King Kindred

The Amazing Spider-Twins

New York, 20 Years Later...

The city was unrecognizable. It was in ruins. Society no longer existed. There was a constant dark and smoggy overcast. Flying robots patrolled the skies. Just what could have happened here? Where were the heroes? The Avengers? The Spider-Twins, the Clone Brigade? How could they let this happen?

The sound of a battle could be heard. On closer look there's a young girl in a costume with a spider-symbol on it. Could it be? The Spider-Woman was still here fighting the good fight? Wait, no. That wasn't her. Her costume was different, yes, but that wasn't it. She was way too young to be the Spider-Woman that we know. "Spider-Girl, watch out!" A voice called out in the distance.

"I got it, Iron Lad!" She yelled back while using one of her webs to launch herself up and over a robot that was flying after her. She dropped down onto its back and stabbed the joints in its neck to disable it and cause them both to fall out of the sky. She held on for dear life for the expected crash landing and jumped right before they hit the ground to land gracefully next to it. Well, it would have been graceful had it not been for all of the smoke and dust obscuring her moment. "Ultron Bot secured!"

"I can't believe how reckless you are, Davina. You were supposed to wait for me and the others. You could've gotten killed." The voice from earlier said before landing and dispersing the smoke and dust. He was wearing a suit of armor similar to that of Iron Man's. He took off his helmet and walked over to the downed Ultron Bot examining it.

Spider-Girl took her mask down. "Please, Nathaniel. You worry too much. I've been training specifically for this. To take these monsters down. And now we finally have a chance. Are you sure you and Tony can use this thing to create a virus to take them all out?"

"These guys killed the Avengers. Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Don't forget that. They acted as a team and it still meant nothing. You're lucky I cut his communications when I did. We would've had a whole horde out here. But yes and no. I have a new plan. Their idea wasn't wrong. A hero that's an android. One that can do things and take the risks others can't. I figured it all out last night. Nathaniel sighed. He hoped he wasn't wrong. Would his hubris lead the world to an even worse fate?

Davina recognized that look. He was holding the weight of the world on his shoulders. She walked up to him and knelt down next to the Ultron Bot to face him. "You're the smartest guy I know and your dad and my uncle are super geniuses. Our moms, too. Basically out of multiple super genius families, you're the smartest out of all of us. If you believe this is the way, then I trust it." She lifted his chin with her hand. "I trust you. I'll distract Tony while you tweak the virus. I can't believe this is it. After so long, after all we've been through... I'm going to miss you."

It was his turn to comfort her now. He wiped the tears starting to form in her eyes. "I love you. But don't worry. We'll see each other again soon. It'll be different versions of us, but I'll love you in every timeline."

"I love you too. In every timeline." The two kissed for what felt like forever. For all they knew this would've been their last kiss in this timeline. They didn't know what would happen after Nathaniel left to the past. He decided to stay there and they theorized that this timeline would either cease to exist, become a pocket reality, or correct itself with the changes. Either way, it seemed impossible for him to return here.

A beeping could be heard coming from Iron Lad's helmet. It seemed that he got everything he needed from the Ultron Bot. He pulled back from their kiss and wiped the tears starting to form in his own eyes. He stood up and extended his hand to Davina. She put her mask back on and took his hand before moving into her spot in his arm. With his other arm he released a beam of energy that destroyed the bot's head before the the two of them took off into the skies back to their underground mansion bunker, the X-Mansion.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

Caty was really starting to get annoyed with the Avengers, but specifically Tony Stark. They just had to outshine them every time and she was starting to think it was on purpose, because why wouldn't Tony invite her and Danny to help them take down HYDRA in Wakanda? Discovering that it was the most technologically advanced country in the world was what really pushed Caty to feel this way. She should've been there talking science with their brightest minds. Think of all the ways she could upgrade her web-shooters. This thought had been on Caty's mind for months now, especially after discovering that the clone quartet was there helping them and were practically honorary Avengers. At least that's what Dani said, Liz later clarified that they were actually Agents of SHIELD and that's why they left shortly after Christmas. Caty wished she could join them. Things had been rather quiet and awkward these past four months. Her and Gwen were friends again, but she couldn't get that kiss out of her mind and she could've sworn that Harry was giving her strange looks. Did he know about the kiss? At least nothing went further than that, right? She did feel a little bad though, but she wasn't the one to initiate it. That was between Gwen and Harry.

