Ladies and Gentlemen, readers everywhere, welcome to the year 2022! Of course, a new year means a new chapter to kick off the year and thus we jump back with the adventures of everyone's favorite phasing heroine Kitty Pryde and her multiversal counterparts!
In the previous chapter Kitty and her friends Magik and Wind Dancer brought in the Kitty Pryde from the Battle of the Atom timeline, which we'll call "Veteran Kitty", now she joins Shadow-Pryde and Kung-Fu Kitty in the journey against Mojo and now we'll enter a slightly different version of a famous storyline. But before we run down into the action, let's check on the reviews!
alphaknight99: De momento ya tengo los universos a visitar ya concretados, aunque alguno que otro bien podría considerarse "expansiones originales" y muchas gracias por los cumplidos
dauthan2814: I don't think they'll visit such universe, but I can guarantee you that she wasn't pleased to know about the beating Spidey endured against the Rasputins back then
Cornholio4: Yes, Dazzler was the President because of her celebrity status, sadly, her tenure was very short-lived
Timeless Writer: I wanted to expand a bit on that version of Kitty, I mean, why did Raze pick her to take her place? What happened to her? So I played a bit with that.
Wilcard Sparda: It's funny that you mention the part about how similar their universes are, considering what you're about to read LOL!
young justice 17: Glad you liked it!
Epiphany: I'm very glad you like my works and hope to keep seeing your reviews! As for that "certain" Kitty, well, we have a few left to go, maybe one of those is that certain one!
Ka1zen: There are A LOT of apocalyptic futures, it's already a custom in the superhero environment. As for the Phoenix Force picking Quentin, many forces like that or even the Eye of Agamotto don't care much about "Good or Evil", they focus of power and potential, the more powerful the potential, the more suitable the host. About the Pirate Kitty, that one may be coming very soon!
Now, about the changes around the Marauders: I've already read the Annual, and I've read Orlando's previous works in Marvel, (In fact, his One-Shot "Heroes Reborn: Magneto and the Mutant Force" might have a connection with this run) which gave me hope that it would be an improvement over Duggan and so far, so good. The new line-up seems promising (I was a bit surprised that Tempo turned out to be lesbian, which means that it's very likely she'll be Kitty's first canon girlfriend) BUT the one thing that still baffles me is Cassandra Nova being in the line-up, the woman who not only murdered millions of mutants but also Kitty's father, WHY would Kitty allow her in? There has to be a solid reason for that but hey, we have to wait for that one.
Very well, we're done over here; now let's go back to our story!
Enjoy the reading!
SHADOWCAT: INTO THE KITTY-VERSE
Chapter 6: Shadow(cat) of the S.H.I.E.L.D.
On Earth-14850, this world is safeguarded by the constant efforts of the Strategic, Homeland, Intervention, Espionage and Logistics Division, the last remaining bastion of heroes after the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and most of the X-Men were killed in one of the most brutal killing sprees ever known, caused by a man once known to be a hero but then turned into the most destructive, relentless, vicious and dangerous killing machine.
And while there is a scarcity of heroes, villains have also fell in this killing spree, with the remaining ones working under the service of the 'Dawn of the White Light', a criminal organization led by Tomii Shishido, the mutant known as Gorgon, which gained its power after merging it with HYDRA and The Hand. The Hand ninjas perform most of the ground work and usually perform the 'menial tasks' of controlling the population, but they constantly are battling against S.H.I.E.L.D. in their attempts to keep global control.
During a crackdown in California, a group of ninjas fight against a couple of agents. The agents fire their laser guns at them but the ninjas manage to dodge every shot they fire, prompting the agents to constantly run for cover.
"Any luck to reach the Helicarrier?" one of the agents asks his partner as he recharges his gun.
"Nothing, all I'm getting is static" the other agent replies as he tries to activate his communicator "We're still far from the range"
"I told you it was too early to activate the EMP-Blast!" the first agent scolds his partner as they keep walking away.
"How would I know that they'd send regular ninjas instead of cyborg ones!?" the other agent replies as they both leave the building and reach what it looks like an open park near the Los Angeles area, finding that the sound of static becomes slightly clearer.
"Agent-BZZZZZZK-Carrier calling for stat-BZZZZZZZK-copy?" the voice coming out of the communicator confirms that they are beginning to receive a clear signal, prompting the agents to make another attempt to communicate.
