Ladies and Gentlemen, readers all over the world, welcome to the Year 2023! Let's hope this New Year brings better things and much good vibes to all of you and what better way to start than with a brand new chapter of our Multiversal Adventure featuring Kitty Pryde!
As you've seen last chapter, Kitty and her crew brought in Star-Lord Kitty, someone who actually married Quill in her universe but… How did that happen? Where's Quill? We'll see those answers soon enough, but now we'll bring in our final recruit, the one everyone has been waiting for and you know how the old saying goes: "Saving the Best for Last". But before we get to that, let's hear the reviews!
Timeless Writer: I'm glad you enjoyed my take on Star-Lord Kitty. While I'm not a fan of the Kitty/Quill ship, I couldn't just ignore it since it was meaningful for both of them (Mostly for Quill, figures) but you'll discover a bit more about that marriage soon
Kival737101: Here you have her! I hope I don't disappoint you
cornholio4: Considering how old the review was, didn't took long to bring her back (It's a shame the Marauders series ended though)
Shadow: Once you reach the end of the chapter, you'll find the hint of the connection!
Fear of Worthy: You can be sure that Kitty will learn a lot from this experience and take note for future references
Defender: Huh, well I did get the message from "Living to the Fullest" but still there are some gaps about that storyline that didn't make this a 10/10 event for me.
CRUDEN: You'll find out about that version of Quill soon enough!
Unknown Speaker: Glad you like them! And yes, around 3-4 chapters left (counting this one). The Scemma Story will come, I'll reveal another batch of stories after I'm done with this batch of planned ones, still working on details for them but that will come.
Wilcard Sparda: I know you're hoping for Yana and Spidey to finally get along. That will come. And yes, I enjoyed doing that scene with Cosmo and Yana (and you can bet that Prime Cosmo would feel the same)
Epiphany616: Well, the X-Terminators miniseries gave her someone close enough LOL! It's been ages since she was part f them. Back at the First Gala, Star-Lord commented that they were supposed to meet for coffee on her boat but Wanda's murder interrupted those plans. And yes, Interactions WILL come, mark my words.
Ka1zen: I agree that it felt kinda forced (But to be honest, the Quill/Gamora one it's way more forced because of the whole synergy with the MCU). As for Fall of X, finally the Krakoan Era is coming to an end... I've seen some of the announcements, some intrigue me, some concern me, but I'll wait for the rest of them to see what will unfold.
After our brief commercial break, let's get right on it!
Enjoy the reading!
SHADOWCAT: INTO THE KITTY-VERSE
Chapter 11: Shrouded Recruitment
In the top of a rooftop, a portal opens revealing the arrival of Kitty's group after successfully bringing another recruit.
"Are you sure we'll have enough force with one more?" Director Pryde asks her Prime counterpart.
"One more can settle it, let's just hope this one agrees to come" Kitty replies and then checks her Webware device "Alright, according to my database, we're in Earth-1610, an Earth that while it looks and feels very similar at home, it does have notable differences" she explains to the rest of the group and then checks back, now pondering about that number "1610… I think I heard this one back when Peter and I were dealing with the Verna thing" and then she begins to realize a big detail "Huh… could this be the Earth where Peter and I were dating?"
"Hey Katya!" Kitty's thoughts are interrupted when Magik calls for her "What's the plan for the search? Should we split again?"
"May I suggest something?" Star-Lord Kitty raises her hand to intervene "How about just one of us searches for the counterpart while we wait over here?" she poses the suggestion, prompting the other counterparts to mumble with each other, apparently agreeing with that idea.
"And which of us is going?" Pirate Kitty interjects "Because most of us wear outfits that aren't precisely tailor-made for blending in with the society" she quips, pointing out how almost everyone wears superhero related attires.
"On that we can agree, Miss Pirates of the Caribbean" Nomad Cat quips, annoying Pirate Kitty while Kung-Fu Kitty looks in awe at the surroundings.
"This city actually feels different from the others we've visited" Kung-Fu Kitty makes the comment.
"Yeah, this doesn't feel like New York" Soulsword Kitty adds to her comment as she begins to recognize some of the buildings.
"Because this isn't New York…" the Veteran Kitty replies as she comes to a realization, one that the Director, Nomad Cat, Soulsword, Star-Lord and even Kitty herself also reach.
"This is Chicago…" Kitty whispers with a smile on her face and then turns to look at the group "We're in Chicago!"
"Huh… you know? If it weren't for the fact that it doesn't look like it's ravaged by a cataclysmic event, I would've recognized it too" Shadow-Pryde comments.
"That should make easier to find this Earth's Kitty Pryde, right?" Sofia asks Kitty, who nods her head in response.
"Theoretically yes" Kitty replies "But as my Star-Lord counterpart suggested, I think it's better that I do the search while you guys wait here, maybe you can set some protection with the Soulswords" she comments and then looks at Star-Lord Kitty, noticing the earpiece she is carrying "You brought your cosmic helmet with you?"