Outside of that she was getting back to the feel of being Caty again. She did a lot of extra credit work to make up for all of the in-school classwork and tests that she missed. School still wasn't the same without Liz, but she made sure to hang out with Gwen whenever she wasn't with Harry or she wasn't busy being Spider-Woman. Caty had also been texting and calling Karolina a lot more these past four months, but she's been silent for about a week. The last thing they talked about was Karolina and the crew's parents were hiding some sort of big secret. She hoped she was okay. Maybe she'd visit LA again soon and check on her.

Besides that crime was pretty normal as well. They surprisingly weren't attacked by a Cupid-themed villain on Valentine's Day. But she did hear about what happened to Flint Marko, one of the first people she came into contact with and helped as Spider-Woman. He was turned into a literal sand man by none other than Norman Osborn. For the past year that man has been a thorn in her and the city's side. She couldn't believe she used to look up to him. Now he was some criminal mastermind finding entertainment in turning people into super powered freaks and ruining their lives. Admittedly, her becoming Spider-Woman was completely her fault. No one told her to stay behind and look for a radioactive super spider, in fact Norman escorted everyone out. But that didn't change the fact that if it wasn't for him Hobgoblin and now Sandman wouldn't be a thing and she and Gwen wouldn't have lost so much.

The anniversary of the day she and Danny got these powers were coming up. That also meant the anniversary of their dad's death. This was part of the reason why she hated how quiet these past few months were. At least all the back to back supervillains kept her mind off the grief, but she knew she couldn't avoid it for long. She needed to process it and heal. But she wasn't sure if she'd ever heal the hole that losing her dad left inside her.

---

Alarms were blaring in New York's Prototype Supermax Prison built and funded by Tony Stark and the Avengers. In here they kept the more recent superpowered villains that have been popping up. Not just the villains that the Avengers have faced, but the villains that the Spider-Twins have put away as well. It seems that they were the targets of today's break-in, or rather break out.

A tall, mysterious figure shrouded in what appeared to be a Lion's Pelt accessed the wing that held the Spider-Villains. They were all here. Mysterio, Vulture, Rhino, Hobgoblin, and the Sandman. The mysterious figure unlocked all of their cells and they all started coming out one by one. All except one. The Sandman remained in his cell. He didn't want to go anywhere. He wanted to do his time and get out and see his little girl.

"You're all free." The mysterious man said in a thick Russian accent. "On one condition. You help me hunt the Spiders. If you choose betrayal and personal freedom I'll simply add you to the list."

Rhino stomped forward hulking over the man. "Ya? Why should we be scared of you?"

The mysterious man answered this question with a quick and decisive palm to Rhino's chin sending him collapsing to the floor unconscious. Kraven stepped out of the way and sighed. "Anyone else vant to test Kraven the Hunter?"

They all shook their heads in unison.

"Good. Goblin, carry him or vake him up. I do not care which." Kraven said before walking over to Sandman's cell. "You come too, ya?"

"No. I'm staying here. I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want to be reunited with my little girl." Sandman said resolute.

"No can do, my friend. Orders for the job." Kraven walked over to Sandman and placed an electric collar around his neck. He pressed a button on his belt, shocking him. "You come now, ya?"