"Helicarrier, this is Agent Bartholomew, I'm with Agent Foley, we barely left the Hills area, we've been chased down by Hand ninjas and we're requesting an emergency evac, copy that?" Agent Bartholomew tries to make contact with the Helicarrier "Helicarrier, do you copy?"
"Agent Bar-BZZZZZZK-carrier, please repe-BZZZZZZZK-mand, copy?" the response arrives still with static.
"Helicarrier, this is Agent Bartholomew requesting an emergency evac outside the Hills section!" Agent Bartholomew tries again to make contact.
"Come on, they have to pick that up!" Agent Foley exclaims "How long will it take before-ACK!" his words are suddenly interrupted, forcibly silencing him to the surprise of his partner.
"Alan?" Agent Bartholomew calls for his partner, who remains silent and strangely standing still until he suddenly drops face down to the ground, revealing a kunai blade piercing the back of his head, the sign that the enemy has arrived "HOLY #$%&!" he exclaims as he tries to run away and seek for shelter, avoiding a barrage of shuriken thrown at him until he is intercepted by a group of ninjas clad in the red garb of the Hand, six of them surrounding him and ready to deliver the death blow.
But right then, the static on Agent Bartholomew's radio grows louder and a flash of light emerges close to him, revealing a female figure wearing a tactical suit decked in different shades of black and grey and a few details in gold, accompanied by a battle helmet, goggles and facemask. The ninja fighters remain in a fighting stance while the female agent faces them and then jumps ahead to fight.
The first ninja tries to slash her but she manages to dodge him and strike back as she activates a laser blade that cuts down the ninja in half, jumping above the second one to slash his back and roll to stab the third one on the chest in quick succession. The three remaining Hand ninjas prepare for a combined attack with two of them throwing shurikens at her, but all of them suddenly go through her body, prompting her to jump and twirl in the air to execute a double slash of her blade against the two ninja, leaving one standing face to face.
"I hope your master is watching" the female fighter talks to the ninja just as she slashes his head off. Right then every fallen Hand ninja becomes dust and fade away in the wind, signaling the end of the fight. The female agent turns and walks toward Agent Bartholomew, who is still in shock after what he just saw, yet the female agent faces him and then activates her helmet, opening it to reveal her face.
"D-D-D-Director Pryde?" Agent Bartholomew stutters in amazement at the reveal that the woman who saved him is this Earth's Kitty Pryde, who is also the Director of this Earth's S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Helicarrier, activate Bodyslide Platform for pickup" the Director Pryde contacts the Helicarrier and right then a flash of light envelops them, teleporting them back to the Helicarrier, which emerges above the city passing by a large cloud.
THEN, ABOARD THE HELICARRIER
"Director on Deck!" one of the agents makes the call in the room, prompting every agent present to stand in formation as soon as the Director Pryde arrives with the agent she just rescued. Once the light fades out, the agents aboard activate the protocols to clear the path to the main observation deck.
"At ease agents" Director Pryde speaks as she takes off her helmet, revealing her hair being tied up in a bun.
"Director Pryde…" Agent Bartholomew approaches her, feeling nervous and ashamed after what went down "I-I-I'm sorry for what happened down there, it was my fault that…"
"Please Agent Bartholomew, you were doing your work, there were risks and every agent knows about it and yet they take the plunge to help" Director Pryde interjects as she speaks with a calm yet serious tone "I will talk to you later for a full report, for now take a break, you've been through a rough patch" she then turns to walk down the aisle as she heads to the observation deck, looking at a crowd of at least fifty agents working non-stop in their stations and a large dome-type wall of screens projects in front of her.
"Director Pryde" another male agent approaches "We've just got a report of two interdimensional anomalies being detected"
"Where?" Director Pryde asks him, prompting the agent to activate the screen, revealing two blinking points on a very familiar map.
"New York City, sir, both on opposite points across the location" the agent explains "Deputy Chief Fallon is already near one of the locations"
"Head course over there immediately" Director Pryde gives the order, prompting the agent to nod and leave the room, while the Director looks at the screens "Sounds like more trouble is coming" she whispers, fearing that her day will be much heavier than she thought, and with good reason.