"Never leave home without it" Star-Lord Kitty quips at her "Why?"
"Just for a little thing…" Kitty replies and then makes some touches on her Webware device "Just a little bit…" she mutters until she finishes "There! I managed to link my device to your helmet so we can keep in touch and exchange information"
"Good call" Star-Lord Kitty comments "I can actually log in through the web and make my own search, if I can find anything, I'll let you know" she adds as she activates her helmet, while Kitty deactivates her suit, reverting to her civilian form, wearing a red blouse with a white top underneath, baby blue jeans and black Converses.
"Alright, you guys stay here" Kitty points to her counterparts and then she approaches the emergency ladder.
"Kitty, wait!" Sofia calls for her "Can we come with you?" she asks oh her and Magik's behalf.
"If you wanna come you have to change your outfits" Kitty points out the detail that they are still wearing their superhero attire "Especially you Yana, parading around in leather might draw unwanted eyes towards us" she adds, to which Magik groans in annoyance and rolls her eyes.
"Fine" Magik replies, channeling the energies through her Soulsword to release an enchantment that transforms hers and Sofia's clothes into civilian forms. Sofia now wears a burgundy top with white stripes, denim shorts and pink Crocs while Magik now wears a black sleeveless top with the cover of Metallica's 'Master of Puppets' album in front, black ripped jeans and black boots.
It did not take too long for them to go down from the rooftop to the alleyway, reaching the city and blend in with the people, walking down in order to find this Earth's version of Kitty Pryde.
"Alright, let me check the Webware to see if I can find at least an apartment leased to my mom's counterpart" Kitty comments as she checks her Webware device but then the girls stop by an electronics store where one of the big screens show the news report.
"Hey Katya, you should see this" Magik calls for Kitty, prompting her to watch the TV screen.
["Thanks to the efforts of the Future Foundation who managed to handle the threat of the Mole Tribe; in other news a mysterious golden spire tower emerged from the middle of Times Square in New York, citizens were urged to evacuate the premises, allowing the Ultimates to intervene"]
The screen shows the arrival of the Ultimates, comprised of Captain America, Ironheart, Hulk, Thor and Giant-Man, all of them approaching the spire only to have their attacks being depleted by its force field.
"If we're on Chicago, how come the spire is in New York?" Sofia poses the question.
"My Dimensional Watch is attuned to my counterparts, thus it takes their search as the priority instead of the location of the spires" Kitty replies "Just take for example our last recruit the Star-Lord Kitty Pryde; she was in space while the spire was on Earth"
["On a related note, a new Doctor Octopus going by the identity of Robert Carlysle was caught in the middle of an assault against armed troops. His rampage was halted by the combined efforts of local heroes Spider-Man, Spider-Woman and the Human Torch"]
A small smile appears on Kitty's face when she sees her boyfriend's counterpart in action doing what he does best, protecting the people and helping save the world, a gesture that her friends quickly notice.
"What?" Kitty looks back at them as they stifle their laughs "May I remember you that I'm Spider-Man's partner? I'm just curious about the differences in other universes" she tries to avoid the subject and, in quite a coincidence, the sound of explosions and rumblings echo in the distance, making Kitty have a mental 'Phew' at the moment "Seems that we have a bad guy situation" she comments as she runs towards the source of the sounds, finding four female figures wreaking havoc on the streets.
One is a tall, heavily muscled African-American woman clad in a blue-and-red armor and metallic plating over her head, using her strength to flip down the cars on their way. Another one is a blonde woman in a full-body black-and-gold armor with whips on her wrists, sending electric shockwaves through the cars and structures. Another one is a bronze-like skinned creature, almost as build as the first one, but with a more monstrous appearance. Above them floats a cyborg-like female figure in a pink-colored armor and her brain being on display.
"Do not relent, Femme Fatales!" the cyborg voices her command at the group "We're here to bring nothing but destruction at Roxxon's command!"
"Hey, look at that!" the first woman stops at the sight of Kitty and her friends, turning around to look at their leader "Mindblast, you said there were no heroes in Chicago!"
"Roxxon'ssssss intel wassss way off it would sssssseem" the monstrous Femme Fatale adds to her teammate's comments.
"The Ultimates are not here, Knockout" the whip-clad Femme Fatale responds to her first teammate's comment "And the Intel is solid, Bloodlust" she replies to her second teammate's comment "But there is something familiar about her"
"Familiar or not, Whiplash they will not stop Roxxon and neither will stop us!" Mindblast points at them while Kitty, Magik and Wind Dancer stand in guard.
"Guess we're doing the hero thing after all girls" Kitty comments as she activates her Shadowcat suit while Magik cuts the spell that gave her and Wind Dancer their civilian clothes.
"Good, the civilian appeal never looked good on me" Magik quips as she charges her Soulsword.