The Amazing Spider-Twins

The clock was ticking down the final minutes of New Year's Eve as Caty webbed through the city. She was on a high from the events of the night. She was still annoyed that another villain found it necessary to cause her and her brother stress and trauma around the holidays, but at least it ended in a victory and the people recognizing that they actually were heroes. It did get dark there for a while. She really almost gave up. It made her realize that she still wasn't as over her guilt as she thought she was. It made sense. Liz may have been back and things were better with her family, but there was another family that got destroyed in all of this and she never gave Gwen the friend that she needed. She told herself that she wanted and needed space, but she refused to go into the New Year without at least a conversation between the two. She was one of her best friends and she missed her.

Caty finally made it to Gwen's house, in her incognito costume, which is really what she just called her flipping her hoodie inside out. It was surprisingly effective. She landed on the roof and climbed down towards Gwen's window like a spider. She tapped it gently. The last thing she needed to do was destroy her window when she was trying to apologize.

Gwen was sitting at her computer. She was trying to write, but found it hard. She's been keeping a virtual journal, but this was her first New Year's without her dad. Her brain was too foggy. She couldn't think of anything, but her father not being here anymore. She already lost her mom. Now she had no one. She turned her head after hearing a tap at her window. She sighed before wiping the tears forming in her eyes. She got up from her chair despite not wanting to. What was she doing here? Shouldn't she be out there patrolling? Being a "hero"?

Gwen opened the window with a sad and tired expression. There were bags under her eyes. She hadn't been sleeping much lately and anytime she did they were fueled by nightmares. She couldn't even have peace in her dreams. "What are you doing here?" She asked Caty bluntly.

Caty saw her face and recognized it immediately. It was her face. How she'd been after her dad's death and especially after Liz's. She should've been here sooner. No, no should have. She's here now. "I'm hoping you'd let me in so we can talk. I'm sure you don't want anyone seeing Spider-Woman hanging out here."

Gwen shrugged and started walking back into her room. "I don't know. If they saw me talking to you maybe no one else would confuse us for the other. Come in."

Caty felt heavy in her stomach at her response. So they were going heavy right off the bat. It didn't matter if Caty felt like she deserved it or not, Gwen's feelings were valid and understandable. She climbed inside and closed the window behind her. Once inside she pulled her mask down so they could talk to each other face to face. Gwen to Caty, not Spider-Woman. "Yeah... That's what I wanted to talk about. I want to apologize for what happened with your dad. Neither of you deserved that. He was an amazing man and father. He was like a second dad to me."

"I'm not mad about my dad. Okay, yes. I'm mad about my dad, but not at you. Not for that. I'm mad at that lunatic. I'm mad at myself for being weak. I... I'm mad at you for abandoning me."

Caty was surprised by her words. She never realized that Gwen felt weak. Then again she hadn't been hanging with her as much lately. But it was that Gwen felt like she abandoned her. "I'm so sorry. I wanted to give you space to grieve and honestly I didn't know what to say. But you're right. I may not have been there before, but I'm here now."

Gwen shook her head. "You still don't get it. You abandoned me way before my dad died, even before you got powers and became the Amazing Spider-Woman! I started losing you when you and Liz started dating and don't get me wrong. I love you both and I was so happy for you two. But I started to lose my best friends. Then I really lost you two when your dad died and you started being a hero. Then... my dad and Liz died then I lost three of my best friends for good all in one night. Then I lost Danny, because he's your brother and I couldn't explain how I felt and I just feel so alone. I know I have Harry and he's amazing, but..."

Caty ran up and hugged Gwen before she could finish fighting with the words she wanted to say. Tears started to flow in her eyes. She hadn't realized how selfish and how terrible of a friend she was. "I'm so, so sorry. I love you and I'm sorry I made you feel like you lost me even before my dad and everything. Liz and I never wanted to make you feel that way." She thought about telling her about Liz being alive, but how could she explain that someone cloned their best friend, but her dad was still dead? "You are so important to me and I promise I'm going to be a better friend from here on out."