THEN, IN NEW YORK CITY
The portal opens in a place that resembles Central Park, but many trees were replaced by a different kind of trees, some of them showing a pink-colored foliage in their leaves. Right then, Kitty leads the group followed by Magik, Wind Dancer, Shadow-Pryde, Kung-Fu Kitty and the recently recruited Veteran Kitty.
"Seems like we landed on a prettier environment, at least" Magik comments as the group looks around.
"Well, in my experience, sometimes the prettier places hide the darkest secrets" Shadow-Pryde replies to her comment.
"Any idea of where we are?" Sofia asks Kitty as she checks on her Webware.
"According to the notes, we're on Earth-14850" Kitty replies as she reads the notes "Not much is said apart from a world bereft of heroes after a massive killing spree caused by… Wolverine!?" she looks shocked at the prospect, yet the Veteran Kitty approaches her.
"Why would it be surprising?" Veteran Kitty asks her "It wouldn't be the first time Logan's been on the dark side, and I've been aware of other worlds before" she comments to her, making Kitty realize something about her new recruit.
"OK, I have a few questions" Kitty looks at her into her face "Did you ever date Peter Quill? Were you stuck inside a giant bullet in space? Did your father die in Genosha? Did you move to Westchester because of Scott and Logan's stupid ideological differences?" she throws those questions in quick succession, leaving the rest of the group a bit startled, but the Veteran Kitty simply closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and looks back at her.
"Never heard of him, Yes, Yes and Yes" the Veteran Kitty replies every question with a serious tone, prompting Kitty to analyze her but then takes a more relaxed semblance.
"So it's true then…" Kitty comments while the rest of the group still tries to find out what is going on.
"Is there something we should know?" Magik interjects, to which Kitty looks at her.
"It's OK, I'll explain" Kitty replies and then looks at the rest of the group "There is a theory about the Multiverse that several realities are actually very similar in terms of timeline but it diverges after one determined key moment, take for instance our newest member" she then turns to look at the Veteran Kitty "Our lives are pretty much similar, same experience, maybe a few minor differences, but everything changes around the Jean Grey School, she stayed there while I left"
"That's… quite interesting" Kung-Fu Kitty comments as she keeps learning new things in her journey.
"Which also leads to the world we're standing" Kitty resumes her explanation "I assume that Logan's 'Bad Situation' happened in your timeline as well" she talks to the Veteran Kitty who nods in response.
"And by looking at these trees, that theory's becoming much more of a reality" the Veteran Kitty comments as the group take a good look at the trees.
"What about them?" Shadow-Pryde poses the question.
"These trees aren't supposed to grow in Central Park, let alone in this country" the Veteran Kitty replies.
"These are Cherry Blossoms, more accurately, they're Kanzen, and these are rarely grown outside of Japan" Kitty adds to the explanation, prompting her to look at her Veteran counterpart "A Wolverine killing spree and Japanese appropriation… Kinda rings a bell"
"Indeed… and I guess that it happened in your timeline as well" the Veteran Kitty replies to her comment, but suddenly Kung-Fu Kitty stops her pace and in a matter of seconds she adopts a fighting stance.
"Whoa, easy there" Magik comments but right then the other Kitty Prydes make a formation and adopt a fighting stance as well.
"Her fighting skills are honed, which means that we're out in the open against the enemy" Kitty comments with a serious tone, prompting Magik and Sofia to stay in guard until right then a barrage of shurikens fly over there, which Magik manages to block with her Soulsword while the remaining Prydes go intangible.
"Hand ninjas!" the Veteran Kitty exclaims as a group of twenty Hand ninjas appear from the trees and pathways surrounding the group of heroes.
"The good thing about dealing with Hand ninjas is that they're already dead" Magik comments as she ignites her Soulsword "So don't hold back!" she exclaims as she slashes a wave of magic energy at a group of ninjas as the first attack.
"I'm starting to like this place" Shadow-Pryde comments with a grin on her face as she unsheathes her claws and jumps into a frantic attack slashing through a few of the ninjas.
"Killing is never the answer" Kung-Fu Kitty talks as she punches through two of the Hand ninjas while dodging their attacks "But since you have lost your souls, is my duty to put an end to the misery your bodies are going through" she then punches one of the ninjas to his chest, pushing him away as he explodes in a cloud of dust.
