle it, wish I could help him but I'm close to wrap up this Mojo thing, hopefully I can make it back and help out if I can" she ponders and then looks back at her crew "Now, as I was saying… get ready girls, because our next stop is the Mojoverse!"
Right then, she activates her device, opening the portal that will lead them to the Mojoverse and into their final confrontation with Mojo, but unbeknownst to them, the master of said world is also preparing something for them, waiting on the other side.
REJOICE FOLKS! FINALLY I MADE IT AGAIN!
How many times have I apologized for my long (and longer) delays? I know that I set a reputation for being so tardy when I used to be incredibly fast, and I'm still trying to organize myself, but I will never, EVER abandon my stories. If there's one thing I'm stubborn is that I'll find a way to complete my stories so we can all enjoy this Marvelous universe I was able to build and that your motivation and your support helped to maintain.
First of all, on the comics notes, at this point there's the announcement that with this year's Hellfire Gala, the Krakoan Era will march towards its end. It was a different kind of storyline, it had lots of downs and few ups, it was different, but it did bring interesting enemies and stories for some (at the expense of hurting the character development of others) and publication-wise, brought back the mutants into prominence after being relegated for years because of the whole thing with the movie rights. The big question, of course, is "Where do they go from here"? What'll happen once the Krakoan Era ends? Whill they revert to the Academy? Will they be pariahs? Only time will tell, yet the San Diego Comic-Con brought a few little announcements as well.
Now, as for our story, our girls are ready for the final battle! After the brief stop on Loomworld, Kitty and company are ready to bring the fight back to Mojo, but of course, they're gonna have their hands full once Mojo reveals his own crew and what they'll bring to the table. Also, I wanted to use this chapter to bring the much needed Heart-to-Heart between Kitty and her Ultimate counterpart, just like the one their respective Peters had back in "Into the Great Unknown", so with that said, next chapter is the BIG ONE, so get ready folks! I'll see you around!
NEXT CHAPTER: A FULL-ON BATTLE ROYALE!