Gwen pulled her head back, tears flowing in her eyes as well. "You still don't get it." Before she could continue an alarm blurred to life on her computer symbolizing that it was now officially midnight of the New Year. To clarify what she meant Gwen decided to kiss Caty on the lips.

Caty's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden kiss. Gwen's lips were soft and they fit together well. She returned the kiss with equal passion and pulled back. She definitely couldn't tell her about Liz yet. "Wow. That was a surprise. A great kiss, but Gwen. You're with Harry and I... I'm not ready for anything with anyone."

Gwen shook her head. "I'm not leaving Harry. I just never expressed my true feelings for you. No, that's wrong. The kiss confirmed it. I love you, but you're my best friend and I'd really appreciate it staying that way. Plus, I really do love Harry Osborn."

Caty smiled. She was happy that things were better between the two of them now and that there wasn't going to be a scandal on their hands. "Thank you, Gwen. I should go." She walked towards the window and leaned outside of it before looking back at Gwen with a smile. She turned back to look at the night sky. She touched her lips and jumped out of the window before swinging off into the distance. Little did she know Harry Osborn was standing at Gwen's doorstep, a little late for his midnight kiss, but not too late to see Caty's strange gesture.

---

Caty felt like nothing could ruin her night, but knew better than to say that out loud. She had put her mask back on since she left Gwen's, but was still in her incognito costume. She wanted to end tonight on the high that it was. No one would be foolish enough to try anything else tonight after knowing the Spider-Twins are on the job. No, she was headed home. Gwen reminded her just how much sleep she had been losing, especially with the hunt that she had just went through. It was strange that the mastermind behind the clones hadn't revealed himself yet. She actually hated that. It left her on edge. As long as they were out and about she and her family weren't safe and that included her new sisters and revived ex(?)-girlfriend. God, why was her life so damn complicated?

As if to answer her question and complicate it even more God sent exactly who she was looking for her way. Her head was ringing for the first time tonight. "It's official. God will not let me rest." She tried to observe the area, but before she could completely span it she was grabbed from below by a large green beast. What was up with her enemies and the color green!? And how the Hell did he grab her all the way up there? She didn't have the time to think about either of these questions before she was thrown into the ground below. She hit the pavement hard causing a crater to form beneath her.

Caty groaned in pain and opened her eyes preparing to shoot a web at whatever just tossed her, but before she could even find her mark it landed on her left wrist, specifically where her web-shooter was, breaking it and her wrist in the process. She was in so much pain that she couldn't scream. She was in shock.

The Green Beast pulled her up with her other hand and pulled her up to its face. "You really have some nerve. Must you continue to torment the Stacy's?"

Caty tried to speak, but no words were coming out.

"Don't speak. Just listen. I should kill you right now. You've already ruined my plans, but in the spirit of the holiday you get a new chance at life. Plus it'd be better to have you living in fear of THE JACKAL!" The Jackal dropped her on the floor with a thud. He laughed and leapt away, leaving her to lie alone in the pit.

---

---

Meanwhile the Avengers were halfway across the world having a much better holiday. They just finished taking down a secret Hydra Army led by Ulysses Klaue hellbent on pillaging the hidden country of Wakanda for its vast resources and super rare Vibranium. The same materials that made Captain America's shield. This war revealed Wakanda to the World and introduced the Warrior King and Hero, T'Challa, the Black Panther. He accepted the Avengers' help and led his people to victory taking out Klaue in the process. In an effort to protect his country from the world T'Challa decided to join the Avengers as an oncall member, his main priority always being his home country.

Home Is Where The Starship Is

||Location: Sol System
||Time: Unknown

Harrison resonated with Kir's disappointment in the current state of the ship. He understood that part of the damage was from her journey to Earth, but it was still a beautiful aircraft, or rather spacecraft, and it deserved better than this. He nodded to her and watched as she headed back towards the cockpit. He then took his time analyzing every nook and cranny of the ship. He had her memories connected to his own, but he really wanted to examine and experience the ship through his own eyes, hands, and heart.