"Should we call the others?" Sofia asks them as she floats and pulls some pieces of debris towards her, ready to use them as projectiles.
"Only if things escalate, but I go the feeling that they won't be much of a problem" Kitty replies "Hey ladies! I know you're wondering who are we so let's cut this short: We're the ones who are gonna beat you up and leave you packed up for the Raft or whatever passes as a jail in this Earth"
"We prefer death before landing in jail, especially if it's your death!" Mindblast exclaims while she fires a barrage of psionic blasts that the girls manage to avoid jumping aside "ATTACK, FEMME FATALES!"
Knockout is the first one to jump to attack, aiming directly at Kitty. Kitty manages to jump and avoid every punch the large woman tries to land. And the closest ones go right through her body thanks to her phasing powers.
"Would you hold still!?" A visibly annoyed Knockout exclaims as she tries to make a double overhead punch which Kitty avoids by jumping.
"Since you ask nicely" Kitty quips at her and then remains still, allowing Knockout to go for the punch but when she tries to connect, her fist actually breaks once she makes contact with Kitty's body, prompting her to scream in pain and giving Kitty the opening she needs to jump and phase through her, turning around to connect a double kick to her back and her head, knocking her down.
"Still learning a thing or two, but this Hyper-Density thing is really helpful" Kitty mutters while she looks at her friends dealing with the rest of the enemies. Bloodlust makes her attempt to catch Magik as she keeps blocking her slashes with her Soulsword until she manages to get the opening she needed to stab her with the sword.
"Now here's a nice dose of painful magic, #$%&!" Magik exclaims as she unleashes a good amount of Hellfire through Bloodlust's body, causing her to scream in pain "I've tamed bigger and badder creatures than you where I come from" she quips over her twitching enemy. Meanwhile, Wind Dancer throws her pieces of debris at Whiplash but each one of them is taken down by her whips.
"Is that the best you can do, little girl?" Whiplash taunts her but right then Wind Dancer throws another barrage of debris at her, repeating the same actions than before "Seriously, what kind of superhero are YAGH!" her taunts are interrupted when Sofia manages to fly towards her and tackle her down against the wall.
"The kind of superhero who distracts you to take you down, you moron!" Wind Dancer quips at her after knocking her out, leaving Mindblast as the last one standing from the Femme Fatales.
"The way I see it, it's three against one" Kitty quips at her rival, who looks back at her with a frown on her face.
"You will not take us down without a fight!" Mindblast exclaims, ready to fly towards them but halfway through the flight, she crashes into what it seems to be an invisible barrier, much to the surprise of the heroines "No… No, no, no, no, no, no" she mutters nervously as she turns around and bumps into another invisible barrier, then tries to her right and takes another barrier, now realizing that she is trapped inside an invisible box.
"A bit rudimentary, I know…" A female voice is heard in the area, followed by Mindblast being tasered from behind, feeling the electric surge reach her brain and send her into unconsciousness "But nonetheless, effective" right then a blonde woman in a light-blue and purple attire with a green 'FF' logo on her chest slowly appears, much to the amazement of Kitty and her friends.
"Is that…?" Magik points at the woman while Kitty nods in response.
"Susan Storm" Kitty replies, confirming the woman's identity.
"But wait, why is the uniform different?" Sofia poses the question while Susan turns to look at the beaten Femme Fatales.
"Phil? I'm gonna need you to send a retrieval unit over here in Chicago, I have the Femme Fatales served and beaten" Susan communicates to her fellow member of the Future Foundation, Phil Coulson "Also, did Tony manage to find anything about that spire in New York?"
"Nothing yet Sue" Coulson's voice is heard through the communicator "He's with Sam helping the Ultimates over there, if there's anything, I'll let you know; oh and the retrieval unit is underway"
"Good, I'll handle things from… here" Susan replies as she notices Kitty and her friends "I'll call you back Phil" she ends her call and then walks towards the trio "Kitty? Kitty Pryde, is that you?"
"Not quite, Susan" Kitty replies, prompting Sue to stop her walk and take a look at Kitty "I am Kitty Pryde, but not the one from this Earth" she explains "and before you ask, yes, we are somewhat involved with the spire that suddenly appeared in New York City" she adds, causing Sue to widen her eyes as the realization dawns on her, prompting her to call Coulson again.
"Phil? I think I found something involving the spire, I'll do some corroboration and call you back once I get the results" Susan leaves the message as she keeps looking at Kitty "Alright, then I assume you'll come with me willingly?" she asks her, to which Kitty nods in response "Good, once the cleanup crew arrives, we'll head to my temporary base"
A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER
Once the cleanup crew arrived to take the Femme Fatales into custody and Susan cleared everything with them, she left the area in her personal truck with Kitty and her friends following suit. On the way to their base, Kitty explained their story about their journey across the Multiverse, the emergence of the spires and her mission to find her counterparts.