"These things are way too many!" Sofia exclaims as she uses a gust of wind to pull up the leaves and create a barrier between her and the ninjas.
"I agree, there are too many" Kitty comments as she phases through a few ninjas to strike down another one.
"But where do we go? Westchester must be in ruins" the Veteran Kitty comments after breaking the neck of one of the ninjas but the fight suddenly stops when everyone notices a few shadows in the ground, meaning that new players are joining the fight.
Right then a platoon of ten S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents led by an armor-clad man fire a barrage of lasers at the ninjas, clearing the room of the remaining ones and giving the advantage back to the heroes. The agents land near the group of heroes, while Kitty, Magik and Sofia look at the armored one who walks towards them.
"Everyone OK?" the armored agent asks them, to which Kitty nods in response.
"We're good, thanks for the assist" Kitty replies and then looks at the rest of the group "I take it that you're an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.?" she asks him, to which the armored agent nods in response.
"Yes, Deputy Chief…" the armored agent replies but the he notices the Veteran Kitty and looks how big is the resemblance to the Director "Wait a minute, Director?" he asks her as he approaches her, startling the Veteran Kitty.
"D-D-Director? Who the Hell are you?" the Veteran Kitty asks him and right then the armored agent removes his helmet, causing the Veteran Kitty to gasp in amazement "Rigby? Rigby Fallon?"
"Rigby Fallon?" Kitty repeats the question, recalling someone she met before and right then she makes the connection "Oh my God! I remember now!"
"I think we're witnessing another 'History Lesson' from our fearless leader" Shadow-Pryde sarcastically quips at her Kung-Fu counterpart.
"So, are you some sort of…?" Fallon tries to pose the question but Kitty intervenes.
"We're not shapeshifters and we're not doppelgängers" Kitty replies "We're from an alternate universe, well, universes since three of them are my counterparts" she tries to explain, making Fallon realize that he has found the source he was looking for.
"So you're one of the dimensional anomalies" Fallon comments after the realization.
"And if there's another one, that must be the spire" Magik replies to his comment while another agent approaches Fallon.
"Sir, we got a call from the Helicarrier, Director Pryde wants every agent available back" the agent reports to Fallon, who nods in response.
"Let's head to the Quinjet and fly back" Fallon replies and then looks at the group "Fair warning, it's gonna be a bit crammed"
"No problem, just one quick question" Kitty approaches Fallon "Did that guy said 'Director Pryde'?" she asks him, to which Fallon looks at her quizzically and nods.
"Yes" Fallon replies a bit slowly "Your counterpart of this Earth is the Director of the Strategic, Homeland, Intervention…"
"I know what S.H.I.E.L.D.'s acronym stands for, thanks" Kitty interrupts him, yet she still tries to assimilate what she just heard "I'm running S.H.I.E.L.D. in this world? Oy vey, I hope I'm not like Fury, or worse, like that $#%&+ of Maria Hill" she ponders in her mind while the rest of the group follow the agents so they can all head back to the Helicarrier.
A FEW MOMENTS LATER
As the Quinjet approaches the Helicarrier, the group of women look at Kitty and her Veteran counterpart, since they seemingly share a story with the agent who just rescued them.
"Are you gonna ask them?" Sofia whispers to Magik, noticing that she is curious as well.
"Why don't you ask them?" Magik whispers back at her with a glare.
"You guys know we can hear what you're talking about, right?" Shadow-Pryde comments to them with a snarky tone.
"What are they going to ask about?" Kung-Fu Kitty poses the question.
"I'm wondering about that too" Fallon steps in, prompting Kitty to facepalm and her Veteran counterpart to scoff.
"We'll talk about that later, OK?" Kitty replies, visibly annoyed for that.
"For now, let's stay in awkward silence until we get to the Helicarrier, capisce?" the Veteran Kitty adds, prompting everyone to remain silent but it would not last for long since the Helicarrier is spotted in the distance.
Once they land, Fallon leads the way with Kitty following behind and the rest of the group keep the pace, noticing how every agent and worker in that Helicarrier looks at them. Fallon leads them straight into the Commander Deck where the Director Pryde is looking at the massive Spire on the screen.
"Tell all the agents to fall back until Deputy Chief Fallon returns, we need to strategize a different approach" Director Pryde communicates to her agents on the field as she keeps her eyes on the situation.