His curiosity and excitement made him feel like a kid bruising through a game or toy store, being fascinated by everything that caught his eye. As he toured the ship he thought to himself about how this was the first time in a long time that he felt at peace to just be. He wasn't being forced to do anything by the government, he wasn't dealing with some disaster, or grieving the loss of his father. He knew with the mission ahead of him that it'd be a while before he would feel this way again, so he wanted to make it last as long as possible.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

It was New Year's Eve and this year Catherine Davis was without anyone to kiss. What was that you asked? What happened to her cloned and newly empowered girlfriend, Elizabeth Allan? Well, you see. Unbeknownst to the Amazing Spider-Twins, their mom and the clone quartet are all Agents of SHIELD. The quartet left shortly after Christmas to begin their training, but told Caty and Danny that they were going to travel the country for a bit and get away from their creator now that they failed their mission. A technical truth, so the twins weren't all too suspicious. It just left Caty in the dumps and on high alert.

She didn't know who their creator was. Just that he went by the name Jackal. She was honestly starting to get tired of these super freaks with a vendetta against her. It was already bad enough that Jameson and the Bugle wouldn't lay off her with calling her a menace. At least MJ was helping Danny look like a hero. She wouldn't be surprised if they ended up having them fight each other soon. She just really couldn't catch a break. It had only been over half a year since she and her brother began moonlighting as costumed superheroes and it was starting to feel like decades had gone by. If she weren't careful she'd start prematurely aging.

A sigh escaped Spider-Woman's mask as she swung through Times Square. All seemed normal. People were having fun below and even noticing her and tonight that happened to be a problem. She was blinded by four spotlights aiming directly at her. She dropped to the ground using her spidey-sense and reflexes to land on her feet. The spotlights followed her and she lifted her arm up to shield her eyes. Just as she did, two of the spotlights left her and pointed upwards in the opposite direction. There was a man costumed once again dressed in green, but this time with a fishbowl for a head and a long, purple cape. Two of the screens in the Square changed to show Spider-Woman and this Mysterious Man respectively.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," He began to announce. "TONIGHT IS YOUR LUCKY NIGHT, FOR I INVITE YOU TO THE SHOW OF A LIFETIME. WHERE I, THE MARVELOUS AND MAGNIFECENT MYSTERIO, WILL STOMP OUT THE MENACE QUEEN OF PESTS, SPIDER-WOMAN!"

"Oh, you've got to be shitting me." Spider-Woman said to herself before responding out loud. "I'm still not finished with the last one!"

"I assure you, Spider-Woman." Mysterio said with a smooth, but almost icy tone. "I'm no criminal of the underworld competing with you for top billing. I'm an entertainer, but it's come to my attention what this beautiful city needs is a hero that'll take out the trash for it."

Spider-Woman looked down at her costume. "I know my costume's kind of dark, but do I really look like a trash bag?"

The crowd laughed. Caty wasn't sure if it was at her or with her, but it seemed that they were still on her side for now. Maybe if she talked this guy down no one had to get hurt.

"Look. You've got the wrong idea. I'm no criminal. I just protect people and stop crime."

Mysterio paused, confused and slightly irritated. This wasn't how this was supposed to go down. He was losing the crowd. "That's not what the Daily Bugle says. They say you got a police officer and a young girl killed."

Caty felt a tight pain in her chest. Even though Liz was alive again the feelings and memories of what happened never went away. She still blamed herself for what happened. She already felt that way so why did she have to constantly get reminded of that fact? By Jameson and by wannabe heroes now too?

Spider-Woman lifted her head to face the cameras. "A misguided villain calling himself Hobgoblin was responsible for their deaths. He thought I and Spider-Man were someone else and wanted to hurt them. Despite knowing this I already blame myself more than you, Jameson, or anyone else in this city can. That's why I'm out here tonight making sure no one else will go through what they went through."