After a 15 minute trip, they manage to reach their destination, a five-story building in the upper part of the city, the top floor includes a custom-built laboratory where the Future Foundation works whenever they are in the city.
"These are old S.H.I.E.L.D. stations, fortunately for us, Tony and Coulson landed a deal with Fury and Monica Chang to let us use them for the Foundation" Susan comments as they walk in "Now, according to what you told me, your plan is to find your counterpart and take the fight to this Mojoverse and defeat him, right?"
"Yes, that's pretty much the gist of it" Kitty calmly replies while Magik and Wind Dancer look around.
"Not to sound skeptical but… you really believe us?" Sofia asks her, to which Susan quietly laughs.
"Multiversal theories are common practice for us" Susan replies "Tony had a few of his own, actually" she adds as she activates her computer "Now, as for your search, I'm afraid I have good news and bad news" her tone now changes to a serious one "The good news is that this is the area where Kitty Pryde used to frequent, at least that's according to our database"
"Wait, you mean used as in past tense?" Magik asks her, showing the same concern Kitty has.
"That's where the bad news come in" Susan replies as she turns to face them "It's been months since Kitty Pryde ever made a public appearance, not since the last major disaster"
"What happened?" Kitty asks her, to which Susan shows on the computer the images of what it looks like a battle between two groups of heroes, recognizing two versions of well-known heroes like Iron Man and Captain America in the fray.
"Our Earth was on a collision course with another Earth" Susan explains to them "It was an intense battle but a few heroes sacrificed their lives to save it in the nick of time" she adds "As for Kitty, she survived but she went M.I.A. ever since"
"What about the other X-Men?" Magik asks her, to which Susan now displays a list of names, all of them marked as 'Deceased' and to their shock, the majority of them belong to the X-Men they know.
"Most of the X-Men died in the Ultimatum Wave caused by Magneto, the remaining ones are still on the Reservation X, one that your counterpart founded by the way" Susan explains to her "I really wish I could help you, maybe I could try contacting another close associate, although the only one I know of is Spider-Man"
"Wait, what?" Magik and Sofia ask in visible surprise.
"It's… well known that Spider-Man and Kitty Pryde were an item" Susan comments and then looks at Kitty "Does that apply in your Earth, Miss Pryde?" she asks her.
"Yes" Kitty replies, only to realize that her friends are standing right next to her looking quizzically "I mean, Spider-Man is my partner in my world, my crime-fighting partner that is" she quickly replies trying to avoid any suspicion with her friends.
"Riiiiiight…" Both Magik and Sofia reply simultaneously.
"Well, it's alright, thanks for everything you did to help us out" Kitty replies to Sue, shaking her hand as a goodwill gesture.
"Thanks to you for the Intel, I'll let the Ultimates and the Foundation know about…" Sue replies but right then, the sound of a buzzer rings in the panel.
"Suze, Honey? You home? Needa lil' help with the groceries, both of my hands are full" a male voice is heard through the communicator, to which Sue laughs and then presses a button.
"Door's unlocked; you can step to the elevator and find the way clear" Sue replies while the other girls talk to each other.
"Was that Reed Richards? Sounds a bit gruff is you ask me" Magik whispers, to which Sofia nods.
"Maybe he's not a genius in this world?" Sofia poses the question. Right then, the sound of footsteps is heard walking through the room.
"Sorry I was late, had to go through five different stores to find the strawberries with cream you like Hun" the male voice is heard, revealed to be from a tall, burly man with short black hair and facial stubble wearing a white uniform underneath a blue jacket "We have visitors?" he asks and then looks at Kitty, widening his eyes at the sight of her "Wait, Kitty, is that you?"
"Not quite, dear" Sue intervenes "She's actually from another dimension looking for our Kitty" she replies and then looks at the girls "Oh, sorry… girls, meet my husband, Ben Grimm" she makes the introduction, causing the girls to react in a bit of a shock.
"Wait, wait, wait…" Kitty replies "Ben Grimm!? You married Ben Grimm!?"
"Also, he doesn't look so… Rocky" Sofia adds, but Ben laughs at the comment.
"Ya mean somethin' like this?" Ben steps back and he then transforms into the rock form of The Thing they are more accustomed to see and after a few seconds he reverts back to his human form.
"So you can turn your form at will?" Magik asks him, to which he nods in response.
"I can also turn into energy but I won't show you that one, last time I did it inside one of these labs didn't end well" Ben comments, making a reference to his alternate form.
"As for my marriage…" Sue intervenes "I assume that in your world I married Reed, right?"
"Well, yeah…" Kitty replies "I take it that things didn't end well for both of you in this world"
"That would be an understatement" Sue sighs, remembering the circumstances of that breakup that led to Reed becoming the Maker "But I moved on and frankly, I'm doing so much better" she then hugs her husband, smiling at him.
"I'm glad you do Sue, I really do" Kitty kindly replies "And again, thanks for everything"
"Thanks to you too, and your friends" Sue replies in kind "I believe you have your own method of transportation?" she asks Kitty, to which she nods in response showing her Dimensional Watch.