"Director" Fallon calls for her, prompting the Director to turn and look at him, only to notice the ones who are following him "I found the answer to one of the interdimensional anomalies, and she might bring the answer to the other one" he then makes the gesture to introduce the new arrivals.
Kitty looks amazed at the sight of someone almost as old as the Veteran they recruited not too long ago, and yet she can see how the job she carries takes its toll on her. On the other hand, the Director looks surprised to see a somewhat younger version of herself standing in front of her, and then notices the other counterparts, as well as familiar faces long-thought dead.
"Fal… Rigby? What's this?" the Director asks him, but Kitty steps forward to reply.
"I can explain" Kitty replies "I am Kitty Pryde, just like you are, but from an alternate universe" she then turns to look at her friends "They are Illyana and Sofia, both friends of mine from the same universe" then she looks at her counterparts "and they are alt-universe counterparts of me, of us" then she turns to face the Director again "and the reason we're here is because of that thing over there" she points at the screen showing the spire "That spire comes from the Mojoverse, Mojo's been assaulting the Multiverse for ratings and he's aiming at every mutant he can"
"Isn't that his usual M.O.?" Director Pryde asks her "Can we damage it?"
"You can 'dent' it if that's what you're referring" Kitty replies "The best way to bring them down is from the source, and for that I'm building a crew comprised of alternate versions of myself" she gestures with her hand to show her fellow counterparts "So if we could count with your help, we'd appreciate it"
"I have to think about this…" Director Pryde rubs the sides of her head as she turns away and walks out, prompting her Prime Earth counterpart to follow her.
"Hey! Wait!" Kitty exclaims as she walks behind her while Fallon looks dumbfounded at the scene and then turns to look at the rest of the group.
"I… I apologize" Fallon quietly comments "Please just… wait here" he then turns back and decides to walk down the same path where Kitty and the Director went.
"I guess we're gonna be waiting for them" Shadow-Pryde sarcastically quips while she rolls her eyes.
"If that's the case…" Sofia comments and then looks at the Veteran Kitty "Maybe you can explain the whole thing between you and this Fallon guy" she talks to her, making her look confused at that comment "I mean, you heard what Kitty said about how the timelines can be similar up to a point, so… what's the story?"
"I don't think it's appropriate to make such a request" Kung-Fu Kitty intervenes with a calm tone.
"While I'm a bit curious as well, I agree with the Shaolin version of Katya, if she doesn't want to talk about it, we won't press the issue" Magik adds in agreement, but the Veteran Kitty simply sighs.
"Alright, assuming that it went the same way in your Earth…" the Veteran Kitty begins her tale as she looks at Magik and Sofia "It happened back in the days when I was in Excalibur, S.H.I.E.L.D. called me to help them deal with some sort of evil virus wrecking their systems, spoiler alert, it was Ogun"
"What's an Ogun?" Kung-Fu Kitty asks with curiosity.
"It's an evil ninja spirit who once brainwashed Katya to become a ninja assassin" Magik replies "Long story short, she overcame it but she kept the knowledge" she then looks back at the Veteran Kitty "Go on"
"Of course, in my brief time working with them I met Rigby" the Veteran explains as if her scene happened just like it did with her counterpart "I felt quite an interest into him; smart, tech-savvy, eloquent and he had the same age I had at the time… I was very attracted to him" the Veteran's tone becomes more nostalgic "I wanted to kiss him"
"But of course, nothing happened, right?" Shadow-Pryde poses the question.
"Of course it didn't, because in spite of that I was still in a relationship, I respected that" the Veteran Kitty replies, annoyed at her counterpart's attitude.
"Wait, you said that it was during your Excalibur days, right?" Magik inquires "You were dating this idiot scumbag of Wisdom, wasn't it?"
"Our relationship was already hitting rock bottom" the Veteran Kitty replies, confirming that it was Pete Wisdom "When I told him, he didn't liked it and after a while he ended the relationship"
"Just when it happened with our Katya" Magik replies to her comment "I still hate that #$%&+*"
"So I guess this confirms what Kitty said about the similar timelines, right?" Sofia makes the comment but everyone already saw the confirmation of that theory, and now all they have to do is wait for the other ones to come back.