Mysterio was getting angry now. He was glad he was wearing his helmet or everyone would see his inability to his his facial expressions. "You really expect us to believe your sob story? Tonight the world will see you for the villain that you are."

A smoky gas began to fill the area causing everyone in the vicinity to hallucinate, including Spider-Woman. Before the toxins could fully affect her or Jumper she shot a web to the roof of the nearest building. Jumper immediately jumped on the web. "I need you to find Danny, buddy." She whispered to him. He nodded and ran up the string as fast as he could to find Spider-Man.

When the gas fully kicked in she could see what everyone else was seeing, well, almost. She saw a swarm of spiders crawling over the citizens and the square. They were seeing her command the spiders as their Queen. Spider-Woman told herself that none of this was real. Well, the people were real. At least she hoped all of them were real. For all she knew she could be hallucinating all of this. She was getting a headache thinking of all of this. She just needed to focus on helping people and stopping Mysterio. She hadn't seen him since this all started so for the moment she needed to calm down these people and get them to safety.

Spider-Woman walked to the nearest person, a young woman a few years older than her. "Hey, excuse me, miss. These spiders, or whatever you're seeing isn't real. Pay attention to the sound of my voice." The woman screamed at the sound of her voice.

"Stop it! Tell the spiders to stop! I thought you were a hero, but Jameson and Mysterio were right!" The woman exclaimed.

Spider-Woman stepped back. Were they all starting to feel like this? How was she supposed to help them? While lost in thought she felt something latch onto her back. Before she could turn to see what it was she was pulled backwards to the ground and dragged across the floor until she reached Mysterio. She stared up at the giant bowl staring down at her. She wasn't even sure if this was real. This couldn't be real. Maybe this whole thing was a hallucination. Maybe this guy poisoned her earlier and she was just thinking she was in a battle. She could even be sleeping. What if she attacked him and he was a civilian or one of her friends? Was there actually a point in fighting back? The people lost faith in her. It was fine when it was just the news, but if the people stopped believing in her then that only left the truth. That she was a villain. A killer. A menace. Real or not she didn't want to hurt anyone anymore. She just wanted to stop hurting. Someone let the pain stop. All of these thoughts were running through her mind. She wasn't even listening to Mysterio's speech. She didn't even realize he was talking until the end.

"You're not the hero, I AM!!" Mysterio said before trying to bash her head in with a hammer fist.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

It was the Night Before Christmas and all was quiet throughout New York. Not a creature was stirring, not even a street rat. It felt like the city was alert, aware that a battle for the ages was on the horizon. It wasn't surprising. Jameson and the Daily Bugle had dubbed the recent days' event, the Spider-Gang War. Caty appreciated the hyphenation, but she started to wonder just who Jameson thought was under the masks. They unfortunately didn't know that these new and different spider people were clones, but one dissolving in the Mall clued them into something strange going on. While the actual newspaper was telling it from a more educated angle, Jameson's podcast called the whole thing a hoax to boost their publicity after the events of the Bloody Halloween. Even with Liz or her clone back Caty still couldn't seem to escape her past. But she didn't care as long as it kept people safe.

Spider-Woman and Spider-Liz swung and flew through the night skies respectively. Liz didn't have a costume of her own since her creator never intended for her to be a hero. He only gave her powers to both make sure that Gwen's friend wasn't lost again and that she'd have the power to help take down the Spider-Twins. She wore a dark hoodie and outfit to keep herself hidden in the night. She didn't want to alert anyone that might've still been out tonight.

Caty had Danny and Dani stay home to protect their mom. She didn't need to be worried about her safety and if Danny got attacked as well at least he'd have backup. But she was sure that they'd be fine. Her clones seemed to only be interested in her and with the first one on the winning team it was time for her enemy's trump card to enter the fray. She still didn't even know who her enemy behind the scenes was. All Liz knew was that he was some green hairy freak with a lab full of cloning technology. They didn't know more than that or what their purposes were beyond revenge. It seemed like he didn't trust them and for good reason. They all turned on him.