"Yup, but before that, I have to contact my other counterparts who are still waiting for us" Kitty replies "speaking of which, I should be doing that right now" she then activates her Webware to contact the rest of her crew through Star-Lord Kitty "Hey Star-Lord, how's it going? We just hit with a bit of a dead end, so might as well hit another universe"
"You sure? Because I got something" Star-Lord replies to her through their call, surprising Kitty.
"You did? How? What do you got?" Kitty asks her while Magik and Sofia look at her with curiosity and Sue and Ben look at them confused.
"Been doing a bit of research about our counterpart and apparently this Earth's Kitty Pryde have been out of the public eye for a few years" Star-Lord explains "However, I thought about searching 'outside the box' and tried looking for someone with a similar power set and found a few interesting pieces of news, it turns out that criminal groups are describing a vigilante that cannot be touched because it's like fighting against a ghost"
"And you think this vigilante might be connected somehow?" Kitty asks her.
"Or maybe she could be the actual Kitty Pryde from this Earth, I'll send you what I found" Star-Lord replies and right then a beeping sound is heard, prompting Kitty to check her Webware to read the Intel that Star-Lord found for them.
"Apparently there is a vigilante in Chicago" Kitty reveals to the others as she checks her Intel and shares it with Sue since it could be useful for her.
"You know? Kinda reminds me of a time when Kitty, this Earth's Kitty, was doin' the vigilante thing" Ben makes the comment as he looks at the information on the screen "After the X-Men died, she acted as a street vigilante for a time, she was called 'The Shroud' or somethin', and she was brutal from what I heard"
"By any chance she wears a red trenchcoat with a hood?" Kitty asks her as she discovers the image of the vigilante in question, to which Ben nods in response.
"Yeah, kinda looks like that one" Ben replies pointing at the screen while Kitty checks back to her Webware.
"I think you found our missing Kitty" Kitty talks to Star-Lord "By any chance you have any way to find her?"
"Way ahead of you, Nomad suggested to check for deep web communications and found an apparent gathering on behalf of Roxxon in the industrial area of the city, the things is… it's at night" Star-Lord replies to her but Kitty looks undeterred in her plan.
"A stakeout it is, we'll meet you back at the rooftop" Kitty replies ending the call and then looks at Magik "Yana, need you to do that Soulsword teleport thing" she tells her, letting her know what to do and then looks at Sue and Ben "Sorry for the abrupt leaving but duty calls, good luck with your work!" she bids her farewell just as a flash of light emerges, teleporting the girls back to the rest of the group, leaving Ben and Sue in awe.
"Ben, I need you to do me a favor…" Sue mutters to her husband "You heard their talk, right?"
"Yup" Ben replies "You want me to keep an eye on them, right?" he asks her, to which she nods in response "I'll do it"
LATER AT NIGHT
When Kitty returned to the rest of the crew, she laid out the plan of exploring the area and then do a stakeout until the vigilante known as the Shroud emerges. While some like Shadow-Pryde, Kung-Fu Kitty, Soulsword Kitty and Pirate Kitty were vocal against the plan, the rest agreed since not only it serves to find this Earth's Kitty Pryde, but they would at least do something helpful before leaving. The girls landed on a rooftop near a large warehouse known to be property of Roxxon Industries, the most logical place for this meeting.
Once the night fell, Veteran and Director Pryde were taking their turn on watch duty, finally hearing the noise of truck engines echoing in the distance, thus signaling Kitty and the rest to be ready.
"Remember girls, don't jump until the one we're looking for emerges" Kitty explains to her friends "Assume your positions" she gives them the command and they begin to round up the warehouse while a convoy of four trucks arrive to the location. Once they cross the main entrance, they all park within the garage; once the engines go off, one man leaves the leading truck and steps out, an African-American man with a hulking physique, wearing a tactical vest over a sleeveless white and blue suit and wearing a skull-like mask. Right then, a group of soldiers wearing black and grey tactical suits and masks were getting out of the other trucks.
"Release the whole cargo, it's showtime" the skull-faced man talked to one of the soldiers and then he walks into the warehouse. Inside there was a gathering of a large assortment of men and women, all wearing business suits and talking amongst themselves until they look at the new arrival "My apologies for the delay, I wanted to arrive fashionably late" he tries to 'break the ice' but he gets no response from the gathered people "Tough crowd, huh? Maybe you don't care about jokes, you're all business, am I right?" he walks to the center of the room "For those who are wondering, my name is Taskmaster, I'm here on behalf of Roxxon to show you their newest advancement from their military branch, the B.E.R.S.E.R.K.E.R. units" he explains as the soldiers arrive in tractors, carrying ten large metallic capsules covered in black to prevent the reveal of its contents "These units are the next stage of tactical warfare, because why waste time in replicating the Super Soldier Serum and create people that end up being ungrateful brats that go into superheroing when you can build up a bigger threat for those who would dare to put up a fight against whatever cause you support" right then, Taskmaster pulls a small switch from his pocket and points it at one of the capsules, dropping the cover to reveal a massive, hulking figure with grey skin and visible dark red veins, wearing a sleeveless black vest and spandex shorts, both carrying the Roxxon logo "And if you don't believe me… let's put it to the test" he then activates the switch opening the door to release the creature.