MEANWHILE, WITH KITTY AND DIRECTOR PRYDE
"Could you hold still for five minutes!?" Kitty tries to catch the attention of her counterpart as she keeps walking until they both are outside of the Helicarrier "Is there anything that bothers you about what I just said?"
"It's one thing to deal with a scumbag like Mojo but a whole Multiversal threat? That's quite a lot to handle in one day" Director Pryde replies, showing a hint of frustration in her voice "It's not enough to deal with The Hand's constant attacks, I have to deal with Mojo as well" she sighs in further frustration.
"So it is the Hand who took over the country" Kitty comments, confirming her suspicions as she arrived.
"Don't expect me to tell you how it happened, it's Classified Information" the Director replies with a serious tone on her voice.
"No need, I bet I can figure it out" Kitty crosses her arms as she looks at her counterpart "Wolverine was killed by an offshoot of the Hand led by a crazy Japanese dude called Gorgon, then he was resurrected by them and, as per usual Hand M.O., he got brainwashed into becoming an assassin for them, sending him on a killing spree against many heroes, am I right or am I right?" she raises an eyebrow as she looks at her counterpart taking in the response in astonishment "and before you say anything, it happened in my world as well, only that in my world Nick Fury caught him and put him through a severely intense deprogramming" she explains how it happened in her world "So I take it that Logan didn't go through that in here…"
"No… he didn't…" the Director solemnly replies "Fury caught him, but the Hand was prepared for that" she finally relents and explains her side of the story "Logan was relentless, unstoppable, not even the 'Big Guns' were able to stop him… Scott, Kurt, Ororo, Remy, Anna, not even Spider-Man or Captain America were able to put him down, everyone died at his hands" Kitty could not help but feel bad about her counterpart, adding a hint of sadness about her boyfriend's counterpart's death in this world "I was one of the few who were left…"
"Of course, phasing powers…" Kitty comments in a lower tone of voice.
"That didn't stop Logan from going for it, so I had no choice but to make a move and end the nightmare once and for all" the Director comments, looking at her hand, which is still wrapped in a glove, making Kitty realize what did her counterpart do.
"You phased your hand…" Kitty mutters in astonishment.
"Right through his brain… it was the only way to stop him" Director Pryde comments, shedding a couple of tears as she revisits that moment "With Logan dead, the X-Men vanished, so I stayed with Fury, rejoined S.H.I.E.L.D. and grew as an agent until…"
"You eventually became the Director" Kitty interjects "Honestly, I'd rather see you than that crazy Yenta of Maria Hill" she tries to lighten the mood, prompting her counterpart to chuckle a bit "So… is that a cybernetic prosthetic?" she asks about her counterpart's hand, prompting the Director to remove her glove, showing a semi-transparent hand with circuitry integrated.
"Rigby designed it and helped build it" the Director replies "It's based on the Vision's synthezoid structure, that way it won't be afflicted by my phasing powers" she explains about her synthetic hand, putting the glove back on.
"So I take it that you and Rigby did become serious here?" Kitty poses the question but the Director glares at her.
"FYI, what happens between Rig- between Chief Fallon and me is strictly professional" the Director replies while Kitty barely holds her laughter.
"Sure, you may be a tough as nails Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. but while you can fool everyone else, you can't fool yourself, or your dimensional counterparts for that matter" Kitty quips back at her, prompting the Director to shake her head and laugh.
"OK, I'll admit it… but I have to keep it professional" the Director replies but then takes a deep breath "Now, back to our main subject" she retakes a serious tone "You said that you have a plan to bring down Mojo, which means that you and your counterparts are travelling back to Mojoverse to bring that down"
"Yes, but we're adding a few other counterparts to make sure it'll work" Kitty replies, confident in her plan.
"Then count me in" the Director volunteers to join the mission, feeling that they will need all the help they can.
"That's great!" Kitty replies, glad that she is joining but then she shows concern "But what about your job?" she asks her but she gestures to calm her down.
"There are protocols for that, am I right Rigby?" the Director calls for Rigby who was standing in the distance, having heard that last part of the conversation "It's alright, let's head back to the Deck" she comments, turning back to walk down to the Deck to make the announcement.
THEN, BACK AT THE DECK
"Listen up, Agents!" Fallon exclaims to get the attention of everyone in the room "The Director's on Deck" he then steps aside to allow the Director Pryde to speak.