"So is your plan to swing around all night hoping you'd find her? How do you know she'll attack tonight?" Liz asked getting tired of flying around all night.

"My plan is for her to find us. My spidey-sense doesn't work against her and vice versa. She knows that. She's likely tracking us right now and waiting until we get tired. Plus it's close to midnight. Christmas. My villains don't let me know holiday peace." Spider-Woman responded confident in her intuition.

"If she catches us when we're tired she'll kill us."

"That's why I've been slowing down and having her think we're tired."

As if on cue a web attached to Spider-Liz's heel dragging her down in a swift motion to a nearby rooftop slamming her hard into it.

"Liz!" Spider-Woman yelled before a shadow jumped her and they tumbled to the ground below. They crash landed onto the roof of a car crushing it in the process. To say the least, that hurt. Spider-Woman opened her eyes to see Death in front of her.



Her silent clone seemed to extend razor sharp nails and prepared to swipe at her jugular ending her right there. Spider-Woman wasn't going to down that easily. She kicked her clone off of her and into the air where she was then blasted in the back by a bioblast from a recovered Spider-Liz.

The clone landed on all fours and crawled into the darkness of an alley to recover the advantage. Spider-Woman walked slowly into the alley trying to focus on her other senses. As she moved further inside she felt something strange. Strange as in she shouldn't have been feeling it in the first place. It was her Spidey-Sense and it was going crazy. Before she could fully think about what was triggering this a swarm of spiders crawled out of the darkness and inundated both Spider-Woman and Spider-Liz in a wave of spiders. This was the worst thing imaginable. Something straight out of a horror movie.

Spider-Liz blasted away as many spiders as she could with her bioblasts, but more would come to replace them. Spider-Liz did all that she could to prevent any from entering any holes in her mouth when she realized it seemed impossible to otherwise resist her fate.

Spider-Woman felt the pain the spiders were going through as Liz killed them off, but she had her own pain to worry about. This was it. She couldn't stop them. She was telling them, asking them to please stop, but they wouldn't. For the first time in her life Caty felt true fear and utter despair. What she felt when she saw Liz falling felt like nothing compared to this. She was going to die. She was going to lose Liz again. Her clone was going to kill her mom, Danny, Camilla, Dani, and likely anyone else she cared about. She couldn't take it anymore. Why her? What did she do? All she wanted to do was protect people. Why did it seem like the entire universe was conspiring against her? She was so overwhelmed that she started to cry, loudly.

The unexpected tears caused the clone to step back and turn her head in puzzlement. This girl? The one that defeated and turned her sister? A killer? A monster? Monsters don't cry.

The spiders also seemed to react to Caty's tears. They stopped responding to the clone's commands and stopped trying to eat and burrow into Spider-Woman and Spider-Liz. In fact they started crawling off of them and kneeling before Spider-Woman waiting for her command.

Caty couldn't feel the spiders crawling on her anymore. For a second she seemed to black out. She didn't know what was happening. When she came to she noticed snow falling from the sky, but that wasn't the strangest part. She looked up from the floor where she had fallen from the onslaught of spiders and saw the spiders just looking at her.

"What did you do?" Spider-Liz finally asked.

It was clear that the clone was wondering the same. She may not have been able to speak and her face was hidden, but her expression was clear.

"I... I don't know." She said finally standing up. "But I'm tired." She said, this time speaking directly to her clone. "We could fight, but it'd be tiresome and I rather not do to you what you just did to me. I just want to go home and spend Christmas with my family. You can go out and be a Spider-Assassin going around killing whoever you feel like, but if you do I'm stopping you here and now. Or you can come and be a person and live with people who care about you. It's your choice. I'm already inviting Camilla."

"Camilla?" The silent cloned signed towards Caty.

Caty was surprised to see she knew sign language. Well, she wasn't all that surprised. She knew it herself.