The soldiers begin to surround the capsule and remain cautious until the creature opens their eyes and jumps out of the capsule tackling the first soldier, grabbing him to slam him to the floor breaking his back with a loud scream of pain. Two more soldiers rush towards the creature but they get caught with each hand and then the creature clashes their bodies against one another, dropping them down to look at the remaining seven soldiers. One of them pulls out his gun to shot at the creature but the bullets bounce off its body, provoking him to run towards him, grab him by the face and throw him towards a pile of crates, destroying it in the process, then two more soldiers try their luck with their machine guns but once again the bullets bounce off, prompting the creature to grab one of them and swing his body against the other one, then throwing it against another soldier, leaving now only three standing. The first one runs towards it only to be on the receiving end of a powerful fist that cracks his skull and sends him down, the second one is caught mid-jump and then bodyslammed down to the ground causing a crack on the floor and right then, the last one prepares to attack, but instead opts to run away much to Taskmaster's chagrin.
"Damn these cowards" Taskmaster mutters and decides to let him go, turning his sight back to the gathered people, all looking interested in what they just saw "I take it that you're truly impressed with the B.E.R.S.E.R.K.E.R.'s trial run, huh?" he asks them as he then activates the rest of the capsules, revealing the rest of the creatures "You only need one to take down an entire platoon, but buy more and you can bring down a whole army; Hell, I can bet that you'll end up fighting with each other with your own creatures" he laughs at the group but then he clears his throat "But in all seriousness, Roxxon promised you a big weapon and they have delivered big time so how 'bout we start our bidding process? The starting offer is 10 million per unit"
"I offer twenty million for one of those on behalf of Germany!" One of the guests exclaims.
"Russia offers sixty million for half of your units" A female guest interjects.
"Thailand offers eighty million for half of that unit!" Another male guest steps forward.
"How about all of you go home?" A distorted voice is heard echoing around the place, right then a figure wearing a red trenchcoat with a hood walks through a pile of crates to make their presence "You will not stand in my city, Taskmaster" speaks as the figure walks forward "And the same goes to all of you… Leave. Now." The threat is made, but Taskmaster simply looks back and begins to chuckle.
"Awwww, look at this, the mysterious Shroud, the vigilante who used to wreak havoc in New York and now here in Chicago" Taskmaster quips at her "Heard all the stories about you, not to mention that you went M.I.A. a few years back" he talks to the Shroud as he begins to walk forward "Oh I know everything about you, the bonafide superhero turned street vigilante, life sure sucks when you're not on the spotlight, right girlie?" that last part prompted the Shroud to tense a bit "I know who you are… Miss Pryde" that revelation prompts Shroud to lower her hood and remove her distorting collar, revealing her identity.
"I remember you, you kidnapped me and a group of heroes on behalf of Roxxon" Kitty comments, recalling the time when he took her, Spider-Woman, Cloak, Dagger and Spider-Man to be sent back to Roxxon but he was thwarted by the growing conflict between the Serpents and the newly established vigilante crew Terror Inc.
"I was just the repo man back then, but now I'm one of their top guys" Taskmaster replies "And don't think Roxxon didn't took their eyes off you and your friends, I know that the other Spider-Man and the Bombshell girls are gone, the Prom King and Queen are still M.I.A. and the Spider-Chick is back with the Ultimates, or was, last I heard"
"Am I supposed to feel flattered? Threatened? Scared?" Ultimate Kitty coldly replies, keeping her eyes on her rival.
"Whatever floats your boat, girl" Taskmaster shrugs his shoulders "The point is that Roxxon still kept an eye on you, you disappeared but then you started doing the vigilante #$%& again and I thought this could come very handy to have my payback with Little Miss Sunshine" he then looks at the gathered group with the corner of his eye "I apologize for the intrusion but I'm afraid that we're gonna hold the auction a bit later, don't worry, I'll contact you" right then, every person in the gathering begins to disappear, revealing themselves to be holograms, leaving them with the B.E.R.S.E.R.K.E.R. units which he activates through his device, making every creature to step out of the chamber and approach her.
"Oh #$$%..." Ultimate Kitty mutters as she begins to feel surrounded by the creatures.
"11 to 1 odds, sucks to be you girl" Taskmaster taunts her.