"Agents, as of now, I will be embarking on an interdimensional mission to tackle the threat brought by that spire" she points at the screen that shows the massive spire "For that, I will be joining the crew led by my interdimensional counterpart" she looks at Kitty's group and then back at the agents "Therefore, effective now, we're engaging Emergency Command Protocols in case of my absence, thus, also effective now, Chief Rigby Fallon becomes Interim Director Fallon during my absence" she then looks at Fallon with a gentle smile "So once I'm off-world, he is command and you must obey as you would to me" once she finishes speaking she approaches Fallon "I promise you I'll come back"
"I'll hold the fort for you" Fallon smiles at her and then the Director activates her armor, turning back to walk towards Kitty and her group.
"Welcome to the Army of Kitty Prydes, Director" Kitty greets her as she activates her device to open the portal to their next stop.
"No 'Hope you survive the Experience' joke?" the Director asks her, to which Kitty laughs in response.
"Nah, let the X-Men keep that one" Kitty replies as the portal opens and everyone walks through it, heading to their next destination. Yet, once the portal closes, a young agent rushes towards Fallon with concern on his face.
"Sir! Sir!" the young agent exclaims but Fallon intercepts him.
"I'm in command kid, what happened?" Fallon asks him with a serious tone of voice.
"We just got a report from Japan, sir" the young agent then shows his tablet "The Hand's leader just disappeared" that causes deep concern to the newly appointed Interim Director, for he has a lot of work to do.
MEANWHILE, AT THE MOJOVERSE
"It's official Mojo, this… is the WORST! EPISODE! EVER!" Mojo complains as he throws his tray of food at the screen "They go to a world of #$%&+* Ninjas and not an ounce of blood is spilled!? And this was a world where WOLVERINE slaughtered everyone on sight! I saw the archives, it was a beautiful sight… but by my magnificence what a gigantic pile of crap I watched, too much S.H.I.E.L.D. and less ninjas… and WHO THE #$%& IS THIS RIGBY FALLON KID!?"
"We can't always score high ratings sir, but we can save the best for last" Major Domo comments while he wipes the remains of Mojo's food off his face, since he was in the line of fire.
"Save the best!?" Mojo exaggerates his exclamation "We only got a temperamental Ruskie, a #$%&+* Viper and a half-cooked Sentinel, we didn't even snatch someone from that world!?"
"I wouldn't be so pessimistic, sir" Domo replies as he switches the screen to reveal a black haired man with his eyes bandaged and wearing a black and red kimono, slashing through a room full of dope clones with his katanas "He leads the ninja faction from that world, magnificent Mojo, he goes by the name of Gorgon" he comments while Mojo licks his lips and rubs his hand.
"I knew you wouldn't fail me Domo, because you know the punishment if you do, but by my magnificence, nice play you did, right under their noses! They were sooooo busy with whatever stupid drama they have that they didn't even pay attention to the spire!" he then looks at the rest of his 'recruits' for the counterattack he is preparing "Soon, my children… SOON!"
Alright folks, before we go through the regular notes, I have a couple of announcements to make:
First, I want to thank everyone for the patience, and of course, for the continuous support of my works. "A Light in the Darkness" has reached the 40K+ views, "Into the Great Unknown" above the 30K+ and "Dangerous Games" not too far behind, meaning that the Spider-Kitty series has quite a massive fanbase and support, and for that, THANK YOU very much. They will be going strong; you have my word on that.
The second announcement is that I want to thank alphaknight99 for the support because thanks to his assistance, "A Light in the Darkness" can be found fully translated into Spanish on the "W" (DM me if you have questions about it)
Now, on to the notes! This universe first appeared on the What If? One-Shot focused on the classic storyline "Wolverine: Enemy of the State", so I decided to give it a little twist and make a grown Kitty (one of the few survivors of that slaughter) the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. As for her friend Rigby Fallon, he appeared on the miniseries "Kitty Pryde: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.", a fellow agent Kitty crushed on and might as well became the final nail in the coffin of her relationship with Peter Wisdom.
The next stop will be a universe we've seen in the previous Spidey/Kitty fic, so stay tuned to watch the return of an alternate Kitty Pryde!
NEXT CHAPTER: SOUL(SWORD) SISTERS