"The other, other me. I named her after I beat her. I'm guessing you don't have a name either. How about Cassie? It's short for Cassandra. We can be the 3 C's."

"Now I feel left out," Liz said, her name being the only one not starting with a C or D. At least Gwen and Harry were still the odd ones out.

The clone stared silently for a moment and signed. "I like Cassie."

"Cassie it is. Now, how am I going to explain this to my mom?"

Commencement: A Pacific Royal Collegiate & University RP

<Snipped quote by King Kindred>

Totally understandable, maybe another time then!

@Lord Wraith

Definitely. You know I'm always down for a great time. That's why I've been finding it hard to say no.

Commencement: A Pacific Royal Collegiate & University RP

As much as I would love to join this I realized today I wouldn't have the bandwidth.

The Amazing Spider-Twins

The fight was fierce. Neither one seemed to have the edge and it honestly kind of scared Caty. How could someone create a clone this similar to her? She had a lot of skill, likely some kind of download of martial arts knowledge, but it was clear that she didn't have the experience. Maybe she could use that to her advantage. She just needed to find an opening.

Her clone was getting frustrated. She should've better than her, stronger than her, faster than her. She may have been a clone, but she was made to be superior. She had no flaws. No inhibitions. She was perfect. So why wasn't she crushing her beneath her fists? She forced her to play to her advantage. Holding back all that she was truly capable of.

Caty noticed that her movements were getting sloppy. That she was getting slow to defend. She wasn't focused. She got her. Caty hit her with a flying side kick and slid on the floor while she was catching her bearings. Once she was below her she kicked upwards with both of her feet, pushing off the ground with one arm. Her weight was nothing to what she could carry or push.

The clone flew into the air and was about to release webs to catch herself, but Caty beat her to it. With her free hand she released a shot of webs sticking her to the ceiling of the House of Mirrors. She struggled in the webs trying to get free.

"I wondered if the webs I made with Stark would be able to hold someone with my strength. Good to know. You'll be able to free yourself soon, but until then I want to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you." The Clone spat. "Why don't you kill me? That's what you are. A killer. Like you killed Liz. Like you wanted to kill that stupid Goblin. Admit it. I know you. I am you. And I know one more thing. That you killed your father's killer. You play hero, but you're a monster."

Her words struck Caty harder than her fists did. She didn't know how she knew about what happened with her father's killer. It didn't matter though. She was right. "You're right. I did kill them. I did want to kill Hobgoblin, but that's not who I am. That's not who I want to be and thats not who my father raised me to be. I slipped. I was angry, but I realized it was never at Goblin or my dad's killer. I was mad at Danny and I because we failed our dad and Liz. That's why I'm dedicating my life to protecting and saving people. Not killing them and you're not a killer either."

"You don't know that."

"I do know that. You could've killed me, but you didn't want to. You've been tracking me. You didn't even use any broken glass here to kill me. You may kill if you feel it's necessary, but you're not a killer. What's your name?"

"I don't have one..."

"Hmm... You look like a Camilla. It means warrior maiden."

"I like warrior, Camilla it is."

"Come find me after all this is over, Cammie." Caty said before heading out the nearest exit.

"I said Camilla!" She said while still trying to escape the webs.

Home Is Where The Starship Is

||Location: Sol System
||Time: Unknown

"You're welcome, Kir'ion." He said simply before following her down. He landed on the floor next to her. He nodded when she said it was better for him to hold onto them. He had already resolved himself to. No matter what the symbolism held in his mind or for his own people's struggles, this was still current for her and her people. A whole galaxy where they lived in bondage, servitude to another, and long lives to extend that suffering.

He reached down to pick up the metal bands and said, "Of course. Thankfully it won't be for long." He picked up the blanket as well to wrap the bands in so neither of them had to look at it.

"With this we begin to buy back the freedom of your people and the galaxy. Rather poetic, I think."