"Then let's turn around those odds!" A female voice interrupts them, startling both Taskmaster and Ultimate Kitty until then the group led by the Prime Kitty Pryde jumps down, each one right behind one of the creatures and Kitty landing right behind him "You may not be the Taskmaster from my Earth, but once I beat you, I'm crossing it from my Bucket List" Kitty taunts him, much to his annoyance and confusion, and that moment is taken by Ultimate Kitty to make the first move with a kick to his ribs, causing Taskmaster to press the button of his device and activate the B.E.R.S.E.R.K.E.R. units but dropping the device as well.
Magik and Wind Dancer are the first ones to attack, hitting the creature with a combination of her Soulsword and gusts of wind to block their slashes and then stabs in on the chest, but to her amazement, the creature does not scream in pain and it responds by slamming her with a punch that pushes her towards Sofia.
"OK, my Soulsword didn't hurt these things, which means that they don't have a soul" Magik warns her friends "Which makes my job much easier, actually" she then mutters and waits for the creature to rush towards her and in that moment she opens a portal to Limbo beneath their feet, closing it right when half of the creature's body crossed over.
"Wasn't that a bit of overkill?" Sofia asks Magik, who just shrugs her shoulders in response
"No holding back, just the way I like it" Shadow-Pryde mutters with a crooked smiles as she unsheathes her claws and rushes to slash her rival, cutting through the vest and then connecting a backflip kick to execute a double downward slash cutting of the creature's arms, finding out that aside from spilling a purple-ish type of 'blood', they also have circuitry "Guys, I think these things are cyborgs"
"You mean like machines?" Kung-Fu Kitty poses the question after dodging the strike from her rival "Then there won't be any remorse for using harder tactics" she then poses and strikes the creature's chest with her palms, then in a quick succession of moves connects a barrage of punches and ends with a swift kick that blows the chest and pushes down the creature.
The Veteran and Director Kitty work in tandem, dealing with two of the creatures approaching them with slow strokes of their fists, with the Veteran Kitty rolling down to phase a metallic rod through the legs of one creature while Director Kitty connects a kick that pushes it to the path of the other making them stumble, jumping towards them to phase them and fuse them, causing them to roar in anger.
"For two apparent machines, they sure act like they're in pain" The Veteran Kitty mutters.
"Maybe they're techno-organic, engineered by this Earth's version of Roxxon" Director Kitty replies to her comment. Meanwhile, Soulsword Kitty tries to defend herself from the punches her creature gives her, trying to recall not only her training with the X-Men but the teachings her Illyana gave her when holding the sword.
"What was that spell Yana told me?" Soulsword Kitty murmurs until she manages to remember the incantation that makes her Soulsword glow and murmuring words in a new language to make the creature be engulfed in flames, weakening it so she could strike it down with her blade.
Pirate Kitty uses the chains to swing from one pile of crates to the next one, jumping off to land above the creature as it swings their arms trying to attack but she uses her phasing powers to send the creature down to the floor until she jumps off, leaving it stuck on the ground.
"That oughta do it" Pirate Kitty mutters and then looks around "Are we done around here?"
"Little help wouldn't hurt!" Nomad complains as she tries to block the attacks from her creature with her staff, managing to connect a couple of kicks and then runs to tackle it but actually she phases through its body, pulling out a bunch of wires and what resembles a techno-organic organ "OK what the Hell did I just grabbed?"
Star-Lord on her part was dodging the attacks from her opponent and jumped above it to roll down and grab her Element Gun, taking a direct shot behind the creature and trapping it inside a crystal-like cell.
"I knew I couldn't leave home without it"" Star-Lord mutters at her Element Gun, grateful that she brought it for this mission.
Meanwhile, Taskmaster was putting up a good fight against Ultimate Kitty, connecting a punch that pushes her away but the distraction allows Prime Kitty to jump above him and grab him with a scissors hold to drop him down. Taskmaster quickly reincorporates himself and pulls out his knives, rushing towards her but he is tackled to the side by Ultimate Kitty.
"I don't know who the #$%& are your new friends, but you ain't catching me again" Taskmaster tries to escape but he then sees that the rest of Kitty's counterparts have beaten the B.E.R.S.E.R.K.E.R. units and have him surrounded "Oh #$%&" he mutters only to turn around and meet the barrage of punches and kicks courtesy of Ultimate Kitty, pushing him towards Prime Kitty who connects the knockout blow to put him down.
"It's official, I beat Taskmaster" Kitty giddily comments "Does anybody have any rope to tie him down?" she asks while Ultimate Kitty finds the device that Taskmaster was using to control the creatures and stomps on it to break it, deactivating them in the process.
"I don't know who you are, but thanks for the help" Ultimate Kitty comments but then she begins to notice the resemblance with some of the girls, starting to look shocked at the scene with all of her counterparts "OK, I apologize for my language but who the #$%& are you?"
"We're you" Kitty calmly replies "To make a long story short, we're all dimensional counterparts of Kitty Pryde" she explains, only to be interrupted by Magik who clears her throat as a reminder of the very obvious detail "Well, except them" she points with her thumb towards Magik and Wind Dancer who was taking care of Taskmaster by using the wires from the fallen creatures "We're recruiting counterparts of me for a mission to save the Multiverse from a crazy reality TV bastard called Mojo"
"Oy Vey, that brings back memories…" Ultimate Kitty mutters, remembering the time her team o X-Men were dealing with a crazy reality show and they were being hunted alongside her ex-boyfriend Spider-Man "OK, I get it, but…"
"I know you probably have reservations because of the vigilante thing, but we could really use your help for this one" Kitty talks to her, trying to convince her to join her crew, and after a few seconds of hesitation, she nods in agreement.
"Alright, you guys helped me here, so I'll help you back" Ultimate Kitty replies as she extends her hand, prompting Kitty to shake it and seal the deal.
"Perfect! We got our final member!" Kitty gladly replies as she activates her Dimensional Watch "Alright girls, it's time, let's make our move" she comments as she activates the portal that leads her team onto their next destination. Meanwhile, another figure emerges from the shadows, walking towards the destroyed creatures.
"Hey Suze, got some news for ya" Ben Grimm communicates to his wife "Roxxon really was into some nasty palooka, but you were right about Kitty Pryde and those outer dimension girls, they saved the day and now they're gone"
"At least they were able to help, and it seems that you were right about our Kitty going back to being Shroud" Sue replies through their call "Did they beat the perp?"
"Well, there's a buncha robomonsters here but no one else" Ben replies "Either it got away or it never was here"
"Figures… I already called the authorities to reach them, could you please stay there and help them out? I promise to make it up to you babe" Sue replies, prompting Ben to laugh in response.
"You know I'd do anything for ya, babe" Ben replies and ends the call, standing in the middle of the warehouse as he waits for the cops to arrive.
MEANWHILE, AT THE MOJOVERSE
"Huh? What happened?" Taskmaster suddenly wakes up inside a dark room, looking around as he tries to find anything that tells him about his whereabouts "Where the #$%& am I?"
"You're in my world, Tasky Masty" Mojo's voice is heard through a speaker and then a large screen turns on revealing his face, startling the mercenary "You were selected to comprise the final piece of my army, and considering your reputation as an excellent teacher, you're gonna whip this crew into shape" right then the lights turn on, revealing the rest of the crew, all the ones Mojo brought from the worlds Kitty visited: Age of Apocalypse Colossus, Empress Viper, N1MR0D, Hand Leader Gorgon, Brotherhood Emma, Blackbeard Shaw, the Fenris twins and Yotat "Good luck!" he turns off the screen, leaving Taskmaster baffled and with barely any time to assimilate what just happened.
"I must be in some #$%&+*% dream or something" Taskmaster mutters, still in a bit of shock while Mojo prepares his plan.
AND THEN…
The portal glows as it opens, bringing Kitty and her crew to their destination, a large city comprised of various buildings chartered from different types of architecture, some look modern, others look very antique, a very eclectic type of location.
"Well, this definitively qualifies as weird" Ultimate Kitty comments as all the girls look around.
"Never saw this corner of the Mojoverse before" Magik makes another comment, one that Sofia quickly notices.
"Guys, I don't think this is the Mojoverse" Sofia replies to Magik's comment.
"It's not" Kitty replies to her "Before we actually make our move, I want to work up our plan, also to get a brief respite from all the travelling, which we all need" she comments, something all the girls nod in agreement "And the best way to do it is coming to a place far away from Mojo's eyes, so ladies… Welcome to Earth-001, a.k.a. Loomworld!"
AT LAST! AFTER A LONG TIMECOMING! THE NEW CHAPTER IS DONE!
I know it's been AGES guys, and I'm really sorry for yet ANOTHER long delay, life's been keeping me busy and at times demotivated, but I finally found the space to build this chapter and go on, now that we're on the final stage of the story.
Now, as you have seen, both teams have their final recruit: ULTIMATE KITTY HAS ARRIVED! The final piece of the puzzle is here. And I'm telling you, there's still a little something I'll explore with her and Prime Kitty, which you'll see in the next chapter. Also, Mojo brought in Ultimate Taskmaster as the final recruit to his plan against Kitty's team, so you can expect that a big fight between both groups is coming.
On the guest characters: The Femme Fatales actually appeared on the All-New Ultimates series before 2015's Secret Wars happened (and it's been sorta referenced here as an explanation of Miles and Friends' disappearance) and of course, I brought in Ultimate Susan Storm and Ben Grimm, since they remained a couple, I thought it would be nice if they were already married here.
Now, I already mentioned that things will happen next chapter with Ultimate and Prime Kitty, and even a bit more about the other Kitty Prydes as well. Not to mention that THEY ARRIVED ON LOOMWORLD! This means… that the stories are a wee bit connected. You'll see it with more detail in the next chapter (and the Spider-Four one as well), I'll see you then!
NEXT CHAPTER: PEP TALKS AND A PLAN!